SCHEELS KICK-OFF CLASSIC
DRAKE BULLDOGS vs. NORTHERN IOWA PANTHERS
7:08 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 31 Drake Stadium (14,000), Des Moines,Iowa

GAME SIGNIFICANCE: Drake opens its 113th season of intercollegiate football with a tall order facing what will be the Bulldogs' strongest test of the season playing host to Northern Iowa, which finished runner-up in the 2005 NCAA I-AA Playoffs, in the Sheels Kick-Off Classic.

This marks the eighth straight year that Drake, a nonscholarship NCAA I-AA program, will play a fully-funded NCAA I-AA scholarship team from the Gateway Football Conference. Drake played at Western Illinois in 1999 and 2002 and traveled to Southern Illinois in 2000; Missouri State in 2001 and 2004; Illinois State in 2003 and Northern Iowa in 2005. Drake did manage a 31-7 victory against Florida Atlantic, a fully-funded NCAA I-AA program, in 2001.

TICKETS: Individual adult tickets are $13 for the Bulldogs' opener against Northern Iowa. Drake faculty and staff tickets are $10 for the home opener with a limit of six. Youth tickets for those, 18 and under, are $5 for the Northern Iowa game. For ticket information call 515-271-DOGS or order the tickets online at www.drakebullogs.org

TELEVISION: Thursday's game against Northern Iowa will be televised live on KDSM TV in Des Moines and KFXA in Cedar Rapids with Rob Brooks describing the action.

RADIO: Thursday's game against Northern Iowa will be broadcast on KRNT Radio (1350 AM) with Scott Pierce handling the play by play and former Drake player Robb Hill providing commentary.

The weekly Rob Ash Radio Show at Blu Bistro Italiano is broadcast on Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. on KRNT Radio (1350 AM).

ROB ASH TV SHOW: Weekly highlights of Drake football are televised Sundays at 10:30 p.m. on KDSM Fox 17, in Des Moines. Because of Labor Day weekend the first Rob Ash Show will be televised on Monday, Sept. 4, at 10:30 p.m. DRAKE STADIUM RENOVATION: Please excuse veteran coach Rob Ash if he pinches himself prior to Drake's season opener with perennial NCAA I-AA power Northern Iowa.

After being forced to play four home games on two neutral sites last year, the Bulldogs will welcome a return to the friendly confines of Drake Stadium this fall.

The 81-year-old Drake Stadium underwent a $15 million renovation which included repairing the stadium's structure; making improvements in seating, restrooms and concession stands; a new artificial grass field by Field Turf for football and soccer; permanent lighting by Musco; a new scoreboard located on the northeast corner of the stadium; renovation of the press box; a new Mondo track surface and throwing venues for the javelin, discus and hammer throws directly north of the stadium.

Since the 1992 season, the Bulldogs have accumulated a 57-11-1 home record at Drake Stadium for an 83.8 winning percentage. Drake will open the season with three straight home games to highlight a seven-game home schedule.

IOWA'S BEST CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION: The 1981 Drake football team, which became the first Iowa Division I school to win 10 games in a season, will hold a 25-year reunion in conjunction with the Bulldogs' homecoming game against Morehead State Sept. 30.

Drake posted a school-record 10-1 mark under Coach Chuck Shelton and was co-champions of the Missouri Valley Conference. Drake won its first seven games to open the season, including an 18-17 victory at Colorado.

JOHNNY BRIGHT FIELD: the new Field Turf football field at renovated Drake Stadium will be known as "Johnny Bright Field", recognizing the greatest football player in Bulldog history. Bright, who finished fifth in balloting for the 1951 Heisman Trophy, is the only Drake player inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame.

His running and passing wizardy enabled him to lead the NCAA in total offense in 1949 and 1950, setting an NCAA record of 2,400 yards in 1950 for a per game average of 266.7 yards which also was an NCAA record. He also set the NCAA career total offense record of 5,983 yards. Bright concluded his collegiate career playing in the East-West Shrine All-Star game and the Hula Bowl.

Bright, who died of a heart attack in 1983 at the age of 53, set 20 Drake records in football, basketball and track from 1949-51.

Drake plans to formally dedicated Johnny Bright Field during the Sept. 30 homecoming game against Morehead State.

SEASON OPENERS: The Bulldogs sport a 66-40-6 record (.628) in season openers. Drake owns an 8-7-2 record (5-1-1 home/3-6-1 road) in season openers during Rob Ash's 17-year coaching tenure at the school. Drake has lost its last five season openers which were played on the road at scholarship opponents: Truman State, 40-29, 2001; Western Illinois, 64-7, 2002; at Illinois State, 27-13, 2003; at Missouri State, 31-26, 2004; and at Northern Iowa, 52-17, 2005.

AMONG NCAA I-AA LEADERS: Drake ranks 19th in overall victories (529) among the 123 schools which play NCAA Division I-AA football. Only 22 schools have recorded 500 or more victories.

The game against Northern Iowa will be the 1,023rd game in school history with Drake owning a record of 529-464-29 for a winning percentage of .532.

DRAKE IN NATIONAL RANKINGS: The Sports Network and Don Hansen's Weekly Football Gazette have the Drake football team ranked fifth in their respective NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major preseason polls.

San Diego, the choice to win the Pioneer Football League title in the recent coaches preseason poll, was ranked No. 1 in The Sports Network poll, while Dayton was ranked No. 2.

Dayton, which was ranked No. 2 by The Sports Network, was perched atop the preseason Football Gazette poll, while Morehead State was ranked No. 3. San Diego defeated Morehead State, 47-40, to win the 2005 PFL championship. Drake was ranked No. 1 in both 2005 preseason NCAA I-AA Mid-Major polls.

PFL COACHES PICK DRAKE THIRD: Drake has been picked to finish third in the Pioneer Football League Preseason Coaches' Poll.

San Diego, receiving five of the eight possible first-place votes, was picked to defend its league title, while tallying 45 points. Dayton was selected a close second with 43 points, while earning two first-place votes.

Morehead State was picked for fourth followed by Jacksonville, Davidson, Valparaiso and Butler.

For the first time in league history all eight Pioneer Football League teams will play one another in a round-robin format, beginning Sept. 16 when Valparaiso visits Morehead State. The league championship will be determined by regular-season play with the champion meeting the Northeast Conference champion in the first Gridiron Classic.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: Northern Iowa returns 32 letterwinners, including 12 starters, from last years 11-4 team which reached the program's first ever NCAA I-AA national championship game. The Panthers have been pegged as the preseason favorite to defend its Gateway Football Conference championship in this year's preseason poll of league head coaches, sports information directors and members of the media.

UNI will take advantage of returning four starting offensive linemen and its starting quarterback Walter Payton Award candidate Eric Sanders who passed for an NCAA I-AA postseason best 1,113 yards and seven touchdowns. Sanders led the Gateway Conference and ranked No. 5 in the nation in pass efficiency last year.

The returning offensive line starters include junior guard Barrett Anderson, senior tackle Joe Lobdell, senior guard Tyler Rawlins and junior tackle Chad Rinehart.

Senior defensive back Dre Dokes, a second team all-league performer last year, has 11 career interceptions. Defensively, the biggest question mark from 2005 to 2006 will be if the Panthers can replace its three starting linebackers Darin Heideman, Brett Koebcke and John Hermann.

Brian Wingert enters his senior season with 242 points and needs only 59 more points to become the school's all-time leading scorer. Wingert drilled 16 field goals last season, including a I-AA championship game record 50-yard field goal against Appalachian State. Wingert also set the UNI single-season PAT record with 51 extra points in 2005.

PANTHERS RANKED FOURTH IN PRESEASON I-AA POLL: Northern Iowa was ranked fourth in The Sports Network preseason I-AA Top 25 poll. UNI captured three first-place votes in the preseason poll.Defending national champion Appalachian State received 68 of a possible 94 first-place votes and 2,306 points overall to earn the No. 1 ranking. New Hampshire picked up 14 first-place votes and 2,153 points to claim the No. 2 position, while Montana was ranked No. 3 in the preseason for the third year in a row. Furman with picked No. 5.

THE SERIES: Drake owns a 25-18-1 lead in the series against UNI which started in 1900 with the Bulldogs claiming a 50-0 home victory. Last year's game was the first meeting between the schools since 1985 when Drake earned a 24-9 home victory.

THE LAST TIME: Northern Iowa 52, Drake 17 (Sept. 1, 2005, Cedar Falls, Iowa) After being forced to punt on its first possession of the game, Northern Iowa scored on eight straight possessions to spoil Drake's season opener, 52-17, before a crowd of 10,385 fans at the UNI-Dome.

It marked the first meeting between the schools since Drake claimed a 24-9 victory in Des Moines in 1985.

Drake scored on its first possession of the game to grab a 7-0 lead with 11:14 left in the first quarter following a four-yard touchdown pass from Connor Jostes (Iowa City High) to sophomore tight end Daniel Marx (Maple Grove, Minn.). The scoring strike capped a six-play, 65-yard drive.

Jostes kept the march alive with an impromptu play on third down at the Drake 36 yardline. Lining up in shotgun formation, center Matt Huber (Mount Prospect, Ill.) snapped the ball 10 yards over Jostes who still managed to retrieve the ball, scramble and then rifle a 34-yard pass to Shea Moroni (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) down to the Panthers' 30 yardline

An eight-yard run by Scott Phaydavong (Des Moines East) coupled with an 11-yard deadball penalty by Northern Iowa moved Drake to the Panthers' 11 yardline. Phaydavong added a seven-yard burst to set up Jostes' touchdown pass. He rushed for a game high 69 yards in 16 carries despite playing just the first half and Drake's opening drive of the third quarter.

The Panthers collected 359 yards total offense in the first half behind quarterback Eric Sanders who threw three touchdown passes.

Drake could muster only a field goal on its longest time consuming drive of the game. Ryan Horvath (Overland Park, Kan.) kicked a 26-yard field goal to pull the Bulldogs within 14-10 with 13:05 left in the first half.

Drake drove from its own 30 yardline to the Panthers' four yardline before Jostes fumbled for a six-yard loss back to the 10 yardline on a second down play.

Jostes, who played just three quarters, completed 11 of 20 passes for 118 yards. Moroni and Marx led Drake with three receptions apiece.

Linebacker James Adams (Kansas City, Kan.) led Drake with seven tackles, while junior linebacker Nick Ross (Atlantic) added 6.5 tackles.

Sophomore Mike Bialas (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) rounded out Drake's scoring with a one-yard plunge with 1:06 remaining to cap a 12-play, 60-yard drive.

THE COACHES: Rob Ash, a 1973 graduate of Cornell (Iowa), enters his 17th year as Drake head coach and is the school's winningest football coach with a 116-61-2 record (46-43-1 road/70-18-1 home).

Under Ash, Drake has enjoyed 12 winning seasons, including 11 years of at least seven wins. Ash, 52, has a 20-year overall collegiate coaching record of 167-97-5 (.634), ranking eighth among NCAA I-AA active football coaches in terms of victories. Ash posted a 51-36-3 mark at Juniata (Pa.) College from 1980-88.

Mark Farley, a 1987 graduate of Northern Iowa, begins his sixth year as head coach at his alma mater owning a 44-20 record (.688 percentage). He served as an assistant coach at Northern Iowa from 1989-97 and at Kansas from 1997-2000. Farley has led the Panthers to appearances in the 2001, 2003 and 2005 NCAA I-AA playoffs along with three Gateway Conference championships.

2006 CO-CAPTAINS: Senior linebacker Nick Ross (Atlantic) and senior wide receiver Shea Moroni (Glen Elyn, Ill.) have been named co-captains of the 2006 Drake football team.

Ross, who also served as co-captain in 2005, is entering his third year as a starter at weakside linebacker. He earned All-Pioneer Football League North Division honorable mention honors in 2004, while leading Drake with 94 tackles, including a team-high 57 solo hits.

He ranked second on the team in tackles last year with 77, including 50 solo hits, while intercepting one pass and recovering two fumbles.

Moroni has caught 67 passes for 789 yards, including six touchdowns, during his career as a three-year letterwinner. He was Drake's second leading receiver last season, snaring 22 passes for 302 yards including three touchdowns.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: Drake senior linebacker James Adams (Kansas City, Kan.), junior offensive lineman Dave Pammer (Frankfort, Ill.) and junior running back Scott Phaydavong (Des Moines East) have been named to the Football Gazette NCAA I-AA Mid-Major Preseason All-America team, as well as The Sports Network 2006 I-AA Mid-Major Preseason All-America football team.

Adams, Pammer and Phaydavong all earned first-team All-Pioneer Football League North Division playing honors last year.

Phaydavong ranked second in the NCAA I-AA in rushing last year with 1,550 yards with eight touchdowns in just 204 carries (7.6 avg.).

Phaydavong led the Pioneer Football League in rushing for the second straight year and enjoyed eight straight 100-yard-plus rushing games to close out the 2005 season. He set the Drake school single-season nonscholarship rushing record despite playing in two fewer games and carrying the ball 30 fewer times.

Adams, who is entering his third year as a starter, was named Drake's defensive player of the year last season. He led the Bulldogs with 88 tackles last year, including 66 solo hits, three quarterback sacks for 32 yards in losses, two interceptions and one fumble recovery.

Pammer will be entering his third season as a starter on the offensive line. He started at center in 2004 before moving to guard last year. He will start at tackle this fall.

IOWA FLAVOR: The 2006 Drake roster includes 38 players from Iowa, including nine who will start against Northern Iowa: quarterback Derek Retherford (Johnston), halfback Scott Phaydavong (Des Moines East), flanker Tyler Putnam (Oakland/Riverside), offensive tackle Matt Haas (Iowa City West), middle linebacker Brian Conway (Waukee), weakside linebacker Nick Ross (Atlantic), free safety Jacob Craig (Mount Vernon), strong safety Andy Green (Atlantic) and cornerback Poul Collins (Cedar Rapids Washington).

SIZING UP THE ROSTER: There are 101 players on the Drake football roster, including just 10 seniors, 24 juniors, 13 sophomores and 54 freshmen (20 redshirts). There are players from eight states: 38 from Iowa, 30 from Illinois, 18 from Missouri, six from Colorado, four from Minnesota, three from Kansas, and one from Maryland and Nebraska.

STARTERS BY CLASS: Just six seniors are projected to start for the Bulldogs in their season opener against Northern Iowa. Receivers Shea Moroni and Tyler Putnam are the lone senior offensive starters.The offense features eight juniorstarters (LT-Dave Pammer; LG-Marco Povich; OC-Matt Huber; RG-Anthony Swope; RT-Matt Haas; TE-Dan Marx; HB-Scott Phaydavong, FB-Willie Cashmore) while quarterback Derek Retherford is the lone sophomore starter.

Defensively, Drake will start four seniors (DE-Kevin Jennings; SLB-James Adams, MLB-Brian Conway; WLB-Nick Ross), five juniors (DT-Jake Ramos, NG-Nick Rappa, CB-Tyler Marley, FS-Jacob Craig) along with sophomore Andy Green at free safety and redshirt freshman Josh Duvall at defensive end.

QUOTING DRAKE FOOTBALL COACH ROB ASH: "There is really no place like home. The renovation of Drake Stadium has been an unbelievable improvement over the last couple years. I don't think the general public knows where we had to practice over the last year, while the stadium was getting renovated. Our players handled the sacrifices we had to make great. Now the time has finally come and I can't say enough about what a difference the new surroundings have made.

"It is a great place to practice. In a lot of ways it has helped make us a better team. The surface (Field Turf) is fantastic. The attitude and work ethic of the players has been great.

"I really enjoy the players I get to coach here . They're smart guys, they're very passionate about football, they absolutely love the game. They're not getting paid (scholarship) to play. It's not a job to them. It's a passion. I love that part of it.

"The other part is that we always keep moving forward at Drake. When I got here 18 years ago, we were a Division III team with no conference to play in and no playoffs to go to. The Knapp Center wasn't built yet, we shared a little practice facility down here...Look at what's happened since the Knapp Center, development of Drake Stadium, a practice facility, the league, [the possibility of] a bowl game and playing UNI, for pete's sake.

"Who'd have dreamed that 18 years ago?. It's gotten better every year.

"Derek (sophomore quarterback Retherford) has had a good preseason. He has had the lions share of snaps. We will have to rely on our experience early and that is at wide receiver, running back and in the offensive line. We have to be able to run the football to take pressure off our young quarterbacks. We have to simplify the offense a little bit to find out what they (quarterbacks) can do the best and then build our package around that.

"Our linebacker trio (seniors Jimmy Adams, Brian Conway, Nick Ross) are seasoned veterans who will anchor our defense. We graduated three fifth-year seniors on the defensive line, so there will be a huge drop off in terms of experience there.

"We've played teams from the Gateway Conference the past seven or eight years. We try to play Gateway teams because I don't want the toughest team in our league to be the toughest team on our schedule. I don't want to put anybody in our league on a pedestal.

"UNI will be a tall order for us. I'm terrified with all these transfers I've been reading about coming in from all over the place. They'll be very talented and well-coached."

LAOTIAN CONNECTION: Junior running back Scott Phaydavong is from a close-knit family of Laotian heritage.

Three decades ago, Kou Phaydavong, who is Scott's father, was serving as an officer in the Royal Lao Army. When the Communist government took control in the mid-1970's, he was sent to a concentration camp. After escaping, the Phaydavongs headed for America in 1978. Kou and his wife, Kham, didn't want their son Scott to play football until his junior season at East High School in Des Moines.

When Scott turned 18, he honored his parents by getting Chinese characters tattooed on his chest. Translated, the symbols stand for "Determination."

WHAT'S IN STORE: Head Football Coach Rob Ash is counting on the return to familiar, but upgraded surroundings, to ignite Drake in the Pioneer Football League which will play a round-robin seven-game schedule for the first time in the 14-year history of the league.

Two of Drake's three league home games will be against San Diego and Morehead State which battled in the Pioneer Football League championship game last year.

Thirty-eight letterwinners, including 14 starters, will try to help Drake regain the fortunes it encountered during the 2004 season when the Bulldogs posted a 10-2 record en route to winning the PFL championship.

Graduation claimed just two starters on offense but one hole will hold the key toward the Bulldogs' progress this fall.All attention will be focused on finding a replacement for departed three-year starting quarterback Connor Jostes, who passed for 6,445 yards in his career, including 59 touchdowns.

Sophomore Derek Retherford enters the season as the projected starter but will face competition from sophomore Cole Ingle. The duo saw limited action last year, each appearing in six games.

The return of four starters on the offensive line, headed by junior Dave Pammer, a first-team All-Pioneer Football League choice who has moved from guard to tackle, should make the transition for the first-year signal caller go smooth.

Other returning veterans up front are juniors Matt Huber (center), Matt Haas (tackle) and Anthony Swope (guard), while junior Daniel Marx should continue to blossom at tight end after catching six touchdowns last season.

That group will pave the way for a potent offense headed by junior Scott Phaydavong, one of the premier offensive players in the PFL. Phaydavong, who ranked second in the NCAA I-AA in rushing, led the PFL for the second straight year with 1,550 yards rushing, including eight touchdowns in just 204 carries for a whopping 7.6 avg. He set the Drake nonscholarship single-season rushing mark despite playing in two fewer games.

For the second consecutive year the speedster enjoyed eight 100-yard plus rushing games, highlight by a pair of 200-yard rushing efforts against Wisconsin-Platteville (234) and league champion San Diego (a career-high 244).

With junior Michael Bialas, who rushed for 413 yards including a team-high 11 touchdowns last year, expected to be redshirted this fall, senior DeCarlos Love and junior Clay Cleveland will provide depth at tailback. Senior Matt Goodwin returns at fullback, along with junior Willie Cashmore who also will see action at tight end.

The 6-foot 3-inch Marx has developed into one of the top tight ends in the PFL, averaging 21.3 yards per reception, with his role expanding even more this fall in Drake's offensive attack.The team's top eight receivers from a year ago are back, led by senior Tyler Putnam, a two-year starter who caught a team-high 28 passes last year, and senior co-captain Shea Moroni who snared 22 receptions.

TRIO KEYS DEFENSE: Senior linebacker Jimmy Adams, who led the team with 88 tackles en route to earning first-team All-PFL honors last year, spearheads a defense which has five starters back.

Drake coach Rob Ash calls Adams, middle linebacker Brian Conway, and weakside linebacker Nick Ross, the best balanced trio that he has encountered during his tenure at Drake. Ross, a co-captain, and Conway, also are entering their third year as starters.

Junior cornerback Tyler Marley and sophomore strong safety Andy Green are holdovers in the secondary.

Ash also will keep an eye on a young defensive line where all four starters are gone.

SCOTT PHAYDAVONG BY THE NUMBERS
Career 100-Yard Plus Rushing Games (16)
2005 (8)
234 yards (28 carries) at Wisconsin-Platteville,
110 yards (17) vs. Austin Peay, one touchdown
177 yards (20) at Davidson, one touchdown
151 yards (29) vs. Dayton
244 yards (27) at San Diego, two touchdowns
142 yards (11) vs. Butler, two touchdowns
175 yards (22) at Valparaiso, two touchdowns
195 yards (18) vs. Waldorf
2004 (8)
107 yards (11 carries) vs. William Penn
155 yards (24) vs. Wisconsin-Platteville, one touchdown
173 yards (29) vs. Morehead State, one touchdown
209 yards (26) vs. San Diego, two touchdowns
119 yards (17) at Butler, one touchdown
169 yards (26) vs. Upper Iowa
154 yards (20) vs. Waldorf, three touchdowns
178 yards (22) at Morehead State, one touchdown
NCAA RUSHING RANKINGS
2005: Second (155.0 yard avg. per game)
2004, Sixth (128.3 yard avg. per game)
"We knew he (Phaydavong) would be the best back we have faced all year."
San Diego football coach Jim Harbaugh



DRAKE CAREER RUSHING LEADERS
1. Jason Grove, 1995-98* 4,182
2. Charlie Schimberg, 1994-97* 3,345
3. Jonathan Taylor, 2000-03* 3,292
4. Amero Ware, 1979-82 3,217
5. Johnny Bright, 1949-51 3,134
6. Scott Phaydavong, 2004-present* 3,089
7. Jerry Heston, 1970-74 3,019
8. Brant Alley, 1987-90* 2,801
9. Jim O'Connor, 1972-74 2,424
10. Tom Holt, 1980-83 1,725
nonscholarship level