DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Cody Elder kicked a 20-yard field goal with 1 minute 24 seconds left to lift Davidson to a 24-21 Pioneer Football League victory against Drake Saturday night.

Junior cornerback Matt Mikrut picked off a pass by Drake quarterback Derek Retherford at the Davidson 29 yardline with 57 seconds left to seal the victory.

Drake, closing out a treacherous 5,660-mile coast-to-coast two-game road trip, saw breakdowns in their special teams contribute to their second straight loss.

Davidson relied on miscues by Drake's special teams to score six points in the second quarter. Drake punter Brandon Wubs had three consecutive snaps from center Travis Klatt sail over his head, resulting in safeties.

The three safeties tied an NCAA single-game record.

With Drake trailing 15-13 midway in the fourth quarter, Wubs also had a punt blocked by Davidson's Ben Sarver who recovered the ball at the Bulldog two yardline.

On the next play Kirk Benedict scored on a two-yard touchdown run to gave Davidson a 21-13 advantage with 7:50 left.

“We gave up 13 points with our special teams and you can't afford to do that,” said Drake head coach Steve Loney, whose team fell to 5-3 overall, including a 2-2 league mark.

Drake's defense forced five turnovers, including a fumble recovery by junior cornerback Tyler Marley which allowed the Bulldogs to tie the score at 21-21.

Marley recovered a Kenny Mantuo fumble at the Davidson 27 yardline. After Retherford picked up a first down on a fourth-and-one situation, senior running back Scott Phaydavong scampered 17 yards for a touchdown allowing Drake to pull within 21-19 with 5:14 left in the game.

Retherford rolled out to the right and found Greg Smit in the back of the end zone for a two-point conversion to tie the score at 21-21.

“We dug too deep of a hole and couldn't overcome it,” added Loney. “In the first half our offense looked like it was in a coma. But the kids showed character in the second half.”

Retherford lost a fumble late in the first half at the Davidson 43 yardline which led to a 37-yard field goal by Elder with five seconds left in the first half, allowing Davidson to enjoy a 9-0 lead.

Davidson expanded its lead to 15-0 on a one-yard touchdown burst by Mantuo with 5:57 left in the third quarter.

Drake junor Augustine Agyei returned the ensuing kickoff 45 yards to the Davidson 37-yard line. Junior quarterback Cole Ingle hit senior Travis Hardgraves with a 31-yard pass to set up a three-yard touchdown run by Michael Bialas with 4:23 left in the third quarter.

Drake senior defensive end Cody Shelley recovered a fumble Davidson's next possession.

Ingle then engineered an eight-play 70-yard scoring drive capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior right end Dan Marx which pulled Drake within 15-13.

“I was very proud of our defense,” Loney added. “They hung in there and created turnovers. They played hard to the end.”

Junior safety Andy Green thwarted a Davidson scoring drive with an interception at the 18 yardline late in the second quarter. He also forced a fumble on Davidson's opening drive of the game which was recovered by teammate Jeremy Gehl.

Linebacker Ben Morrison led Drake's defense with a game-high 13 tackles, including eight solo hits. He also forced two fumbles. Linebacker Stephen Platek added 10 tackles.

Klatt's long snaps sailed high over the head of punter Wubs and ended up out of the end zone. The first one ended up being a minus 33-yard play, the second was minus 47 and the third was minus nine yards.

“That was the difference in the game,” said Davidson quarterback Ryan Alexander, who passed for 299 yards. “I've never seen anything like it, but that and the blocked punt is how you overcome four turnovers.”

Hardgraves caught six passes for 93 yards, while Marx had six receptions for 76 yards. Ingle completed 13 of 23 passes for 156 yards, while Retherford passed for 72 yards.