NORMAL, ILL. ? Junior quarterback Cole Ingle (Runnels, Iowa) threw a 56-yard touchdown strike to sophomore Augustine Agyei (Aurora, Colo.) with 23.2 seconds left to power Drake to its biggest victory in its 22-year history of nonscholarship football with a 27-24 season opening upset past Illinois State which was ranked No 7 in The Sports Network Football Championship Subdivision poll.

Facing a second down and 10-yard situation, Agyei grabbed Ingle's pass after it went off the finger tips of Illinois State cornerback Jason Tate and sprinted down the left sideline into the endzone stunning a crowd of 12,167 fans at Hancock Stadium Thursday night.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think about this," said Steve Loney, who was making his head coaching debut at Drake after being named the interim coach June 18. "These guys have made my life wonderful."

It was the first college reception for Agyei, who has been a sprinter on the Drake track and field team the past two seasons.

"I saw the cornerback (Tate) jump and thought I had a chance to catch it," said Agyei. "Then all I was thinking was score...get in the endzone."

Ingle alternated at quarterback with junior Derek Retherford (Johnston), playing the entire second quarter and the fourth quarter.

He engineered Drake to a 20-17 lead with 4:54 left in the game when he tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Dan Marx (Maple Grove, Minn.) with 4:36 left.

But Illinois State regained the lead at 24-20 following an 11-yard touchdown burst by running back Rafael Rice with 1:28 left.

Drake's winning touchdown march started on its own 10 yardline with 1:23 left. A false start on a third and 10 yard situation pushed the Bulldogs back to their five yardline.

But Ingle kept the drive alive when he spotted fullback Willie Cashmore (Kansas City, Mo.) on a 23-yard pass to the 28 yardline.

"We finally went to a silent count under center," said Ingle. "It was a Hail Mary play to Augie (Agyei) who was in single coverage with his defender. It wasn't the best pass I've thrown, but once Augie caught it I knew he was gone."

"What can you say, to move the ball 95 yards at the end of game when everyone in the stadium knew we were passing was unbelievable," added Loney.

The Bulldogs were a heavy underdog in the game against a squad which featured first-team All-Gateway Football Conference quarterback Luke Drone.

But a young Drake defense came up with three interceptions.

After a 36-yard field goal by junior Logan Rees (West Des Moines Valley) pulled Drake within 10-3 with 8:51 left in the third quarter, the Bulldogs tied the score at 10-10 seven seconds later.

Sophomore weakside linebacker Cale Hunt (Littleton, Colo.), making his first college start, intercepted a Drone pass on Illinois State's first play from scrimmage, returning it 24 yards for a touchdown.

"This was a big win for us, " Loney said. "I can't say enough for the kids. Our defense played wonderful for the entire game. That (Illinois State) was a team that averaged 30 points a year ago and returned a lot of offensive starters.

"I can't say enough about the job Matt Jeter (defensive coordinator) and the defensive staff did. This is his first coordinator's job and I can't be more proud of Matt.

"The defense kept us close throughout the first half. We knew if we kept playing hard we would have an opportunity to crawl back into the game."

Hunt and senior safety Jacob Craig (Mount Vernon, Iowa) had 10 tackles apiece. Junior cornerback Poul Collins (Cedar Rapids Washington) had seven tackles, while forcing a fumble and intercepting a pass.

"Drake has a good football team," said Illinois State coach Denver Johnson, whose team plays at Missouri Sept. 22. "They are well coached and they have good players. They outplayed us and they beat us fair-and-square. It is my fault; we were
out coached.

"They made plays when the opportunities arose. I have to tip my hat to (Drake head coach) Steve (Loney) and his coaching staff."

Drake senior Scott Phaydavong (Des Moines East), who entered the game as the leading active rusher in the Championship Subdivision with 4,572 yards, enjoyed his 26th career 100-yard plus rushing game with 111 yards in 30 carries.

Drake thwarted a potential scoring drive by Illinois State when junior linebacker Jeremy Gehl (Naperville, Ill.), in his first collegiate start, intercepted a pass at the Bulldog 37 yadline with 4:18 left in the second quarter.

Ingle completed 10 of 18 passes for 197 yards, while Retherford completed seven of 13 passes for 67 yards.

Junior Zach Brower (West Des Moines Valley) led Drake with six receptions for 61 yards, while senior Travis Hardgraves (Sioux City West) had five receptions for 62 yards. Marx caught four passes for 62 yards.

Rice led Illinois State with a game-high 218 yards rushing in 27 carries.

"At the end of the day we didn't do enough to win the game," said Rice. "I tip my hat off to them, they played an excellent game and in the end they wanted it more than we did."

The Bulldogs will open its home season Sept. 8, playing host to Waldorf at 6 p.m. at Drake Stadium.