VERMILLION, S.D. --  South Dakota scored on its first eight possessions to hand Drake its first loss of the season, 51-21, Saturday in the DakotaDome.

Senior quarterback Noah Shepard tied a school record with five rushing touchdowns for the Coyotes who improved to 2-1.

The Bulldogs mustered up 220 yards total offense, scoring on all three red zone opportunities inside the 20 yardline.

But Drake fell victim to the excellent field position South Dakota had on its opening drives following kickoff and punt returns. The Coyotes started their first three drives inside Drake territory.

"South Dakota is a real good team," said Drake football coach Chris Creighton whose team fell to 2-1. "I felt the difference in the game was their (Coyotes) speed on special teams. We couldn't afford to make mistakes and give them good field position."

Jeremy Blount returned the game's opening kickoff 41 yards to the Drake 49 yardline where the Coyotes then drove 49 yards in 10 plays to grab a 7-0 lead following a one-yard touchdown burst by Shepard.

South Dakota forced Drake to punt on its opening drive with Blount returning the punt  21 yards to the Drake 42.

Shepard spotted Dan Skelly open for a 38-yard pass to the Drake four yardline. Two plays later Shepard added a three-yard option run to push the Coyotes' lead to 14-0 with 7:02 left in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs responded by scoring on their next two drives aided by a pair of pass interference penalties.

Junior Tom Kostek was a workhorse in Drake's first scoring drive rushing four times for 29 yards. His five-yard scoring burst with 4:50 left in the first quarter capped a six-play 73-yard touchdown march. The Coyotes were called for a 15-yard face mask penalty as well as a 15-yard pass interference penalty in the drive.

Shepard's third touchdown - a nine-yard run - pushed South Dakota's advantage to 21-7.

Drake quarterback Mike Piatkowski engineered a nine-play, 61-yard drive, highlighted by a five-yard touchdown pass to Spencer Cady to pull the Bulldogs within 21-14. A 15-yard pass interference call against the Coyotes' kept Drake's drive alive.

Kostek led Drake with 44 yards rushing in eight carries. Piatkowski completed 15 of 21 passes for 154 yards. Cady caught a team-high six passes for 53 yards.

Sophomore free safety Nick Chenier and senior linebacker Ben Morrision led Drake's defense by each collecting a career-high 15 tackles.

Drake took advantage of an interception by cornerback Lucas Mosier at the South Dakota 11 yardline to score its third touchdown, coming on a one-yard plunge by Steve Platek with 14:36 left in the game.

Drake will resume Pioneer Football League action Oct. 3, playing host to Valparaiso. It will be the Bulldogs' first home game since the Sept. 5 season opener against Grand View.

"I'm 100 percent sure our team will respond to this in a positive manner," Creighton added. "We know we can do something special this year."