VALPARAISO, IND. - Drake spoiled Valparaiso's homecoming, escaping with a 21-19 victory in the Pioneer Football League opener for both teams Saturday.

Drake, closing out a three-game road trip, evened its record to 2-2, entering a Saturday (Oct. 2) homecoming game against Marist. Valparaiso suffered its 13th straight loss dating back to last year, while falling to 0-4 this fall.

A 13-yard interception return for a touchdown by nose tackle David Witkiewicz on the first play of the second half staked Drake to a 21-6 lead.

But the Bulldogs sputtered on offense, mustering just 19 yards in total offense for the second half.

Meanwhile, Drake's defense held Valparaiso to just 158 yards total offense, while forcing two turnovers.

“Defensively we played pretty good,” said Drake head football coach Chris Creighton whose team won its seventh straight game against Valparaiso. “But our offense in the second half didn't help our defense like we needed to do.

“Our elation is tempered because we are far from perfect."

Senior defensive end Dain Taylor recovered a Valparaiso fumble on the Crusaders' third play of the game to set up Drake's first touchdown.

The Bulldogs marched 42 yards in 10 plays capped off by a 16-yard touchdown run by Pat Cashmore with 6:46 left in the first quarter.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Cody Seeger, making his first college start, threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Steve Platek with 9:40 remaining in the second quarter to push Drake's lead to 14-6.

But Valparaiso scored two touchdowns within a 1 minute 17 second time frame to make things interesting in the fourth quarter.

Seeger lost a fumble to Valparaiso's Christopher Howard after being sacked for a six-yard loss at the Drake 22 yardline.

The Crusaders capitalized, needing just four plays to score when quarterback Nate Goergen threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Sean McCarty with 6:43 left in the game to pull Valparaiso within 21-19.

Drake drove the ball down field but Howard came up with another big play, tackling Tom Kostek for a five-yard loss on fourth-and-two at the Valparaiso 22 with 3:35 to play, giving the Crusaders one last chance.

Valparaiso moved the ball to its own 44-yard line, but an incomplete pass on fourth down ended the drive with just 1:49 to play and the Bulldogs ran out the clock.

“It is college football and my hat's off to Valparaiso,” Creighton added. “They definitely came to play. They have a young team, are well coached and fought hard, giving themselves a chance to win the game.”

“We played better and played harder today, but we didn't finish the game,” said Valparaiso head coach Dale Carlson. “We had the effort we've been looking for over four quarters.  However, there are no moral victories, just wins and losses.”

Fifth-year senior linebacker Ben Morrison led Drake with nine tackles, while sophomore linebacker Tyler Moorehead added eight tackles.

Creighton was also unhappy that Drake was called for nine penalties in the second half including a holding penalty that negated a 33-yard touchdown run by Trey Morse in the third quarter.

“If we don't commit those penalties we probably had a different offense in the second half,” Creighton said.

Cashmore rushed for a game-high 44 yards in 10 carries, while Kostek added 35 yards on the ground.

Freshman tight end Dan Hohenstein led Drake with five receptions for 30 yards.