Drake (9-2, 7-1 PFL) claimed at least as share of the PFL championship today with a 37-14 defeat of Dayton at Drake Stadium. Quarterback Mike Piatkowski (Wheaton, Ill.) threw four touchdown passes and the defense intercepted four passes in limiting the Flyers to 234 total offensive yards.
"You dream and you hope and you work hard," said head coach Chris Creighton. "I believe that a team has to become special in order to win a championship, and I think this team became special, I really do. I think that programs and teams that win championships year in and year out are special programs and that will be our goal from here on out, to be a special team."
It was Drake's first win over Dayton since 2006, and the first in Des Moines over the Flyers since 1995. The 37 points were the most scored by the Bulldogs in a game against Dayton.
Piatkowski shook off two early interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown to give Dayton an early 7-0 lead. Two of Piatkowski's touchdowns went to senior Drew Blackmon (Florissant, Mo.) playing in his final game as a Bulldog. The first one covered 39 yards in the first quarter, and the second was a 4-yard toss in the third quarter to give Drake a 23-7 lead.
"It's a great feeling," said Piatkowski. "We've spent the past four years waiting for it really. It's just awesome. We've been down before and always battled back. We never put our heads down. We always know we can pull through, so no one was down today."
Piatkowski, who has one year of eligibility remaining, finished the year with 25 touchdown passes, second-most in a season by a Drake quarterback, trailing only the 32-touchdown performance of Ira Vandever in 2002.
Blackmon finished the season with a career-high six receiving touchdowns, and 13 for his career.
The Drake defense put forth a tremendous effort, with linebacker Tyler Moorehead (Mason City, Iowa) adding three sacks to the four interceptions by the team. The Bulldogs forced Dayton into six three-and-outs and allowed only two drives longer than 48 yards on the day.
Running back Patrick Cashmore (Kansas City, Mo.) led all players with 75 yards on 19 carries (3.9) and scored on a 2-yard run with 8:53 to play in the second quarter to give Drake its first lead of the day at 13-7.
"It took a complete team effort, dominating the game, and the thing is that we did it together," Cashmore said. "Being with the fifth-year seniors I think I'll remember it forever. I kissed (the trophy). Someone had a vision of me doing it so I had to fulfill the vision. It felt good. It felt like those four and a half years really paid off (with) everything. I knew we were going to be able to do it, I just didn't know when and it was all worth it after I lifted it up and kissed that baby. It's where it belongs here in Des Moines."
Fifth-year senior kicker Billy Janssen (Round Lake Beach, Ill.) added a 32-yard field goal just before halftime to give the Bulldogs a 16-7 lead at intermission.
After Blackmon's second touchdown with 9:45 to play in the third quarter gave Drake a 23-7 lead, Dayton answered with a 6-yard scoring pass from Zach Splain to Luke Bellman to narrow the Bulldogs' lead to 23-14.
Piatkowski responded by throwing his second scoring pass of the period to Nick Rosa (Owasso, Okla.), who did a magnificent job of getting one foot inside the pylon while leaping high in the corner of the end zone for a 30-14 Drake lead.
Piatkowski's final touchdown pass came on a 6-yard toss to Kevin Marshall to provide the final score of 37-14.
The Bulldogs outgained the Flyers 389-234 in total yards, including a 285-120 advantage through the air. Drake had 20 first downs to Dayton's 11, and maintained a 32:36-27:24 time-of-possession advantage. The Bulldogs' stifling defense limited the Flyers to just 1-of-11 on third-down conversions.
"It's awesome," said fifth-year senior and team captain Michael Lahart (Chariton, Iowa). "I couldn't have written a better script. To go over (to Africa in May), play a game, that really laid the groundwork for this entire season. This team has been our arch nemesis for the past four years. We hadn't beaten them yet. To win on our home field, to win a championship is great, but to have it come against Dayton, such a good football team makes it that much sweeter."
Lahart also reflected on the journey of fellow team leaders and fifth-year senior with whom he has experienced a great deal at Drake.
"Being a single captain was a great honor, but I couldn't have done it without this entire group of fifth-year seniors," Lahart said. "It was really a team effort. Jim Nelson, Stoy Hall, Pat Cashmore, Steve Flynn, in specific, were just amazing. There are a lot of thing that I'm not as good at as they are and they really stepped it up and took the team on their shoulders, as well, so it was a real team effort."
Drake's 9-2 record is the best by a Bulldogs team since 2006 (9-2), and improved the home record under to 20-3 since taking over in 2008.Chris Creighton
It was the 10th straight home win for the Bulldogs, the longest at Drake since 1995-97 when the team also won 10 in a row, part of a span of 14 games without a loss that began in 1994 (13-0-1).
Today's win was the first by Drake over Dayton in Des Moines since a 34-23 defeat of the Flyers in 1995, a span of seven straight games. It also was the final game in a Drake uniform for 19 student-athletes: WR Drew Blackmon, RB Patrick Cashmore, S Nick Chenier, OL Dan Clinton, CB Lyndon Crawford, OL Stephen Flynn, LB Jeff Grovak, LB Stoy Hall, P/K Billy Janssen, OL Andrew Keller, CB Michael Lahart, OL Evan Lawrence, DL Zach Lozier, LB Jim Nelson, RB Nathan Paddock, TE Ben Sabal, DE Robby Unger, C Chris Wilson and DE David Witkiewicz.
Paul Morrison served as honorary coach for the contest, the 678th Drake football game in the life of the 94-year old Drake Athletics historian and legendary figure at the school.
San Diego (8-2, 6-1 PFL) and Jacksonville (7-3, 6-1 PFL) play next Saturday in San Diego. The winner will share the Pioneer Football League title with Drake. The Bulldogs defeated Jacksonville Nov. 5 in Des Moines, and lost at San Diego on Oct. 15.
