Saturday, April 23, 2011
DES MOINES, Iowa-The Drake football team held its annual Blue vs. White Scrimmage at Drake Stadium today, with the Blue team coming away with a 45-21 victory.
Led offensively by a core of experienced starters, the Blue team scored on its first possession after a 67-yard opening kickoff return by wide receiver Brett Seeger (Barrington, Ill.) staked the unit with good field position at the White 15-yard line.
Quarterback Mike Piatkowski (Wheaton, Ill.) connected with fellow senior-to-be Drew Blackmon (Florissant, Mo.) on the third play of the possession for a 15-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Piatkowski's unit converted its next possession into a 29-yard field goal by Billy Janssen (Round Lake Beach, Ill.). The Piatkowski-to-Blackmon connection returned on the third possession, as they hooked up for a 19-yard completion for a first down at the White 13-yard line. From there Piatkowski found Seeger on a 13-yard scoring pass to extend the lead.
"Things were opening up and we were clicking together offensively," Piatkowski said. "We've had a great spring and the O-line did great giving us some time to throw the ball."
Piatkowski completed 11 of 18 passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions.
"I thought Mike did well," said head coach Chris Creighton. "I'm pleased with the team overall, on both sides of the ball, and I really think we're getting better."
After missing a portion of last season because of concussions, Piatkowski showed he was back at full strength and free of any effects from the experience. He finished 2010 with 1,854 yards and 15 touchdowns on 58% passing, with just seven interceptions, and has used the time in the offseason to raise his overall understanding of the offense.
"Just from the meetings with Coach I feel like I'm picking things up and getting even more on the same page so we can call the plays we want," Piatkowski said. "In recent years the defense has been the one carrying us. Offensively, we've been getting kind of tired of that, so we wanted to put that responsibility on our backs."
His familiarity with Blackmon was evident on a number of plays throughout the game.
"I've been here since Drew's been here, so we've had some years working together," Piatkowski said. "We're on the same page, and staying here this summer we'll build more of a connection. He's like a security blanket out there."
"Overall I liked what I saw," Creighton summarized. "There were a number of guys on defense who played well too, but I'll need to look at the film to really pinpoint that better"
The game also provided an opportunity for Bulldogs fans to not only come out and support their team, but also to show support for the program's upcoming trip to Africa for the May 21 Global Kilimanjaro Bowl. The trip will include a number of service projects in and around Arusha, Tanzania, and fans in attendance today were able to make donations to help fund those projects and expand the impact the players and coaches will be able to make with people in need.
You can follow the team's preparation for the trip by visiting www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com, www.KiliBowl.com and the players' own blog at www.DrakeFootball.blogspot.com.
