JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Four second-half turnovers by the Drake University football team held the Bulldogs in check as they fell at Pioneer Football League leader Jacksonville, 29-14.
The two teams played a relatively even statistical game with Jacksonville (4-1, 3-0 PFL) gaining 451 yards to Drake's (2-3, 1-1 PFL) 416 yards, however the four-straight third quarter turnovers gave the Dolphins a definite advantage on their home turf.
“The second half, we moved the ball really well but we had four series in a row that we turned the ball over,” said Drake head coach Rick Fox. “You do that against a team like Jacksonville and it's going to be really tough. But we still had opportunities to tie the game or win late and just didn't execute in those situations.”
Drake's defense, and especially the defensive line, continued its strong play with seven tackles for loss and three sacks. Matt Acree (Shawnee, Kan.) led the unit with five tackles and two sacks. Bob Quilico, Jr. (Schaumburg, Ill.) recorded eight tackles and broke up four passes from his safety position.
“Our defense played great,” Fox said. “Jacksonville broke some big plays, but play in and play out, our defense played really well today. That's a good offense we played.”
Offensively, the Bulldogs were paced by Eric Saubert's (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) 79 yards receiving with a touchdown before he was sidelined with an injury in the third quarter. Conley Wilkins (Overland Park, Kan.) racked up 57 rushing yards with a touchdown in the fourth quarter as Drake rushed for 152 yards and passed for 264.
“I felt like today our offense started to be the offense we wanted it to be outside of the turnovers,” Fox said. “We just have to finish things off.”
The Dolphins were paced by Ulysses Bryant's 140 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns while quarterback Kade Bell completed 17 of his 34 passes for 275 yards and a touchdown.
Drake broke its trend of slow starts by scoring first on a 5-yard toss from Andy Rice (Stevens Point, Wis.) to Saubert with 6:26 left in the second quarter. The score capped a lengthy 13-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 5:56.
However, Drake was not able to keep that advantage going into halftime as the Dolphins added a pair of scores to lead 10-7 at intermission. The first score was a 2-yard touchdown run from Bryant after a penalty and out-of-bounds kickoff set Jacksonville up with prime field position. The Bulldogs attempted to run a 2-minute drill with to end the half put were stopped on three-straight incomplete passes before punting the ball back to Jacksonville with 1:58 left in the half. Five plays later, JU kicker Brandon Behr belted a 50-yard field goal through the uprights to give Jacksonville a lead it would not surrender.
Drake received the ball to start the third quarter and a 42-yard completion to Saubert quickly put the Bulldogs in Jacksonville territory before the Dolphins' Jaree Crenshaw picked off a pass at the Dolphin 39-yard line and returned it 16 yards. Two plays later JU quarterback Kade Bell found D'Andre Randle for a 43-yard touchdown. The PAT attempt was no good.
The Bulldogs' next possession again saw a Saubert reception move the ball into JU territory before the Dolphins picked off Rice with Armani Sampson doing the honors this time to end a promising Drake drive. The Bulldogs moved the ball 68 yards on their next drive prior to Grady Redding's interception that squashed it on the Dolphins' 23-yard line. Just before the close of the third quarter Drake marched down to the JU 8-yard line but were again stopped by a turnover, this time a fumble that was recovered on the JU 10-yard line.
Jacksonville capitalized on that turnover by marching 90 yards in five plays with Bell scrambling into the endzone from 13-yards out to make the score 22-7 with Acree blocking the PAT attempt.
Undeterred, Drake fought back and pulled within a score with 8:52 left in the game as Wilkins darted five yards and stretched to break the plane to trim JU's lead to 22-14 after a 4-play, 67-yard drive.
“One of the greatest strength of our football team is they keep fighting,” Fox said. “There was never a quit or guys hanging their head. That's our greatest strength as a football team.”
However, two drives later, Jacksonville delivered a dagger with Bryant turning a third-and-inches situation into a 59-yard touchdown scramble to account for the final 29-14 tally.
The Bulldogs return home for their next contest, a 1 p.m. kickoff against Davidson on Oct. 11 in Drake Stadium. The squad will be eager to return to its home turf where it has won 17-straight conference games.
