The Drake University football team returns to Drake Stadium to open up Pioneer Football League action on Saturday against visiting Stetson at 1 p.m.
The Bulldogs' coaches will participate in Coach to Cure MD by wearing a Coach to Cure MD patch on the sidelines during the contest. More than 500 college football programs and 10,000 coaches participated in 2014. The program has raised more than $1 million over the past five years.. Coach to Cure MD is a national game-day charity project, which is supported by the American Football Coaches Association. The program raises awareness and money to fund research for the most common fatal childhood genetic disorder, Duchenne ("doo-shin") muscular dystrophy.
Saturday's contest will be the second all-time meeting between Drake and Stetson. The Bulldogs and the Hatters met for the first time in the 2014 season finale with Drake coming away with a 27-15 victory.
Drake went 1-2 in non-conference action while Stetson is coming off a bye week with a 1-1 record. Drake has enjoyed tremendous success at home, going 36-7 at Drake Stadium over the past eight seasons and an even more impressive 24-3 in home PFL games, including a 19-game home PFL win streak that spanned from Nov. 14, 2009 to Nov. 1, 2014. The Bulldogs have won four of their last five conference openers.
Drake opened the season with a win over William Jewell, followed by losses at North Dakota and South Dakota. The Hatters started the year with a win over Webber International and then fell to Mercer on Sept. 12.
Drake's offense is led by junior running back Conley Wilkins, who has scored 24 of Drake's 62 points this season and rushed for 205 yards. Defensively, John Hugunin leads the team with 21 tackles (16 solo), 4.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks and four forced fumbles.
The Hatters were picked sixth in the preseason PFL poll and are led by safety Donald Payne, who was named to the 2015 STATS FCS Preseason All-America Team. Payne was the FCS tackles leader last year and has recorded 23 stops this season. Stetson's offense is led by junior quarterback Ryan Tentler, who has thrown for 388 yards with three interceptions and two touchdowns and has completed nearly 64 percent (30-of-47) of his pass attempts.
