DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University football team scored 28 straight points to beat McKendree, 28-16, earning the Bulldogs first win of the season on Saturday afternoon at Drake Stadium.
 
"It's always fun to get a win especially the first win of the year. We didn't come out and play the way we need to play, but I was really proud of how our guys responded after the first-quarter and then started to play Drake football," said Drake head coach Rick Fox.
 
The first quarter was all McKendree, as the Bearcats struck first. On fourth down, freshman quarterback Brandon Wildman found an open seem for a 39-yard touchdown run.
 
Three plays later, Grant Kraemer's pass was deflected and intercepted by Jabaree Winston, who returned it the Drake's 13-yard line.
 
The Bulldogs managed to get a three-and-out to force the Bearcats to attempt a field goal. McKendree's Steven O'Block made the 29-yard field goal to put the Bearcats up 10-0 with 9:25 left in the opening quarter.
 
After being out gained in the first quarter by over 100 yards, the Bulldog offense finally came alive in the second quarter. Sophomore Drew Lauer kick started the offense with two first down runs to get the offense moving. Lauer went on to lead all rushers with 76 yards on 12 carries.
 
Kraemer then went on to complete five of his next six pass attempts to help put the Bulldogs in the red-zone. Conley Wilkins capped off the 15-play 77-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown run.
 
The Bulldogs kept the momentum going on their next drive as Kraemer completed two passes to Connor Ostrander for over 25 yards each, putting Drake in the red-zone. After a five-yard run by Wilkins, Kraemer connected with Andrew Yarwood for a 5-yard touchdown pass to put the Bulldogs ahead 14-10 with less than a minute left in the opening half.
 
Drake's defense continued its outstanding play into the third-quarter and held McKendree scoreless and limited them to just 60 yards of total offense.
 
With just over six minutes left in the third-period, Kraemer orchestrated a nine-play 58-yard touchdown drive, which was topped off by a three-yard touchdown pass to Grant Menard, extending Drake's lead to 21-10.
 
On Drake's next drive, the Bulldogs went on to score their 28th straight point when Eric Saubert made a spectacular 17-yard touchdown catch from Kraemer in the final seconds of the third-quarter.
 
The Bearcats went on to score a touchdown but failed to convert the two-point conversion early in the fourth-quarter to make it 28-16.

The Bulldog defense came up with two stops to allow the offense to wind down the clock for the final score of 28-16.
 
Kraemer ended his day with 241 yards passing, three touchdowns and completed 24-of-42 passes. Kraemer's top target was Keegan Gallery, who recorded six receptions for 54 yards.
 
Defensively, fifth-year senior Taylor Coleman tallied a team-best eight tackles. Sophomore Erin Morgan registered five tackles and recorded his first-career sack and interception.
 
The Bulldogs return to Drake Stadium on Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. when they host Morehead State in their annual homecoming game.