DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University football team managed to hold on to the 30-28 victory over Morehead State on Saturday afternoon at Drake Stadium.
 
"Offensively and defensively we played together, fast and physical and that's Drake football. When we do that we are really good but when we don't we are average," said Drake head coach Rick Fox. "Josh Lee stepping up and making all those field goals was huge, because that was the difference in the game."
 
After the Bulldogs opened the game with a three-and-out, Morehead State wasted little time to get on the board as the Eagles posted a four-play 78-yard drive. MSU's Austin Gahafer found Joby Embrey for a 17-yard touchdown pass to put the Eagles up 7-0.
 
The Bulldogs answered with three consecutive offensive drives into the red zone, but had all three drives stall and were forced to field goal attempts. Senior Josh Lee drilled all three field goals to put Drake ahead 9-8 with 11:23 left in the opening half.
 
Following the touchdown on the first drive, Drake's defense went on to force the Eagles to punt on five-straight possessions.
 
On the fifth-punt by the Eagles, junior Terry Wallen found a seam and managed to beat the final man to score the 82-yard punt return, putting Drake ahead 16-8.
 
"I saw a hole that a bus could have driven through. My teammates set me up for that and all I had to beat is one guy," said Wallen.
 
The Bulldogs took the 16-8 lead into the locker room.
 
In the Drake's opening possession of the second-half, the Bulldogs put together an 11-play 66-yard touchdown drive to go ahead 23-8. Conley Wilkins helped lead the way as he recorded 37 of his 95 rushing yards on that drive. Junior Grant Kraemer capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run.
 
Kraemer then orchestrated an 11-play 66-yard scoring drive, which was capped off by a three-yard touchdown pass to Keegan Gallery, giving Drake a 30-8 lead with 2:29 left in the third quarter.  
 
The Eagles took advantage of a Bulldog mistake, when Gahafer completed a 34-yard touchdown pass to Jake Raymond, making it a 15-point game, 30-15, early in the fourth-quarter.
 
Morehead State then put together another touchdown drive to get within eight, 30-22 with 6:20 left in the game.
 
The Eagles got the ball back with 3:38 left in regulation and drove down to Drake's three-yard line. On fourth-and-one, Page Lawson found a hole to score, making it a two-point game, 30-28. With 1:08 left in the game, the Eagle went for two, but Gahafer's pass attempt failed.
 
Morehead State failed to convert the on-side kick as the Bulldogs were able to wind down the final ticks for the 30-28 victory.
 
Kraemer finished his day completing 22-of-40 passes for 284 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Kraemer's top target was fifth-year senior Eric Saubert, who hauled in eight passes for career-high 136 yards receiving.

Defensively, fifth-year senior Michael Roane led the team with eight tackles, including a sack. Senior Tony Petta registered seven tackles, while fifth-year senior Taylor Coleman recorded six stops.
 
The Bulldogs head to Dayton on Saturday, Oct. 1. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. CT.