DES MOINES, Iowa – Four turnovers proved to be too much for the Bulldogs, as the Drake University football team fell to Dayton, 20-10, Saturday at Drake Stadium.
"We didn't execute, make the plays when we needed to make and they did. Then we turned the ball over too much," said Drake head coach
Rick Fox. "They [Dayton] made some big plays especially coming out of the half offensively. And that was the difference in the game."
The Bulldogs managed to take a 3-0 lead near the end of the first-quarter after the drive stalled on Dayton's eight-yard line.
Danny Donley drilled a 25-yard field goal to put Drake on top.
The Bulldogs had a chance to extend their lead early in the second-quarter, but Drake came up empty when the Flyers blocked a 21-yard field goal attempt.
Then with less than two and a half minutes left in the opening half, Dayton's quarter back Alex Jeske, who made his first start of the season after missing the first five games of the season due to an injury, drove the Flyers down deep into Bulldog territory. Drake's defense held strong and limited the Flyers to a field goal to tie the score, 3-3, heading into the half.
"Defensively we just played lights out in the first half, it was a great half. And I know that's what Coach [Todd] Stepsis will be kicking himself about and just getting those two drives back. But really throughout the entire game I thought the defense played really really well," said Fox.
The Flyers opened the second-half with a five-play 75-yard touchdown drive to take a 10-3 lead.
Later in the third-quarter, Dayton took advantage of Drake's first turnover as Jeske completed a 29-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Skibinski to put the Flyers up 17-3.
Drake committed another turnover early in the fourth-quarter, but the Bulldog defense held strong and forced the Flyers to miss a field goal.
Drake's offense used the momentum from the defense's stop to put together a nine-play 80-yard scoring drive which was capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by
Grant Kraemer, cutting the Bulldog deficit to 17-10.
After the Bulldog defense managed to force the Flyers to another three-and-out, Drake's
Terry Wallen fumbled the punt return with Dayton recovering the loose ball on Drake's 24-yard line.
With the Flyers looking to go up two touchdowns, Drake's defense once again came up with another big red zone stop and held Dayton to another field goal as the Flyers extended their lead to 20-10 with just over five minutes left to play.
Dayton went on to record two interceptions in the final five minutes to seal the 20-10 victory.
Drake's defense limited the Flyers to 322 yards of total offense, while holding Dayton to 2-of-14 on third-down and 0-for-2 on fourth-down.
Connor Willis helped pace the Bulldogs with a game-high 14 tackles, while
Mike Maize recorded 10 stops including two for a loss.
Sean Lynch rounded out the Bulldogs' top tacklers with nine.
The Bulldogs rushed for a season-high 210 yards, led by senior
Brock Reichardt with 96 yards on 22 carries.
Tyler Updegraff ran for 52 yards on 11 touches, while Kraemer registered 62 yards.
Kraemer, who led the Pioneer Football League in passing heading into the game, went on to only complete 12-of-40 passes for 188 yards and four interceptions.
Drake heads into its bye week with a 3-3 overall record and a 2-1 PFL mark.
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Marist. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. EST.
