DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University football cruised past Jacksonville, 52-7, in the season finale Saturday afternoon at Drake Stadium, sending the Bulldogs' 16 seniors out on a high note.
 
"Our guys love each other and love playing together. You saw that one last time today. It was in the Fieldhouse pregame, on the sidelines, on the field and in the huddle after the game. It was an absolute blast to coach this team this year and I am so proud of this team," said Drake head coach Rick Fox. "The theme this season was "Build the House". The seniors wanted to leave a legacy that would live on. Even though we didn't get the conference championship like we wanted, they built a great house and the Drake teams in the future are going to take advantage of that. They have left such a great legacy for us."
 
For the second-straight week, quarterback Grant Kraemer was extremely efficient as he completed 15-of-18 pass for 268 yards and four touchdowns.
 
Kraemer's top target was senior tight end Connor Ostrander, who recorded a career-best 102 yards receiving on six catches and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Steven Doran registered his third-straight 100-plus yard receiving game with 104 yards and two touchdowns.
 
"The offensive line played so well today. Ryan (Lemke) and Payson (Wick) did such great job mentoring and leading the group. Grant led the offense so well today and all our playmakers, at receiver, the running backs and in every other area, they all stepped up," said Fox.
 
Senior Brock Reichardt paced the ground game with 82 yards rushing on nine carries and a touchdown.
 
Defensively, Sean Lynch and Connor Willis helped set the tone for the Bulldogs as they each tallied 11 tackles. Fifth-year senior Mike Maize matched a season-best 10 tackles. Drake held Jacksonville, who entered the game averaging 420 yards of total offense per game, to just 308 yards of total offense.
 
The Bulldogs got out to their best start of the season as they scored on their first three drives of the game. On the fourth-play of Drake's first drive, Reichardt busted off a 39-yard touchdown run to score the first points of the game. Kraemer then connected with Doran for a 49-yard and 55-yard touchdown pass, respectively to put Drake up 21-0.
 
The Dolphins took advantage of a Bulldog turnover to cut their deficit to 21-7 when Rylan Wells capped off the 12-play, 70-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run.
 
Drake came right back and answered with nine-play, 85-yard scoring drive, topped by a 13-yard touchdown catch by Connor Ostrander, to go back up three scores, 28-7.
 
On the ensuing kickoff, Danny Donley popped the ball over the first line of Dolphins as Collin Seymour recovered the loose ball giving the Bulldogs excellent field position.
 
Drake made quick work of the great field position as Kraemer completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Ostrander to give a 35-7 lead at the half.
 
In the second-half the Bulldogs kept rolling as the defense limited the Dolphins to 117 yards of total offense in the final 30 minutes. Offensively, Drake extended its lead in the third-quarter, 45-7, with a six-yard touchdown run by Alex Bonds, his first career touchdown and a career-long 48-yard field goal by Donley.
 
The Bulldogs added one final touchdown late in the fourth-quarter by Tyler Updegraff for a final score of 52-7.
 
Drake ends the 2017 season with a 7-4 overall record and finishes in second in the PFL with a 6-2 mark.