GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The Drake University football team dropped its 2019 season opener at North Dakota, 47-7, on Saturday, Aug. 31 evening at the Alerus Center.
 
Drake (0-1) was led by redshirt senior halfback Drew Lauer who rushed for 73 yards on 21 carries. Freshman quarterback Ian Corwin tossed his first career touchdown, hitting redshirt senior tight end Devin Cates for a 10-yard strike in the third quarter.
 
Cates, who moved from wide receiver to tight end in his final season, finished with two receptions and a team-high 19 yards. In his first career start, Corwin finished with 55 yards going 8-for-20 with one touchdown and one interception.
 
"The score and the outcome wasn't what we wanted or was the effort at times, but it's never as good or as bad when have you chance to watch the tape, said Drake head coach Todd Stepsis. "There were some positives today and we'll move forward going into next week. We can't change the outcome, but we will get back to work at practice and work to do better next week."
 
North Dakota (1-0) broke open a close 12-0 game at halftime with a 21-point third quarter. The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard at 33-7 after Corwin hit Cates deep in the end zone, capping a 65-yard drive that lasted 3:14 and consisted of eight plays. The Fighting Hawks answered the Bulldogs' touchdown with their own on the ensuing drive and added one more touchdown late.
 
North Dakota built an early 10-0 first-quarter lead with back-to-back scoring drives. The Fighting Hawks forced the Bulldogs to go three and out on the opening drive of the game, and moved 48 yards down the field before Brady Leach connected on a 37-yard field goal. After another three and out, North Dakota closed a 53-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown catch by Noah Wanzek from Nate Ketteringham to lead 10-0.
 
The Fighting Hawks added two points on a safety early in the second quarter. Drake punter Ross Kennedy misplayed the snap in his end zone and the football sailed out of the end zone for two points and a 12-0 lead.
 
Drake had its best drive of the opening half late in the second quarter. The Bulldogs pushed the football into the Fighting Hawks' territory helped by several strong runs by Lauer and a timely first down catch by senior wide receiver Steve Doran's on his first reception of the game. However, the drive and the half ended when Corwin was sacked with Bulldogs out of timeouts.
 
In the first two quarters, Lauer paced the Bulldogs' offense with 53 yards on 17 carries. Corwin completed 3-of-7 passes for 18 yards and was sacked three times. Doran, Lauer and Cates each had one reception in the first two quarters. Overall, Doran joined Cates as the only Bulldogs with two catches and he finished with 16 yards.
 
North Dakota backup quarterback Andrew Zimmerman replaced an injured Ketteringham early in the third quarter. Zimmerman finished 7-of-9 with 132 yards and two touchdowns. Ketteringham passed for 152 yards and one touchdown. Wanzek finished with a team-leading 86 receiving yards and one touchdown.
 
Drake hosts Truman State Saturday, Sept. 7 for its home opener presented by Unity Point Clinic at Drake Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Drake and USA Football will host a free youth clinic the afternoon before the opener. To sign up and register click here.