DES MOINES, Iowa – Seniors delivered the key plays as the Drake football team held off red-hot Butler in a 27-24 Senior Day win at Drake Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 12. Drake (2-8, 2-5) has won back-to-back games while the loss snapped Butler's (7-3, 5-2) five-game winning streak. 
 
"This was the last game for our seniors," head coach Todd Stepsis said. "They will always remember this. Seeing those older guys continue to grind it out and hammer away was special. This season, our team never blinked and never wavered. Win or lose, they have always given their best."
 
The Drake defense forced Butler to line up for a punt on the opening drive, but Nick Cagnetto jumped offsides to keep the drive alive. The penalty eventually led to a 23-yard touchdown pass from Bret Bushka to Johnny O'Shea over the middle with 9:44 left on the clock. 
 
On offense, Drake was up to the challenge. On its first drive of the game, the home team utilized a sliding 17-yard catch by Hunter Johnson and a tough 35-yard run by Dorian Boyland to move into Butler territory. A few plays later (7:44 left in first quarter), Luke Williams drilled a 31-yard field goal to get DU on the board. 
 
A bad snap proved costly for Butler when it was recovered by Finn Claypool at the nine-yard line. Drake ran two plays to collect nine yards capped off by a 3-yard touchdown run from Boyland. 
 
Now up 10-7 with 6:19 remaining in the opening quarter, the Drake defense maintained momentum with a quick stop. After navigating the ball to the 31-yard line, Davion Cherwin found the corner and scampered into the end zone for a 17-7 advantage with 1:22 left in the first quarter. 
 
Butler went backwards on its first drive of the second quarter when Claypool notched his team-best sixth sack of the season to set the visitors back on third down before a punt. 
 
Sticking to its game plan through the air, Butler trimmed the deficit to 17-14 following a 29-yard touchdown pass in the right corner of the end zone from Bret Bushka to Luke Wooten at the 7:29 mark of the second quarter. 
 
Drake regained momentum right before halftime. Luke Bailey chucked a perfect 41-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline to Colin Howard with only three seconds on the clock until the break. 
 
Down 24-14, Butler wasted little time to get back onto the scoreboard in the third quarter. The visitors only needed four plays and 1:16 for a 42-yard drive finished by a 32-yard pass over the middle from Bushka to Adams. 
 
The third quarter was full of turnovers including a pair of interceptions thrown by Bailey and forced fumble by Claypool scooped up by Jake Shipla. 
 
Williams attempted a 46-yard field goal near the beginning of the fourth quarter (14:21 left) that came up short. Both Bulldog defenses started to buckle down.
 
The score remained 24-21 until the 4:52 mark of the fourth once Butler drained 7:05 off the clock over 14 plays and 51 yards resulting in a 33-yard field goal by Luka Zurak. 
 
Butler got the ball back with 2:53 left in the game. With under a minute to go, Bushka floated a pass that was picked off by Tanner Pollock. Drake had 43 seconds to work with for a game-winning drive beginning at the Butler 38-yard line.
 
A clutch pass from Bailey to Trey Radocha down the near sideline set up first and goal at the five-yard line. With 12 seconds remaining, Drake elected to take a timeout and attempt the go-ahead 22-yard field goal. After back-to-back Butler timeouts, the stage was set was Williams, who buried the field goal to help Drake regain the lead with only eight seconds left ticking. 
 
"We needed somebody to make a play in the second half," Stepsis said. "Luke made a great throw to Trey. I'm so proud of the team. When Butler tied the game, our guys didn't crumble."
 
Butler ran two pass plays including the final one that intercepted along the sideline by Ander Johnson to seal the 27-24 Senior Day victory. 
 
Drake football will conclude the 2022 season with a noon kickoff at Valparaiso on Saturday, Nov. 19.  
 
NOTES

• Nick Cagnetto, Nathan De Bruin, Zach Drummond, Joe Coit, Jack Ierulli, Andrew Stafford, Sean Cooney, Kieran Kohorst, Matt Hartlieb, Danny Morales, Luke Williams, Evan Maples, Ander Johnson and Ryan Kriceri were honored in a pregame ceremony. 
• Drake led at halftime for the first time this season. 
• 24 points in one half is the most points scored in a half by Drake since the first half on Sept. 2, 2021, against West Virginia Wesleyan (35 points).
• Finn Claypool stuffed the stat sheet with seven tackles (five solo), one sack and one forced fumble.
• In his sixth year at Drake, Ryan Kriceri totaled 14 tackles (nine solo) and 1.5 tackles for loss. 
• Tanner Pollock led tacklers with 15 (10 solo) and made an interception.
• Ander Johnson made 11 tackles (seven solo) and the closing interception in his final game at Drake Stadium. 
• Dorian Boyland rushed for 99 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown. 
• The Drake defense forced four takeaways (most in a single game this season). 
• Drake football has won back-to-back games for the first time since 2019, when the Bulldogs won four games in a row from Sept. 28-Oct. 26 of that year.
• Drake has won seven consecutive games against Butler dating back to 2016. 
• Butler's five game win streak this season was snapped.
• Drake leads the all-time series, 23-8-1.