DES MOINES, Iowa – Propelled by a second half shutout, the Drake football team rolled to a 52-21 victory over St. Thomas at Drake Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 14 to make a statement in Pioneer Football League play.
 
"I don't know if I have the words to express how proud I am of the team," head coach Todd Stepsis said. "It hasn't gone the way we wanted it to go a majority of the time over the past couple of years. Our team hasn't complained or wavered. What we did today is what we always believed we could do."
 
Within the first minute of the game's opening drive, Joey Lukrich was the only player in the vicinity and picked off the Tommie quarter Tak Tateoka. Taking over at its own 46-yard line, Drake (3-3, 3-0 in PFL play) took advantage of the takeaway moving the ball down to the two-yard line where Dorian Boyland rumbled into the end zone for the first score of the day.
 
The Tommies (4-3, 3-1) answered to even the score, 7-7 after one quarter and took a 13-7 lead at the 10:37 mark of the second quarter after a blocked punt set them in prime position at midfield.
 
Drake engineered a seven-play, 79-yard drive capped off by Luke Bailey's 14-yard pass to Mitchell January, who lunged forward for the touchdown and a 14-13 edge with 6:57 to play in the first half.
 
A couple of minutes later, Lucas Torgerson returned a blocked punt 17 yards for a touchdown and the two-point attempt was converted.
 
St. Thomas' 21-14 lead did not last long as Bailey connected with January down the near sideline for a 68-yard pitch and catch with 3:34 to go before halftime. The Bulldog defense stood up the Tommies to get the ball back with 1:06 remaining. The offense answered the call to knock on the door again. Shane Dunning drilled a 19-yard field goal attempt for a 24-21 advantage as the second quarter clock expired.
 
"Luke is a great quarterback," January said. "We've been doing that all week at practice. With our game plan, we knew those deep shots were going to be open and he (Bailey) kept firing it."
 
The home team opened the second half with an 11-play, 71-yard, 5:52 drive that concluded with Bailey flicking the ball to Eli Stewart from two yards away.
 
Following a three-and-out, Bailey chucked the ball 46-yard down the field off of a flea flicker to Hunter Johnson. After Johnson hauled it in, Bailey placed a perfect ball to Parker Olthoff in the right corner of the end zone. Olthoff made an athletic toe tapping touchdown catch for a 12-yard score and 38-31 lead with 6:55 left in the third quarter.
 
Tateoka left the game in the third and Amari Powell took over at quarterback for the Tommies. Powell was on the run and fumbled the ball at his own 19-yard line. Tony Graham II forced the fumble recovered by Linden Howe.
 
On the very next play, Bailey fluttered the ball over the middle to Olthoff again, this time for a 19-yard touchdown strike.
 
Finn Claypool was a menace in the backfield and earned his second strip sack of the season with Jake Shipla falling on the fumble at the Drake 35-yard line in the closing minutes of the third quarter. The Bulldogs led convincingly 45-21 after three quarters of play.
 
"Our defense has been firing on all cylinders for three weeks," Claypool said. "St. Thomas runs the ball all the time and they show on film that they are going to run it no matter what. That's the story of the defense today. We stopped the run, earned the right of them going to the pass and all things worked out. All three levels of the defense communicated really well. Everyone knows where they need to be. The secondary are the unsung heroes and play clean back there."
 
Drake turned another takeaway into points when Christian Galvan galloped up the middle into the end zone from 12 yards out early in the fourth quarter (11:57). The Bulldogs eclipsed the 50-point threshold widening the margin to 52-21, which became the final score.
 
Drake football sets its sights on the west coast with a visit to San Diego (4 p.m. CT kickoff) on Saturday, Oct. 21.
 
NOTES
- Drake snapped a 13-game PFL winning streak by St. Thomas.
- Drake's six-game PFL winning streak is now the longest active streak in the league. 
- The 52-point effort is the most points Drake has scored in a game since Sept. 15, 2018 in a 52-12 win against Missouri S&T.
- 52 points are also the most points scored by Drake in a conference game since a 52-7 victory over Jacksonville on Nov. 18, 2017.
- Luke Bailey threw for a career-high 411 yards and five touchdowns.
- Bailey's five touchdowns are the most touchdown passes thrown in a single game by a Drake player since Grant Kraemer tossed six touchdowns against Missouri S&T on Sept. 15, 2018.
- Bailey's 411 passing yards are the most yards thrown by a Drake quarterback since Grant Kraemer's 445-yard day on Sept. 23, 2017 against Valparaiso.
- Mitchell January caught two touchdown passes, his second-straight game with at least one score and 100+ receiving yards. He totaled a career-best nine receptions for a career-high 169 yards.
- January's 169 receiving yards are the most in a single game by a Drake player since Steven Doran went for 170 yards in a win over Campbell on Nov. 11, 2017.
- January's second TD was a 68-yard catch and run, surpassing last week's 57-yard connection for the longest of his career.
- Parker Olthoff caught a pair of touchdown passes for his first-career score and first-career multi-TD game.
- As a team, Drake forced three fumbles, the most since Valparaiso coughed it up three times on Sept. 25, 2021. 
- Finn Claypool made four tackles (all solo), notched two sacks, forced a fumble and recorded two quarterback hurries. 
- Collin Schremp recorded his first collegiate sack. 
- Drake outgained St. Thomas in total offensive yards, 553-183. 
- The stingy Drake defense limited St. Thomas to 55 rushing yards, its fewest of the season. 
- The Bulldog offensive line did not allow a sack all game. 
- The win over the Tommies was the first in program history. St. Thomas leads the all-time series, 2-1.