SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Drake football team needed to have a Hail Mary answered and it was on the final play of the game in a walk-off 25-20 win over San Diego at Torero Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 21. The Bulldogs won in San Diego for the first time since Oct. 17, 2009.
 
"I'm really proud to be a part of this team," head coach Todd Stepsis said. "It's only fitting to end the streak on the final play."
 
The Bulldogs (4-3, 4-0 in Pioneer Football League play) engineered a 12-play, 70-yard drive on their second possession of the game aided by two acrobatic catches by Zack Gray totaling 52 yards. Shane Dunning capped off the drive with a 27-yard field goal.
 
Up 3-0 at the end of the first quarter, Drake was on the move again. A marathon 17-play, 59-yard drive concluded with Dunning connecting on a 26-yarder for a 6-0 advantage at the 12:59 mark of the second quarter.
 
Drake's defense suffocated the run and pass of the Toreros in the first half. San Diego's defense scored its first touchdown of the game on an 83-yard interception return by Nick Murray with 8:55 left in the opening half.
 
A 30-yard screen pass to Taj Hughes shifted Drake into San Diego territory as the Bulldogs regained the lead after Shane Dunning's career-long 50-yard field goal with 2:35 to go in the first half. The Bulldogs took a 9-7 lead into the halftime break.
 
Dunning repeated his feat from earlier and buried another 50-yard field goal to lift the Bulldogs ahead 12-10 with 6:53 to play in the third quarter.
 
Four minutes later, Luke Bailey laced a spot-on pass to Mitchell January for a 49-yard score and 19-10 lead before the end of the third quarter.
 
The Toreros (1-6, 1-3) did not go down easily after a 50-yard field goal by Ayden Lehman kept them within striking distance behind 19-13. San Diego got the ball back aiming for a go-ahead score with 3:06 remaining in regulation. A 57-yard pass to Ja'seem Reed set the Toreros up at the Drake nine-yard line. The Bulldog defense battled to force fourth down-and-one. Isaiah Williams squeaked into the end zone on a one-yard plunge. After Lehman's extra point, USD grabbed a 20-19 lead.
 
The Bulldogs were out of timeouts and only had 42 seconds to dial up a game-winning score. Drake's offense executed every play to perfection working the ball down to the 38-yard line. With only two seconds left, Bailey heaved the ball to the left side of the end zone. Trey Radocha ripped the ball away from the defender in front of him to land with the ball and the victory, 25-20 to snap a 10-game losing streak to San Diego in the most dramatic way.
 
"Every week we practice this," Stepsis said. "There was no panic or sense of doubt on the sideline. We knew the situation and knew we had to get behind the sticks and out of bounds. The plan was to get into field goal range, but we needed another 10 yards. Luke (Bailey) is a great athlete and elusive as he stretched the play out."
 
Drake football returns home to Drake Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 28 for a home kickoff against Stetson.
 
NOTES
- Drake snapped a 10-game losing streak to San Diego that dated back to Oct. 8, 2012.
- The Bulldogs won in San Diego for the first time since Oct. 17, 2009.
- Drake is 4-0 to start PFL play for the first time since 2019.
- Shane Dunning made his career-long of 50 yards twice and contributed 12 points.
- Dunning became the first Drake kicker to make a field goal of 50 yards or longer since Ben Tesson (52 yards) on Sept. 21, 2013.
- Dunning is the first Drake kicker to make four field goals in a game since Luke Williams on Sept. 24, 2022 against Marist.
- Tom Shefte recorded his first two sacks of the season.
- Mitchell January has scored a touchdown of 49 yards or longer in three consecutive games.
- San Diego only had one play in Drake territory the entire first half.
- The Toreros lead the all-time series, 20-11.