DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake football team moved the ball effectively on the ground and created five takeaways in a 33-7 win over Stetson at Drake Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 28, for its eighth consecutive Pioneer Football League victory and first 5-0 PFL start since 2012.
 
"Great second half," head coach Todd Stepsis said. "We wanted to have a great first half in a weather game like this, but you have to give Stetson a lot of credit. They played hard and did some nice things on offense. Our guys know that we will get everybody's best shot with the position we're in right now."
 
The Bulldogs (5-3, 5-0) kept feeding the ball to Dorian Boyland on their first drive of the game. Boyland accumulated 48 yards on the ground on Drake's opening drive before Shane Dunning knocked through a 29-yard field goal less than five minutes into the contest.
 
In the middle of the first quarter, Stetson (3-5, 1-4) sustained a drive that ended at the Drake 25-yard line when Tyler Radocha laid down a big hit on Hatter quarterback Matt O'Connor for a turnover on downs setting up the start of the second quarter with Drake leading 3-0.
 
A 63-yard pass to Gabe Atkin set the Hatters up at the Drake 1-yard line. All season long, the Bulldog defense has not gone down quietly. It took Stetson four plays to punch it in from one yard out with Kaleb Costner with 10:04 to play in the second quarter.
 
Boyland and Christian Galvan carved up the Stetson defense to 12-yard line again when Dunning converted another 29-yard field goal trimming the deficit to 7-6 at the 3:41 mark.
 
The Bulldogs had one more score in them before halftime thanks to a strip sack by Finn Claypool as Jake Shipla covered the ball setting up Drake at the visitor's 22-yard line. Three straight handoffs to Boyland did the trick resulting in a four-yard touchdown run and a 13-7 advantage at halftime.
 
Drake continued to pound the rock to begin the third quarter. 12 consecutive run plays to Boyland or Galvan set up a seven-yard scamper by Boyland while the clock drained to 7:51 in the third quarter.
 
With a little over four minutes left in the third quarter, CJ Grisar knocked the ball loose from Coster and J.R. Flood jumped on it for another takeaway, this time at the Drake 34-yard line. The Bulldogs controlled a 20-7 lead after three quarters of play.
 
A Stetson three-and-out early on in the fourth quarter set up fantastic field position for Drake at the opponent's 26-yard line following a 14-yard return by Deyon Campbell. Seven plays later, Boyland plunged in from up close at the goal line for his third score of the ballgame and a 26-7 lead.
 
"The offensive line, tight ends and fullbacks all created a lot of creases," Boyland said. "Coming into the week, we knew we could run the ball well if we executed."
 
Sebastian Adamski read the pass play from Matt O'Connor beautifully for his second career interception and first of the season with 8:42 remaining. A turnover on downs by the Hatters at the 22-yard line opened another scoring opportunity for Drake with 5:31 still ticking. Christian Galvan found pay dirt plowing up the middle from one yard away for his second career touchdown and a commanding 33-7 advantage.
 
30 unanswered points helped Drake cruise past Stetson for a resounding 33-7 home victory.
 
"Let's continue to prove everybody wrong," Stepsis said. "That's an unbelievable motivator. We have a great group that never stopped believing and working. Seeing smiles on everybody's faces after these wins is one of the many things that make coaching a great profession."
 
Drake football will travel next to Marist on Saturday, Nov. 4 for an 11 a.m. (CT) kickoff.
 
NOTES
- Drake has won eight consecutive PFL games, a streak that began at Stetson on Oct. 29, 2022.
- The Bulldogs are 5-0 in PFL play for the first time since 2012.
- Dorian Boyland became the first Bulldog to score three rushing touchdowns since Conley Wilkins against William Jewell on Sept. 5, 2015.
- Today marked the first time since No. 10, 2006 (Scott Phaydavong – 216 yards, Willie Cashmore – 101 yards) that Drake had two players rush for over 100 yards in the same game.
- Boyland logged his third career 100+ yard rushing game with a career-best 170 yards on 29 carries to pair with a career-best three rushing touchdowns in one game.
- Galvan's 115 rushing yards are a career-high.
- Drake totaled 390 yards of offense (293 rushing yards).
- Shane Dunning has made 10 consecutive field goal attempts.
- Finn Claypool has recorded six sacks this season, three of which are strip sacks.
- Tyler Radocha registered a career-high eight tackles.
- Luke Bailey had his first-ever three interception game today.
- Drake has not allowed a sack in three straight games.
- As a defense, the Bulldogs forced (and recovered) a season-high four fumbles along with a season-high five takeaways.
- The Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 5-1.