MOREHEAD, Ky. – The defense stood up to the test and delivered several key stops in the second half to seal a 16-9 win over Morehead State at Jayne Stadium to open Pioneer Football League play on Saturday, Sept. 30.
 
"I loved the energy our guys played with from start to finish," head coach Todd Stepsis said. "What a tremendous effort by our defense to get stop-after-stop. It's always important to learn lessons in a win."
 
It didn't take long for the Bulldogs to get on the board first. On the opening drive, Dorian Boyland carried the ball on the second play from scrimmage and found the edge sprinting down the left sideline. Boyland took the ball 64 yards into the end zone as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-0 edge less than a minute into the game.
 
Halfway into the first quarter, Morehead State (1-3, 0-2 in PFL) moved into Drake (1-3, 1-0) territory at the 34-yard line when Caleb Bowling came in unblocked to sack Carter Cravens on third down to force a punt with 7:27 to go in the opening frame.
 
The Bulldogs led 7-0 after one quarter while they were putting together a 17-play, 96-yard drive that lasted 11:12. The sustained drive was almost halted at the Morehead State 32-yard line, but Luke Bailey moved the chains on a 14-yard pass to Trey Radocha on 4^th-and-13. Six plays later, Bailey rolled to his right and fired the ball to the right corner of the end zone. Zack Gray got his hands on it, but the ball deflected to Trey Radocha, who was in the right place at the right time for the score and a 13-0 advantage (blocked PAT) with 10:31 to play in the second quarter.
 
Another timely sack ended a Morehead State drive at the 7:40 mark of the second quarter. Trystan Anderson and Nolan Korzeniowski teamed up to corral Cravens on third down again forcing another punt.
 
Morehead State got the ball back late in the second quarter focused on scoring before halftime. The Drake defense held strong at the eight-yard line as the Eagles lined up for a 25-yard field goal attempt with time running out in the first half. The attempt missed wide right, but a roughing-the-kicker penalty allowed Morehead State to go for it from the four-yard line instead. The Eagles took advantage on a four-yard touchdown pass on a screen from Cravens to Ryan Upp.
 
Five minutes into the third quarter, Drake did not convert on fourth down at two near midfield due to an illegal touching, so the Eagles took over at their own 48-yard line and turned the turnover on downs into points with a 27-yard field goal by Thomas Schwartz. After three quarters of play, the Bulldogs clung onto a 13-9 lead.
 
After a promising Drake drive stalled out at the 30-yard line, the Eagles went back to work with 5:32 left in regulation. Three plays into the Morehead State drive, Cravens was picked off near the far sideline by Holden Hughes with 4:37 remaining on the clock.  
 
"The secondary was super sticky today," Stepsis said. "We have great physical cover guys. They do a great job of re-routing receivers. You saw multiple guys out there making plays for us. The front four was relentless and we hit the quarterback quite a bit which was a goal for us."
 
On the ensuing drive, Bailey connected with Sam Rodriguez, who shook off a defender and rumbled for a gain of 80 yards all the way to the Morehead State six-yard line. The big gain led to a 25-yard field goal by Shane Dunning for a 16-9 edge with 1:54 left ticking.
 
"He's (Rodriguez) a gritty dude," Stepsis said. For him to fight and suddenly not have anybody there to bring him down was incredible. I thought he might go all the way."
 
The Eagles made their way into Bulldog territory but the Drake defense delivered one last impressive stand breaking up a pass on fourth down and one. With under a minute left, the Bulldogs lined up in victory formation for their first win of the season.  
 
"The wins always feel great," Stepsis said. "There is so much more for this team. We sometimes trip over our own feet. We have to clean up some basic stuff, but the sky's the limit. There's a lot of grit on this team and they are ready to win."
 
Drake will return to Drake Stadium against Valparaiso on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 1 p.m. in a game presented by Broadlawns Medical Center.
 
NOTES
- Drake has won four consecutive PFL games dating back to last season with three of those wins coming on the road.
- Drake is 15-5 in PFL openers since 2004.
- The Bulldogs are 13-16 in PFL play under head coach Todd Stepsis.
- Trey Radocha caught a season-high six passes for 79 yards.
- Trey Radocha hauled in his second touchdown reception of the season and the sixth of his career.
- Dorian Boyland rushed for a career-high 123 yards on 15 carries to become Drake's first 100-yard rusher in a game since he ran for 115 yards at Stetson on Oct. 29, 2022.
- Sean Allison was the leading tackler for Drake with six (four solo).
- Caleb Bowling made five tackles and recorded the first sack of his career.
- Jacob Thompson recorded four tackles and one sack. 
- Drake's secondary limited Morehead State quarterback Carter Cravens to 18-39 passing and 5.7 yards per attempt.
- Drake netted 400 yards of total offense for the first time this season.
- The Bulldogs had a 36:00-24:00 time of possession advantage.