The Basics
Drake football travels to the Twin Cities for a battle with St. Thomas this weekend. The Bulldogs separated themselves from St. Thomas and the rest of the field after beating Marist last week to earn sole possession of the top set in the Pioneer Football League. Drake and the Tommies will kick off at 1 p.m. at O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul.
Bulldog Bites
Drake overcame a sloppy first half to beat Marist, 19-0. The Bulldogs pitched their first shutout since 2021, and first at home since 2011, to extend their conference winning streak to 16 games. The Bulldogs will look to continue its current 16-game Pioneer Football League winning streak. Their winning trend is the longest active conference winning streak in the FCS and the second longest winning streak in the history of the Pioneer Football League.
The Bulldogs have not lost a game in 2024 when the lead at the half (3-0), score first (3-0), allow fewer than 20 points (4-0), throw for 200+ yards and total 300+ yards (4-0), and fewer than 100 rushing yards and fewer than 200 passing yards (4-0).
Drake is 5-0 when possessing the ball for at least 30 minutes in a single game. The Bulldogs' only loss of the year featured a time of possession under 30 minutes. Drake currently ranks second in the Pioneer Football League in both passing offense (258.3 yards/game) and net punting average (38.9 yards/game).
Bulldog Leaders
Rushing
Davion Cherwin | 36 rush, 220 yds, 4 TD
Luke Woodson | 47 rush, 177 yds, TD
Blake Ellingson | 26 rush, 149 yds, 2 TD
Passing
Luke Bailey | 154-243, 1768 yds, 6 TD, 5 INT
Blake Ellingson | 9-13, 40 yds, TD, INT
Receiving
Trey Radocha | 40 rec, 475 yds, 2 TD
Mitchell January | 30 rec, 423 yds, 2 TD
Taj Hughes | 37 rec, 390 yds, TD
Tackles
Sebastian Adamski | 67 tck, 27 solo, 4.5 TFL
Sean Allison | 66 tck, 36 solo, 2.5 TFL
Tyler Radocha | 52 tck, 30 solo, 2.0 TFL
Sacks
Finn Claypool | 5.5 sck
Nolan Korzeniowski | 4.0 sck
Jacob Auen | 3.0 sck
Scouting St. Thomas
The Tommies of St. Thomas enter this weekend sitting at 5-4 overall and 4-1 in Pioneer Football League play. St. Thomas suffered their first loss of the PFL season last weekend on a trip to Morehead State. The Tommies' 21-7 loss marked their first defeat in four games and the first time they scored in single digits since a 64-0 blowout loss at Lindenwood.
St. Thomas' offense is heavily predicated by a stellar ground game. Running back Hope Adebayo has gained 854 yards on 123 carries this season with six touchdowns to his credit. Quarterback Tak Tateoka has thrown seven scores and a pick with 742 yards. Five of those passing TDs were finished by leading receivers Colin Chase and Jacob Wildermuth. The St. Thomas defense is led by linebacker Ryan Sever's 63 total tackles. Sever is matched by Noah Freidt with a team-high 3.5 sacks.
Drake is 1-2 all-time against St. Thomas. The Bulldogs won last year's meeting in a 52-21 rout in Des Moines. The Tommies won the first two installments after St. Thomas made the leap to D-1 ball.
St. Thomas head coach Glenn Caruso is in his 16th season at the helm of the Tommies' football program. He has won over 160 career games between both NCAA Division I & III action.
Tommie Leaders
Rushing
Hope Adebayo | 123 rush, 854 yds, 6 TD
Joseph Koch | 38 rush, 218 yds, TD
Gabriel Abel | 66 rush, 199 yds, 2 TD
Passing
Tak Tateoka | 67-126, 742 yds, 7 TD, INT
Michael Rostberg | 19-41, 143 yds, TD, 3 INT
Receiving
Colin Chase | 19 rec, 320 yds, 2 TD
Jacob Wildermuth | 19 rec, 208 yds, 3 TD
Patrick Wagner | 19 rec, 176 yds, TD
Tackles
Ryan Sever | 63 tck, 21 solo, 6.0 TFL
Luke Herzog | 49 tck, 23 solo, 6.5 TFL
Grif Wurtz | 48 tck, 18 solo
Sacks
Ryan Sever | 3.5 sck
Noah Friedt | 3.5 sck
David Ayeni | 2.0 sck
Up Next
The Bulldogs will return home to celebrate Senior Day in their final home game of the 2024 season. Drake is set to host Morehead State with kickoff scheduled for noon on Nov. 16.
