POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Drake University football traveled to upstate New York for a tricky conference tilt at Marist on Saturday. The Bulldogs battled through a physical contest in Poughkeepsie to win by a 31-17 margin thanks to an efficient offensive performance and standout situational defense.

Drake wasted no time getting the first points of the day on the board with a lengthy scoring drive to start the afternoon. Logan Inagawa and Nick Herman led an effective running attack down the field as the Bulldogs sapped nearly half the first quarter clock and converted three third down opportunity on their opening possession.

Inagawa eventually capped the drive with an 8-yard pitch-and-catch to Jackson Voth who evaded a pair of Marist defenders and dove across the goal line for a touchdown to give Drake a 7-0 lead.

Drake forced a Marist punt on the ensuing Red Fox possession and promptly put together another methodical march down the field, which was paused for the first quarter break.

The game resumed with the start of the second period. The Marist defense had Drake in a third-and-goal situation and kept the Dogs out of the endzone as a scrambling Inagawa sailed one just out of a jumping Jake Scobey's reach. Harry Balke trotted on and nailed a chip shot field goal to extend Drake's lead to 10-0. The field goal drive included Drake's longest passing play of the season as Inagawa launched one to recent safety-turned-receiver Isaiah Bragg for 42 yards.

Marist then took its turn reaching the endzone on a 10-play, 75-yard trek down the gridiron. The Red Foxes punched one in from just one yard out on a Tristan Shannon run out of wildcat formation to cut into Drake's advantage.   

Drake did not need long to craft their own response with another score. Jaden Meizinger ripped off a 48-yard scamper to get the Bulldogs back on the precipice. Inagawa took over from there and found the edge for a diving 6-pointer to make it 17-7, Bulldogs.

With the clock winding toward halftime, Marist orchestrated another scoring drive of their own to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance. A couple ill-timed visiting penalties extended the Red Foxes' trip and allowed Shannon to hammer his way home again. The score got Marist back within three points at halftime, 17-14.

The second half started with near disaster for the Red Foxes as they received the kickoff and fumbled just a few plays later. Chris Leonardo, a Marist offensive lineman, smothered the loose ball to retain possession for the hosts. The Red Foxes went on make a 42-yard field goal, just a yard short of kicker Samer Layous' career long, to even the score at 17-17.

The Bulldogs seemed to be piecing another answer together with a 6-play, 53-yard drive into the redzone, but the Marist defense was able to reverse the momentum back in their direction. On the Red Foxes' 12-yard line, Inagawa called his own number and sliced into the interior of the line where he fumbled into the waiting arms of a Marist defendera. It marked the first redzone trip of the season on which Drake did not convert with a touchdown.

The free rock was collected by Marist's Tyrell Powell to give the Red Foxes another try, but the Bulldog defense retaliated with a splash play of its own. J.R. Flood nearly intercepted Marist QB Sonny Mannino which set up a punt. Jackson Voth received and returned 46 yards to the Red Foxes' 5-yard line.

Drake scored on the next play from scrimmage as Luke Woodson bulldozed his way into the endzone to regain the lead for the Dogs, 24-17.

Later, on the first possession of the fourth period, Drake was able to extend its lead after a 10-play drive of nearly 90 yards for a Taj Hughes touchdown. Hughes made a pair of clutch catches on the push toward the goal line including the exclamation point as he swerved out of the backfield and tip-toed down the sideline for six. The Bulldogs led 31-17 with just under 13 minutes to play.

Marist took back over after a Bulldog punt with six and a half minutes to go and a shred of optimism left in the tank. Drake seemed to have the Red Foxes stymied with Mannino and the host offense facing a 4th-and-19 situation. Mannino completed a pass over the middle to Connor Hulstein, who was originally ruled to reach the line to gain. Drake head coach Joe Woodley promptly challenged the call, which was overturned, giving the ball back to Drake.

Leading by two scores, the Bulldogs kept their attack on the ground to sap the remaining 5:15, but Marist spent all three timeouts to take over with one final effort. The Red Foxes' desperation drive began backed up against their own goal line after a picture-perfect Ryan Schroeder punt.

Reserve QB Will O'Dell entered and was able link a few positive gains together, but any waning chances of a miraculous comeback was thwarted with a Kemani Wilson interception. The Bulldogs left Poughkeepsie with a 31-17 win and their undefeated Pioneer Football League record intact.

"It was hard fought but we expected that coming out here," Drake head coach Joe Woodley said. "Marist is a good football team so for us to come out here and get a tough win…just really proud of our guys. They got some momentum going there toward the end of the first half, got some broken plays, but we did a nice job bouncing back. All in all, just a complementary effort from every one of our guys. They all bought in, had another incredible sideline, and made a bunch of plays."

Logan Inagawa threw for 163 yards on 10-of-13 passing and two touchdowns. He also led all ball carriers with 81 yards on 17 carries for another score.

Elsewhere, Nick Herman and Jaden Meizinger each ran for 50-plus yards while Luke Woodson tallied only four ticks but scored a touchdown. Through the air, Taj Hughes made seven snags for 106 yards and a touchdown, marking the second consecutive week a Drake receiver as totaled that exact yardage.

Defensively, J.R. Flood and Sean Allison each had 14 tackles along with two pass break-ups and three tackles for loss, respectively. Allison and Jacob Auen each had a sack while Wilson made the only pick of the game.

The Bulldogs improved to 4-0 in the PFL and, with Presbyterian's loss at Dayton, are the only unbeaten team in conference action. Drake now sits alone atop the league standings with a road trip to Butler on deck next weekend.