DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake football team was back in Drake Stadium for the first time in over a month on Saturday afternoon and put on a show for the Des Moines faithful that came out for Parents and Family Weekend. The Bulldogs picked up their first conference win of the year, defeating Valparaiso handedly, 41-0.
 
The Bulldog defense made the first big play of the afternoon to spark some momentum for the home side. After the Bulldog offense went three-and-out on the opening possession of the game, Valpo took over from the Drake 40-yard line and was on the move. However, Benjamin Wilson put an end to the Beacon drive intercepting Rowan Keefe to give the ball back to the Dogs.
 
Drake's offense went to work in short order from there and used a huge 55-yard catch and run from Taj Hughes to get into Valpo territory. The drive ultimately ended with a 34-yard field goal from Harry Balke to give Drake the lead, 3-0, and was the only score of the quarter.
 
To start the second quarter, the Bulldogs were set up with another good opportunity off a short punt by Valpo and took over at the Beacons 31-yard line. Facing a 3rd and 13, quarterback Chase Spellman connected with Jackson Voth, which kept the drive alive and placed the ball on the doorstep of the Valpo endzone. On the following play Luke Woodson took the handoff up the middle and into the endzone for the score pushing Drakes lead to 10-0.
 
The Drake defense continued to stifle the Valpo offense as the half neared completion and the Bulldogs went into the break up 13-0 after tacking on another field goal by Balke from 38-yards.
 
After the break, the Bulldogs went on a scoring barrage in the third quarter scoring three touchdowns to extend their lead out to 34-0.
 
The first score of the quarter for Drake came just minutes in with Valpo backed up on their own 18-yard line. Keefe dropped back to pass on 3rd and 17 and was hit by Shaku Sangaire just as he tried to release it. The ball floated about one yard and into the arms of defensive linemen Jacob Auen who ran it back for the pick six.
 
The next possession for Drake was a methodical drive that took five minutes off the clock and ended with freshman running back Nick Herman plunging into the endzone from one yard out. Out of the 10 plays on the drive, Drake rushed the ball nine times for 61 yards en route to the score.
 
Drake's third touchdown of the quarter was again scored by Herman. Drake started in Valpo territory again after the defense forced a three-and-out and a 10-yard punt which placed the Bulldogs at the Valpo 37. Following a 10-yard rush by Logan Inagawa to begin the drive, Herman scampered for a 27-yard score on the next play to give him a pair of rushing touchdowns in a span of just under three minutes.
 
With the game in hand, Drake's final score of the day came with 3:32 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs scored their first and only touchdown through the air as Inagawa found Hank Foley all alone in the corner of the endzone for a 25-yard strike.
 
As the Drake offense put up the big number on the scoreboard, the Drake defense was equally as impressive. The Bulldogs totaled three interceptions in the game as Mike Mangialardi also added a pick early in the fourth quarter to go along with the earlier interceptions by Auen and Wilson. In total, Drake held Valpo to just 105 yards in the contest, including 32 rushing yards on 38 attempts for less than one yard a carry by the Beacons. Saturday marked the first shutout by Drake since the 19-0 victory over Marist last season.
 
The Bulldogs also produced seven sacks in the game and tallied 13.5 tackles for loss. Gene Blalock picked up two sacks to lead the team and Trystan Anderson was credited for one and a half sacks. Linebackers Sean Allison and JR Flood led the team in tackles tallying eight and six, respectively.
 
Herman proved to be the leading rusher on the day for the Bulldogs racking up 53 yards to pair with his two scores. Jaden Meizinger, meanwhile, carried the rock 13 times for 37 yards. Huges led the receiving core with 74 yards on three receptions as Voth and Foley were next in line with 49 and 43 yards.
 
"The challenge all week was, and it's no different in any game, we want to start fast and we didn't do that," Drake head coach Joe Woodley said. "Bad things are going to happen. We've got to pull together and how are we going to respond to adversity? I thought we did that for the most part.
 
"Didn't play the best first half, but we weren't bad. Our defense played … I don't know if lights out is the best way to put it because believe me, we'll find some things that we need to get corrected. They were really good, however, and they answered the call because they've had a couple rough outings these past two weeks and it was nice to see them get back to what we think they are capable of."
 
The Bulldogs will make a trip out to the west coast for their next game as they challenge San Diego next week on Saturday, Oct. 18. Kickoff against the Toreros is slated for 4 p.m. CT.