INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Drake football was on the road for the second time in as many weeks on Saturday with a canine clash at Butler. The two Bulldog squads traded blows before a few second-half splash plays secured a 24-19 Drake triumph.

The host Bulldogs won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, giving Drake the ball first. Safety-turned-receiver Isaiah Bragg got the Drake offense some solid starting field position on the opening kick return with a run-back of 32 yards. Drake then wasted no time getting the first points on the board as Nick Herman collected a Logan Inagawa pitch and sliced through the Butler defense en route to a 66-yard touchdown, giving Drake a 7-0 lead within the first 16 seconds of the game.

Drake's defense then forced a Butler punt before Inagawa and the offense maneuvered back down the field with a chance to score. Harry Balke entered, looking to add three more points, but his field goal attempt missed slightly to the right, giving Butler the ball right back.

Butler capitalized on the visiting Bulldogs' miscue with a scoring drive of their own, punctuating on a 54-yard toss from Reagan Andrew to Archie Cox. The Butler TD knotted the score at seven apiece.

Drake's next drive stalled, but the defense came through, forcing their own turnover on downs as Andrew tried to reconnect with Cox but failed. The Bulldogs took over near midfield and promptly moved into Butler territory. A Butler sack forced Drake out of field goal range, cueing Ryan Schroeder on to punt. His kick was downed inside the Butler 3-yard line. The Bulldogs ran one play before the quarter clock expired with the score still tied, 7-7.

Drake finally settled into a rhythm in the second quarter, linking together a sustained drive to get back on the doorstep. Inagawa hooked up with Jackson Voth on a 47-yard catch-and-run to help catapult the Dogs into the redzone. Inagawa then found Voth again on a key third down conversion to score, snapping the stalemate and giving Drake a 14-7 lead.

Butler tried to put an up-tempo drive together just before the half, but Drake's defense again stymied the host Bulldogs. Butler, nearing the 50-yard line, tried to get their lateral game going with a swing pass into the flat, but Tommy Williams jumped the route and picked off the Reagan Andrew offering. Neither team scored the rest of the way as Drake led 14-7 at the break.

Butler came out of the halftime hiatus on a mission to erase their deficit, and it accomplished just that on the first trip of the third period. Andrew guided Butler's 9-play, 75-yard scoring drive that ended with an acrobatic reception by Chet Yardley. The ensuing point after try was blocked by freshman Owen Pins, keeping Drake's lead barely intact at 14-13.

Drake got a little back on its next trek as Inagawa lobbed to Taj Hughes for a 29-yard gain into enemy territory. A Trey Alsbrooks sack halted any thoughts of a touchdown, but Harry Balke came on and nailed a 51-yard field goal, his second of 50-plus yards this season, to inch ahead a bit further.

The Bulldogs held on to a 17-13 difference at the end of the third quarter.

Butler faced a crucial 3rd-and-8 situation on the first play of the fourth frame, bit the Drake defense again had different ideas. Andrew lofted a pass to Cox on the sideline who caught and turned up field, but Garrison Codde forced a fumble, which was covered up by Cole Sigler in pursuit, to give possession back to Drake.

Set up in excellent field position, Drake then traversed 34 yards over eight plays to score on a short Luke Woodson rush, extending its advantage to 24-13.

Butler bounced right back with a scoring charge of its own, ending with a Reagan Andrew keeper from three yards out to cut right back into the Drake-favored gap. The host Bulldogs seemed to be building their momentum as their defense put up a stand and forced a Drake punt on the next drive, but disaster struck again for Butler.

Ryan Schroeder fired off a sky-high punt, which was fair caught by Butler returner Nick Munson. Despite the fair catch, Munson muffed the reception, which was recovered by Drake long snapper Brett Welsing. The fumble put Drake back in business on the Butler half of the gridiron.

Drake maintained possession the rest of the game thanks to a couple clutch conversions around the 2-minute mark. The Bulldogs left Indianapolis with a 24-19 victory.

"It really was a big win and such a testament to our guys and the kind of kids they are," Drake head coach Joe Woodley said. "It's been a tough 2-week stretch traveling to the east coast then this long bus ride here, kind of had to break routine a little, but these guys handled it with maturity. Tip of the cap to Butler, they're a really good football team and they kept punching back, but the ball bounced our way a couple more times and we've just got a fun group to watch."

Logan Ingawa threw for 244 yards and a touchdown on 18-of-23 passing. Jackson Voth hauled in the lone Drake passing score along with 64 receiving yards while Taj Hughes led the Bulldog receiving corps with seven snags and 104 yards. Freshman Nick Herman had another standout day on the ground with 122 yards and a score on 19 totes. Luke Woodson added a rushing touchdown with 33 yards to his credit.

Defensively, Sean Allison's dozen tackles led all players. Shaku Sangarie and Nolan Korzeniowski combined for a sack while the former posted six stops and 1.5 tackles for loss. The Bulldogs earned three takeaways thanks to a Garrison Codde forced fumble, which was recovered by Cole Sigler, a muffed punt smothered by Brett Welsing, and a Tommy Williams interception.

Drake will return to Drake Stadium for another big Pioneer Football League contest as St. Thomas visits Des Moines. The Bulldogs and Tommies are set for a noon kickoff on Nov. 8.