DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake football won its second game in a row and earned its first home victory of the Matt Walker tenure with a 30-22 defeat of Dayton on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs overcame some sloppy play in the middle stages to outlast a previously unbeaten Flyer squad.
Dayton received the opening kick-off and put together a solid start to its afternoon. The Flyers were able to convert a couple first downs, including one on a
Garrison Codde flag, and move the ball 42 yards over nine plays. The Flyers eventually got into field goal range, but an offensive infraction pushed them out of kicking distance and gave the ball to the Bulldogs for their first try on offense.
The Dogs got started quickly, taking just 1 minute and 48 seconds to connect on the game's first score. Facing a 2nd-and-20,
Riley Warzynski, who was named the most recent Pioneer Football League Offensive Player of the Week after a stellar performance in Drake's last time out at Davidson, lofted the ball to
Mitchell January who was streaking down the sideline. January hauled in the offering and outran a pursuing Dayton DB for the touchdown.
Drake then forced another punt, which led to a Bulldog conversion on fourth down when Warzynski found a diving
Aidan Garcia. But the Bulldog QB lost possession on the next snap as Dayton pounced on the fumble to regain the rock for the visitors.
The Flyers strung some positive gains together after the turnover, eventually knocking on the goal line as the first quarter clock expired. Drake still led 7-0 after one.
Dayton had a fresh set of down on the Drake 2-yard line, but the Drake defense mustered an impressive stand with stops on four consecutive inside runs to turn the Flyers over on downs and give the ball back to Drake's explosive offense with a 99-yard drive ahead of them.
Kavaughn Clark began the next drive with a bang, ripping off a 58-yard scamper to get the Bulldogs into Dayton territory. Thay chunk play helped set up Drake's second TD of the day as Warzynski found a swinging
Cody Blicharz out of the backfield who strolled into the endzone untouched. The ensuing PAT was off target as Drake led 13-0.
Dayton was again forced to punt, but Ben LaVelle unleashed a beauty that was downed on Drake's own 4-yard line. The Flyers capitalized on the flash of momentum with a scoring play of their own as star linebacker David Curl III snuck in front of an intended receiver to pick off Warzynski. Curl returned the interception eight yards for six.
The Bulldogs managed three more points in the first half as
Griffin Kollhoff avenged his earlier miss with a 34-yard connection. Dayton tried to answer on its next trip, but freshman defensive back
Dax Wiskur had other ideas as the Bulldog rookie intercepted Bryce Schondelmyer's toss, nixing any chances of a Dayton buzzer beater.
Drake and Dayton went into their respective locker rooms with the Bulldogs leading 16-7.
A slew of penalties on both sides slowed down the pace of the third quarter as each team was flagged for various calls. The Bulldogs were guilty of a couple formation flags, a roughing the passer, ineligible man downfield, and unsportsmanlike conduct call, which kept the offense from settling into a second half rhythm.
The Flyers were able to take advantage of the disruptions and piece together a scoring march. Gavin Lochow took a direct snap and wiggled his way through the Drake defensive front to cross the goal line, cutting into Drake's lead.
The Bulldogs bounced right back and moved the ball down the field. Drake traversed 85 yards in nine plays with a bullet from Warzynski to
Kobe Lewis punctuating the drive and giving the hosts a little more cushion on the scoreboard, 23-14. That score held through the end of the third.
Lochow was on the receiving end of another big gain as Dayton started another solid drive. Lochow ran underneath a high-arching Schondelmyer pass to tie the Flyers' all-time receptions record and get onto the Bulldogs' side of the field. Another Lochow catch just a few plays later gave the veteran Flyer the program's all-time receptions mark.
The Drake defense then made another stand as
Taye Proctor picked off Schondelmyer for his second INT of the outing. Proctor returned the interception to nearly midfield, which set the Drake offense up in prime position. Drake made all hose return yards count as
Kavaughn Clark finished off the drive with a rushing score from five yards out.
Dayton got within a score as the game clock wound under three minutes to play. Schondelmyer orchestrated a clean drive that culminated in a Michael Mussari TD, which was followed by a successful 2-point try. The Flyers then squibbed their next kickoff, but
Lucci Fidone fielded the bouncing ball to secure possession with the Bulldogs up by eight.
Drake forced the Flyers to use all their timeouts, but the Dayton defense forced a punt. Schondelmyer and the Dayton offense had 15 seconds left to work. The Flyers completed a couple passes and lateraled the ball all over the field, but an illegal forward pass penalty ended the game in favor of Drake, 30-22.
"It feels pretty sweet [to win] in front of the home crowd," Drake head coach Matt Walker said. "We talked all bye week about using our pain and turning it into our power. You're really seeing that development now. Dayton has a good football team, good quarterback and skill players, and we knew it would be a battle. Whoever was able to find that extra gear at the end was going to win it today, and it happened exactly like that. We have things to clean up…ultimately a great team win in all three phases."
Warzynski had another stellar day, eclipsing the 300-yard mark for the second time in as many PFL games. He finished with 347 yards with 23 completions on 39 tries for three touchdowns and a pick. His receiving corps was led by
Mitchell January with six catches for 95 yards and a score, just one more yard than
Aidan Garcia's 94 on five snags.
Elsewhere on offense,
Kavaughn Clark rushed 11 times for 76 yards and had a touchdown.
Defensively,
Dax Wiskur led Drake with 11 tackles, seven of which were solo stops, and made an interception.
Brody Shuss and
J.R. Flood had nine and eight tackles, respectively.
Taye Proctor added another interception to go along with his two tackles.
Drake will be on the road again next week for another PFL fixture. The Bulldogs are set for a trip to Valparaiso for an Oct. 10 date with the Beacons.
