BY JD PELEGRINO
Week 11 marked the fourth time this season that the Bulldogs won following a loss the previous week.
After each and every one of Drake’s four losses this season, they have won the next week. This was a very important game for the Dogs after losing to San Diego last week 45-15.
Senior quarterback Grant Kraemer played one of the best games of his career in terms of completion percentage.
Kraemer shredded up the Campbell defense on Saturday, completing 17 of 20 passes (85 percent) for 369 yards and three touchdowns with zero turnovers.
This is the best completion percentage Kraemer has had all season. With junior wide receiver Steven Doran on the field, it cannot be hard to put up those kinds of numbers.
Doran posed his second straight game with more than 140 yards receiving and a touchdown.
Doran hauled in four Kraemer passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns.
“I just know every time I throw the ball up to [Doran] that he’s going to come down with it,” Kraemer said. “It’s either him or nobody else.”
Doran stands at 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 215 pounds. Last week, Doran managed 141 yards and a touchdown against San Diego.
Kraemer stated that nothing was necessarily different in the game against Campbell, but the offensive line “dominated” all game long.
Aside from Kraemer’s massive game throughout the air, the run game played a pivotal role for the Bulldogs in surprising the defense with pass plays.
Junior running back Drew Lauer contributed 79 yards rushing on 10 carries and a touchdown.
Lauer was injured for most of the season, and since his return two weeks ago, he has logged a few carries per game but has mostly served as the team’s kick returner on special teams.
Senior running backs Brock Reichardt and Tyler Updegraff each had 13 carries for 56 yards and 51 yards. All three of the Drake running backs had at least 10 rushing attempts and all found the end zone against Campbell.
“I think it was just a culmination of everyone towards the end of the season peaking,” Kraemer said.
Kraemer has high hopes for his team and where they could go next year, but was not willing to move too fast and dismiss the season finale against Jacksonville this Saturday.
Kraemer said that one of the positives of the team moving forward into next year is the age of the team as a whole.
The Bulldogs have run pretty young this year having only a few seniors and fifth years.
This week, the Bulldogs host the Jacksonville Dolphins (7-3) at Drake Stadium.
The game will commence at 1 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 18. The Dolphins are currently in second place in the PFL with the Dogs only one game behind them; both teams will be competing for the second place spot in conference.
This week’s game will be an “emotional” one, according to Kraemer.
Coming off of a 45-point game, the team wants to bring home one final win and “put the seniors on top.”
