As classes fired up during the first week at Drake, the Drake men’s football team geared up for the first game of the season. At 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, the Bulldogs hosted Quincy University in Drake Stadium, marking the first football game of the season for any university in Iowa. This game would prove to be much different, though, as both the team and fans would soon learn.
Following the 2023–24 season, the stakes in the game against Quincy were high. The Bulldogs were unsuccessful in beating any of the out of conference teams in the previous season, so Thursday’s game was a chance for the team to put an early win on the board against a rival.
In the first quarter of play, both sides were scoreless. Although the ball was making ground across both sides of the field, neither team could make it to the endzone. Although the first quarter had limited action, the game was far from over
Starting off the second quarter, the Bulldogs came out strong with three points on the board to fight back at Quincy. This punt was followed by a strong Drake touchdown scored by graduate tight end Tim Nesslage and a clean extra point, advancing the score to 10–0 Drake. This touchdown marked the end of the game’s first half, but there was no telling what would happen next.
10 minutes into halftime, the game was delayed due to lightning and harsh storms in the Des Moines area. Just 20 minutes later, the stadium and all of campus were engulfed in a downpour. This delay would last nearly three hours before both Quincy and Drake agreed to the game.
Because both teams agreed to cancel the game, the 10–0 lead that Drake had on Quincy will not impact any personal or team records for the 2024–25 season. Although Drake didn’t win the game, this was an exceptional showing of what the season has in store for Bulldog fans.
“Truthfully, our defense is just relentless, not giving up any points within the first half,” sophomore running back Javon Murry said. “Offensively putting it together right before halftime was a momentum shifter for sure. Being in the field house we just tried to stay loose, thinking there was at least a chance for us to finish the game. We were all still amped up ready to play, especially after scoring right before halftime, but the weather decided otherwise.
This game disappointed some fans and players alike, but in the end, the team had many takeaways to process and work on before its next game.
“Obviously the game being delayed and then eventually canceled sucked, but I thought our team was starting to get into a good rhythm before the end of the half that we can take into next week against Eastern Washington [University],” junior defensive lineman Duke Frye said.
Looking ahead to the Bulldogs next game, the pack will be traveling to eastern Washington for its first away game of the season at 6 p.m. on Sept. 7 in Cheney, Washington.
