As the football season winds down for Drake University, the Bulldogs took on the Stetson Hatters at home on Saturday, Oct. 28, in an attempt to go 5-0 in their conference for the first time since 2012.
The first quarter started out slow, and it would stay relatively slow, with both teams struggling to put points on the board early. Just five minutes into the quarter though, kicker Shane Dunning scored a 29-yard field goal for the Bulldogs, giving them a light 3-0 lead. Going into the second quarter, the Hatters clapped back with a touchdown five minutes in, jumping ahead of the Bulldogs. This would turn out to be the only Hatters score for the rest of the game.
Just minutes later, Dunning would kick another field goal that was followed by a Dorian Boyland touchdown to move the Bulldogs ahead 13-7 going into the half. Although neither team knew it, Drake would soon be breaking away with a substantial lead.
Knowing the potential of the team, the Bulldogs went right back to work after the half to keep hacking away at the Hatter’s defense. Boyland was the first to put any points on the board in the second half, and it wouldn’t be his last. His seven-yard run put yet another touchdown away for Drake, and just minutes into the fourth quarter he would score his third touchdown of the game, marking his career high single-game touchdown count. Dorian’s third touchdown would be followed by a clean run by Christian Galvan to put the Bulldogs at 33-7 when the clock hit double zeros. This win was huge for the Bulldogs, and not just because it was at home.
“This win was great,” linebacker Jake Thompson said. “We can never complain about a win. Everyone played really well, and we couldn’t be happier with the team’s performance.”
This game marked the first 5-0 run for Drake in conference play since 2012, which means this record was over ten years in the making. The Bulldogs put up nearly 300 passing yards at 293, and almost 400 overall yards at 390. This game also puts Drake at an eight-game winning streak in conference play that was started a year ago on Oct. 29, 2022 also against Stetson.
On top of this, Boyland became the first Bulldog to score three rushing touchdowns in a single game since Sept. 5, 2015, when former Drake running back Conley Wilkins went against William Jewell College. This also marked the first time since Nov. 10, 2006, that two Drake athletes rushed for over 100 yards in the same game. And, if these highs weren’t enough, Drake has not allowed a single sack in three consecutive games.
Although this game had a lot of highs for the Bulldogs, at the end of the day there are always things to work on, such as the two-point conversions that the team struggled on in the third quarter.
“It felt great,” defensive lineman Duke Frye said. “As a team we performed well, but we do still have things to improve heading into next week.”
Knowing that the team is on a winning streak like no other, the Bulldogs will likely be working even harder this week as they prepare to take on Marist in New York on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 11 a.m. The Bulldogs look forward to keeping their lead and adding another win to their belt with only three games left in the season.
