Drake Athletic Communications
DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake Football celebrated its seniors prior to Saturday’s game versus San Diego, but from the start of the game, the Toreros relied on their running game, which carried them to a 40-17 victory.
San Diego won the coin toss and elected to receive, putting the Toreros’ offense on the field first. CJ Ceron got the start at quarterback but didn’t throw a pass until the seventh play of the San Diego drive. Adam Criter was busy from the jump, amassing 19 yards on three straight carries to open the game. The ground attack continued for the Toreros as Omar Mbawke came into the game, picking up gains of six and seven yards consecutively.
San Diego faced a 3rd-and-3 at the Drake 25-yard line and looked to pick up the first down through the air. Tyson Shivers got his hands up at the line of scrimmage, batting the pass down and forcing San Diego to attempt a field goal. Emiliano Salazar came on for a 42-yard attempt, but his kick was short, leaving the score 0-0 with 9:35 left in the first quarter.
In his second consecutive start, Braylon Wilson and the Drake offense took the field. To start Drake’s opening drive, Wilson looked for Cody Blicharz in the flat, but his pass went incomplete. After picking up a yard on second down, the Bulldogs faced 3rd-and-9. Wilson aimed for Mitchell January deep downfield, but the pass was broken up by Ezekiel Swayne, leading to a Drake punt.
The Toreros second drive continued to utilize the run game lead by Adam Criter. His seven- and five-yard rushes picked up a first down for San Diego, but the drive stalled, and a 3rd-and-4 pass deflection by Skylar James forced a punt.
Drake’s offense followed the defensive stop with a three-and-out, but the Bulldogs’ defense would come up with a splash play. San Diego looked to get top target Elijah Taylor involved, but Taye Proctor climbed the ladder to intercept Ceron’s pass.
Following Proctor’s pick, Braylon Wilson and Willis Nofsigner made an explosive connection. Wilson fired a dart to Nofsinger over the middle of the field, and the wide out wiggled his way past defenders to pick up 37 yards. The Bulldogs looked to feed the hot hand again, manufacturing a reception for Nofsinger on a screen that picked up five more. The promising drive for the Dogs came to a halt, though, after a Wilson rush was stuffed for a loss of one yard, and his pass to Hank Foley went incomplete. On 3rd-and-11, Tim Hays sprinted from the edge, forcing immediate pressure on Wilson who had to flee the pocket. Looking for a last second completion, Wilson threw a diving pass, but it was broken up by Ruben Lopez. The Bulldogs would get on the board, as Griffin Kollhoff’s 34-yard field goal was good.
Trailing 3-0, San Diego’s offense returned to the field. The Toreros went empty formation on 3rd-and-7, when CJ Ceron and Cole Monach connected on a 19-yard reception to move the chains.San Diego returned to the ground attack, giving carries to Adam Criter, Zamar Reese, and Omar Mbawke, who finished off the drive with a rushing touchdown from four yards out. Salazar’s extra point was good, and the Toreros took a 7-3 lead with 9:54 left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs offense returned to the field, but their drive was short lived. On the first play of the drive, Braylon Wilson attempted a pass over the middle of the field, but Tim Hays read the play and snagged the ball. Following the interception,San Diego’s offense ran down the field, but on 3rd-and-3, a blitzing Dax Wiskur sacked CJ Ceron for a loss of six yards. From 43 yards out, Emiliano Salazar’s field goal was good this time, giving San Diego a 10-3 advantage with 5:42 before halftime.
A 2nd-and-9 completion to Lincoln Delaere for 13 yards would pick up a first down for the Bulldogs, but Drake continued to struggle moving the ball, and another Sam Bruno punt would occur.
With 3:45 left on the clock before halftime, the Torero offense fed Adam Criter. Three straight carries for Criter picked up 29 yards, and Ceron was able to find Christopher Hall for a 14-yard completion before the two-minute-timeout. Out of the stoppage, Zamar Reese and CJ Ceron ran their way towards the endzone, setting up Adam Criter to finish off the drive with a seven-yard rushing touchdown. San Diego would head into halftime with a 17-3 lead.
The Bulldog offense started the third quarter with the ball and a new quarterback. Riley Warzynski, who had been out with an injury, came into the game. Warzynski’s impact was felt immediately, as he connected with Willis Nofsinger twice for 15 yards. Drake was marching down the field, but two straight incompletions brought a challenging 4th-and-9. Warzynski looked to the back corner of the endzone, where he lofted a ball into the hands of Hank Foley who hauled in a 13-yard touchdown. It was a one possession game, with Drake trailing 17-10 with 11:39 left in the third quarter.
Adam Criter continued his strong performance the rest of the way, storming 42 yards downfield to set up a 42-yard field goal for Emiliano Salazar. The kick was good, giving San Diego a 20-10 cushion over the Bulldogs.
Drake’s offense would stall on their next drive, turning the ball over on downs. Rushing efforts from Ceron, Criter, and Reese would allow San Diego to find paydirt again. Salazar attempted a 41-yard field goal, and it was good, extending San Diego’s lead, 23-10.
Soon after, the Toreros scored again, this time with a game changing 66-yard touchdown pass from CJ Ceron to Cole Monach. The score broke the game open, and San Diego was up 30-10 with 10:54 left to go in the game.
Another Salazar field goal would add to the Torero’stotal, as the 40-yarder extended their advantage, 33-10, but the San Diego scoring was not finished. On 3rd-and-1, Zamar Reese exploded out of the backfield for 52 yards, finding the endzone and calling game. Kyle Coutee would come on in relief of Warzynski, and he connected with Jake Scobey for a 16-yard touchdown, but that would represent the last score of the game and a 40-17 loss for Drake.
“I feel bad for these seniors,” Drake head coach Matt Walker said. “It’s always a sacred day and just did not go how we wanted. San Diego did everything they wanted to do, and we just could not stop them. Just continually put our defense in bad spots. Even when we got a little life in the second half, just ran out of gas and couldn’t hold onto it. I’m looking forward to a great week of preparation and doing it right for the seniors next week to close the year.”
San Diego gained 453 yards in total, with 305 of those coming from their rushing attack. Drake was able to gain 263 yards, mostly through the air with 189 passing yards. The Toreros tallied 62 rushing attempts, as Adam Criter led the way with 30 attempts, 172 rushing yards, and a touchdown. Zamar Reese ran for 88 yards on 11 attempts, and found the endzone once, while Omar Mbawke also found paydirt. Drake quarterbacks went 21-47 with two touchdowns and one interception, and Willis Nofsinger led the team with 57 receiving yards. Defensively, Tyson Shivers led the Bulldogs with 10 total tackles, and Taye Proctor snagged an interception.
Drake will head north to St. Paul, Minnesota to face St. Thomas in a Pioneer Football League matchup. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. kickoff on November 14.
