Box Score Butler put an exclamation point on the home careers of its 16 seniors with a 20-13 win over Pioneer Football League rival Drake Saturday afternoon at the Butler Bowl. The win completed a 5-0 home mark for the host Bulldogs, who recognized its senior class in a pre-game ceremony.
Butler outscored the visitors, 17-3, in the second half including 10-0 in the decisive fourth quarter, to take the win. Butler improves to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in PFL play. Drake falls to 4-6 (3-4 PFL).
Senior Matt Shiltz led the charge with 227 yards passing and two touchdown passes, connecting with classmates Zack Wolfe and Marquese Martin-Hayes in the final home game for the group. He had 60 yards on the ground.
Drake utilized two Butler fumbles in the first half to put 10 points on the board, which was the basis of the visitors' 10-3 lead at intermission.
"On paper, it looked like we played a lot better in the second half, but I thought we played well in the first 30 minutes. They just capitalized on two turnovers. Schematically we changed a few things offensively and defensively at halftime, but our main message was to relax and go have fun," said Butler coach Jeff Voris. "Sometimes you get so wound up in the excitement of these days that you don't just go play. We told them to go play 30 minutes and take it."
Butler took the third-quarter kick-off and put together a 15-play, 65-yard scoring drive that took 7:54 off the clock. It was Butler's longest scoring drive of the season. On third and goal at the one, Shiltz connected with Wolfe for the touchdown to tie the game at 10. Drake would counter with a 15-play drive, but only scored a field goal to take a 13-10 lead with 21 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Butler responded with a 26-yard kick-off return by Martin-Hayes and a 56-yard pass to John Hall to end the third quarter at the Drake 14. It would take the Bulldogs only one more play to score as Shiltz found Martin-Hayes for the go-ahead score. The Butler defense would force a Drake punt that was followed by a 17-play drive and a field goal from senior Jonathan Treloar.
Issak Newhouse's sixth interception of the season essentially sealed the win as Butler was able to string together two first downs to run out the clock.
Butler had a 142-74 edge in rushing yards and had possession of the ball for 37:03 of a possible 60 minutes.
In addition to Newhouse's interception, he also forced a fumble that was recovered by Drake. The Bulldogs had seven tackles for loss, including three sacks.
Ethan Brunhofer led Butler with eight solo tackles.
It was the final outing at the Butler Bowl for the team's 16 seniors. It's a group that means a lot to Voris.
"These guys are going to be really successful in life," said Voris. "They are going to be great employees, husbands, and fathers. It's a cool group, but it's the whole locker room. They've created a neat environment. It's a special place to be. We're going to miss them. But we get to saddle up for one more game against a very good team."
The Bulldogs travel to San Diego to play the Toreros in the 2015 season finale. The game in California is set for 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. Eastern) Saturday. San Diego is 8-2 overall and 6-1 in PFL play following today's win over Davidson.
