INDIANAPOLIS – The Butler football team lost their PFL home opener to Drake on Saturday afternoon 42-7. The two teams were tied up at 7-7 after one quarter, but 35 unanswered points in the second and third quarters would lead Drake to victory.
How It Happened
Drake posted 452 total yards of offense and got a three touchdown performance from RB Drew Lauer to earn the road win. Lauer ended the contest with 124 rushing yards on 26 carries. He scored two touchdowns on the ground and added a one on a 22-yard catch.
QB Ian Corwin completed 25 of his 32 passes against Butler for 265 yards and three touchdowns. His primary target was TE Devin Cates. The senior hauled in nine catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
Butler's lone touchdown of the game came on the last play of the first quarter. QB
Sam Brown passed the ball behind the line of scrimmage to TE
Joey Lindstrom. Lindstrom would then throw a 34-yard TD pass to
Johnny O'Shea to knot the score at 7-7. O'Shea ended the game with a team-high three catches for 71 yards.
Brown completed nine passes on Saturday for 93 yards.
Stephen Dennis and
Brad Huth were each in the box score with three grabs. Dennis had 34 yards while Huth recorded 20.
On the ground,
Brad Sznajder carried the ball 12 times for 53 yards.
Nick Orlando took nine carries for 35 yards and
AJ Deinhart would add 21 rushing yards to the BU total on four carries.
Butler's defense was led by
Dan DelGrosso and his team-best 10 tackles. DelGrosso made two stops behind the line of scrimmage as did teammate
Nick Mahalak.
Luke Sennett was second on the team with nine tackles and
Devin Aguilar added seven.
Key Moment
Butler fumbled the opening kickoff which gave Drake great field position at the BU 14. Seven plays later Drake would own a 7-0 lead with a one-yard TD run by Drew Lauer.
Inside the Box Score
Third down conversions were big in the outcome. Drake went 12-for-16 on third down while Butler went 4-of-13.
What's Next
Butler will play at Morehead State next Saturday, Oct. 19. Kick-off will stream on ESPN+ at 2 PM.
