The opening night of Pioneer Football League action saw Drake University and the University of St. Thomas notch solid nonconference victories while the University of Dayton held Eastern Illinois to three points in the opening 39 minutes before falling late.
PFL Scoreboard: Week 1
Eastern Illinois def. Dayton, 24-14
St. Thomas def. Lindenwood, 35-13
Drake def. Upper Iowa, 41-7
PFL Recaps: Thursday, August 28
Eastern Illinois def. Dayton, 24-14
CHARLESTON, Ill. – Dayton's defense stymied host Eastern Illinois for two and a half quarters but the Panthers struck two touchdowns to open the second half and handed the Flyers a 24-14 loss on Thursday night at O'Brien Field. Dayton got on the board on its first drive of the game when quarterback Bryce Schondelmyer found Gavin Lochow for a 48-yard touchdown. Meanwhile, the Flyers defense allowed only a solitary Panthers' field goal at the 6:12 mark of the second quarter and Dayton led 7-3 at halftime. Dayton's defense would hold that lead until the 6:03 mark of the third quarter when Cole LaCrue scored Eastern Illinois' first touchdown on an 11-yard run. LaCrue would add a second touchdown on a one-yard run early in the fourth quarter as EIU built a 17-7 lead. Dayton would get back within a field goal on the ensuing drive when Schondelmyer connected with Michael Mussari for a 67-yard touchdown thron. But Eastern Illinois next drive consumed 7:16 off the clock and resulted in a third LaCrue touchdown, sealing the result. Schondelmyer completed 17-of-31 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns in his Flyers' debut. Lochow caught six passes for 124 yards and Mussari tacked on six receptions for 101 yards in the contest.
St. Thomas def. Lindenwood, 35-13
ST. PAUL, Minn. – St. Thomas scored four touchdowns in the second half and pulled away from Lindenwood for a 35-13 victory on Thursday night at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. After the teams battled to a 7-7 halftime tie, the Tommies and Lions traded three touchdowns in a four-minute span to start the third quarter. St. Thomas sandwiched a Lindenwood touchdown with Stefano Giovannelli's eight-yard touchdown run and Andy Peters' 16-yard touchdown toss to JaShawn Todd to build a 21-13 lead after three quarters. The Tommies pulled away in the fourth quarter thanks to touchdown runs by Joseph Koch (18 yards) and Zander Rockow (3 yards) while the UST defense held Lindenwood scoreless over the final 26 minutes. Peters completed 11-of-18 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns and added another 29 yards on the ground, while Koch amassed 154 rushing yards on 18 carries.
Drake def. Upper Iowa, 41-7
DES MOINES, Iowa – Chase Spellman passed for two touchdowns and ran for another two, leading Drake to a 41-7 victory against Upper Iowa on Saturday at Drake Stadium. Spellman opened the scoring with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Hank Foley midway through the first quarter then scampered 28 yards for his first rushing touchdown four minutes later. In the second quarter he found Foley again for a 46-yard touchdown pass as Drake built a 24-0 halftime lead. Spellman capped his day with a six-yard touchdown run to help Drake respond to Upper Iowa's lone scoring drive, pushing the lead back to 31-7 midway through the third quarter. Spellman completed 14-of-16 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 37 yards on seven carries. Foley caught five passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns.