Furious Football rally comes up short at Drake, 30-28

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DES MOINES, Iowa – The Morehead State football team scored on its first possession in its Pioneer League opener Saturday at Drake and made a furious rally after trailing 30-8, but MSU ultimately fell 30-28 Saturday at Drake Stadium.
 
Morehead State slipped to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference, while Drake, which has still never lost to the Eagles at home, moved to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the circuit.
 
The Eagles drove 78 yards on just four plays on the first possession, capped by a 17-yard pitch and catch from senior quarterback Austin Gahafer to junior tight end Joby Embrey. Senior slot receiver Jake Raymond hit junior defensive lineman Colt Briggs for the two-point conversion.
 
Gahafer, who finished 26-of-50 for 330 yards and three TDs, set the Morehead State career record for passing attempts when he hit Raymond for a 37-yard gainer on the Eagles' first play. Gahafer passed current QB coach Zach Lewis and now has 1,549 attempts. Raymond finished with a career-high 179 yards on nine catches.
 
After the initial score, the Eagle defense held the hosts on three straight possessions, forcing 28, 27 and 26-yard field goals by Josh Lee for a 9-8 Drake advantage. The Bulldogs broke open the contest though with 9:55 left before halftime when Terry Wallen returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown.
 
Drake made it 23-8 when quarterback Grant Kraemer punched it in from a yard out at the 10:29 mark of the third period, and Keegan Gallery caught a four-yard toss from Kraemer at the 2:29 mark of the third period.
 
The Eagles' rally started when Gahafer hit Raymond for a 34-yard score with 10:50 left. Jake Sutherland hauled in a 15-yard TD at the 6:20 mark of the final quarter, and junior quarterback Lawson Page scrambled in from three yards out with 1:20 left, but the two-point conversion pass went awry.
 
Both teams concluded with exactly 421 total yards each.
 
Defensively, senior linebacker Ryan Bennett led with nine stops, while defenders Braylyn Cook and Matthew Brewer recorded interceptions.

Morehead State returns home next weekend to host Valparaiso at 1 p.m. ET.