After a stunning upset of Illinois State the Drake Bulldogs open the home season Saturday night against Waldorf. Drake coach Steve Loney is not concerned about how his team will react after claiming the program’s biggest win in years. Loney says the schedule fell in their favor with a Thursday game, so he could give the players Friday and Saturday night off and time to enjoy the win. He says they came back to practice Sunday and got back to work, so it was "a concern of mine, but it’s not a worry."
Loney says the Bulldogs have good leadership and that will help them get ready. He says both the offensive and defensive captains have done a good job of getting the team focused. It is a role reversal for the Bulldogs this week. After going into the Illinois State game as a decided underdog Drake is a heavy favorite against Waldorf. Loney says he told his team that whatever they see on film, Waldorf will be better as they have two games under their belt.
Waldorf is 1-1 on the season after a victory over Iowa Wesleyan last week. Warrior’s coach Greg Youngblood says they’ve made some strides and have been getting better, but aren’t where they need to be yet. Youngblood says last weekend’s game at Michigan is proof that anything is possible. He says they’ve told their players that Appalachian State didn’t go in thinking it was just another game.
Youngblood says the Warriors will need to control the pace of the game to have a chance. He says they need to control the clock on offense and shorten the game. Youngblood says if you don’t get points, you still need to run the clock.