A new era begins at Drake on Saturday night when the Bulldogs host Grand View. It will be the first game for new head coach Rick Fox, who took over after Chris Creighton left for Eastern Michigan. “I’m sure there will be butterflies coming out of that tunnel as the head coach for the first time, but it’s the guys that are out there on the practice field that make me feel good about it,” Fox says.

Grand View beat Drake 21-16 enroute to a 14-0 record and the NAIA championship. “Vengeance isn’t a motivator for us, that’s not something that we push. Now hey, every guy’s got pride and they want to come back and answer the call so to speak,” Fox says.

Fox is expecting another game that comes down to the end. He says they were not overlooking Grand View last year, they just got outplayed. This is the fifth meeting in a series that Fox says has become a good rivalry. It will also be the final game in the series.

Grand View is joining the Heart of America Conference next season and their entire schedule will be league games. He says being five miles apart creates a rivalry and so far every game they have played has not been decided until late. “Whenever you have next door neighbors getting together to play football, it’s going to be a rivalry,” Fox says.

Drake has 15 starters back from last year’s team that finished 6-5.