Chris Creighton
Drake was picked to finish third in Pioneer Football League coaches poll released this week behind 2010 co-champs Jacksonville and Dayton, but coach Chris Creighton is looking to be in the mix for the title.
“I mean honestly I would be very disappointed if we ended up finishing third in the conference, but you know, for a preseason poll, I understand how those things come together,” Crieghton says. He says unless their absolute best was just good enough to be third place, everyone on the team would be disappointed, and they don’t believe their best will be third place.
Creighton is entering his fourth year as the head coach and believes they have the experience to contend. He says they have been very close in games and they believe their increase depth and another year of familiarity with his system will help them push for the title. Creighton says little things like that will add up and there isn’t any major change that needs to happen.
He says the offense has been behind the defense, but they have 10 of 11 starters back and that should pay off in more production. Creighton also uses an offense that depends more on the pass then his predecessor. Creighton says it took some time for the players that were there to get oriented to the new system and they recruited guys to his system and now they have grown into.
The Bulldogs played the first American Football game in Africa this spring and were able to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro together while there. Creighton says that’s an experience that should pay off this season. He says they got to practice and play that extra game and that allowed some guys who hadn’t played to get into the game and learn.
Creighton says it was a strenuous six-day climb up the mountain and they are using the experience and equating it to what it will take to climb to the top of the conference.