DES MOINES, Iowa — The West Virginia Wesleyan (0-1) football team fell in the season opener at Drake (1-0) by a final score of 45-3 at Drake Stadium on Thursday (Sept. 2).

Leaders for WVWC – Dariuse Cooper hauled in three catches for 52 yards. Shaq Freeman-Parks had a 32-yard reception. Cameron Lomax recorded a team-high 11 total tackles. Darius Broach and Renard Matthews each made a tackle for loss.

Leaders for Drake – Cross Robinson ran the ball 13 times for 100 yards and one touchdown. Colin Howard has two receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown. Ian Corwin picked up a pair of rushing touchdowns.

Inside the First Half – Drake scored on its first drive of the season as Caden Meis rumbled in from one yard away at the 10:16 mark of the first quarter. The Bulldogs went for it on fourth down and one from the goal line with 4:47 left as Ian Corwin dove in for the score. Drake led 21-0 after one quarter.

In the second quarter, Wesleyan put together a steady drive propelled by a pair of 12-yard runs by Mason Brubeck. The drive ended with 7:42 remaining in the first half when Alex Rogers intercepted WVWC quarterback Nathan Payne. Drake controlled a 35-0 halftime advantage.

Inside the Second Half – The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 70-yard touchdown drive capped off by a nine-yard pass from Luke Bailey to Brandon Langdok.

Early in the fourth quarter, Payne connected twice with Cooper through the air. The Bobcats drove to the Drake four-yard line and Elkins, W.Va., native Liam Depp drilled his first collegiate field goal (21 yards).

Up Next – The Bobcats head home to Buckhannon as UNC Pembroke will come to town for the Mountain East Conference Opener on Saturday (Sept. 11) at 12 p.m.