Valparaiso University

The Valparaiso University football team shut out three-time defending Pioneer Football League champion Drake in the second half to achieve a 21-13 victory on Saturday afternoon at Brown Field. The Valpo defense racked up six takeaways including four interceptions and five sacks to lead the team to its second straight victory, avenging a 41-0 loss from last season in Des Moines and beating a Drake team that entered the day with a 24-2 record in its previous 26 PFL contests.
 
All three captains played key roles, as Nic Lendino (Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley) and Mark Johnson (Nashville, Tenn. / Lipscomb Academy) had two interceptions apiece to support QB Rowan Keefe, who threw for two scores and rushed for one. Both passing touchdowns went to Daniel White, the go-ahead score in the third and the insurance points in the fourth.
 
How It Happened

• The tone was set early as the Valpo defense came up with a takeaway on the game's first possession. A strip sack by Connor Cervantes (Griffith, Ind. / Griffith) was recovered by Gabriel Batres (Fairfield, Calif. / Angelo Rodriguez) near midfield to set up good field position on the opening offensive possession.
• On the first offensive snap of the day, Micah Mackay (Zionsville, Ind. / Lutheran) hauled in a 35-yard pass from Rowan Keefe (Park Ridge, Ill. / Maine South) to the Drake 14. After two plays produced 12 yards on the ground, Keefe took it himself from two yards out to put Valpo in front 7-0 with 11:06 left in the first quarter.
• The Valpo defense was at it again on the second possession, which ended with a sack for a loss of eight by Emmanuel Olojo (Chicago, Ill. / Niles West) on 3^rd-and-9 from the Drake 43.
• The teams exchanged punts, but Drake did use one big play through the air to set up a 1-yard TD run with 4:44 left in the first, tying the game at seven.
• Valpo moved the ball on a 13-play, 40-yard drive, but the drive stalled after Keefe temporarily went to the sidelines after being banged up. He would later return to the game.
• Drake had fourth-and-1 from the Valpo 35, and the Valpo defense came through with another big play as Bertrand Berry II (Gilbert, Ariz. / Highland) stopped the ball carrier for a two-yard loss, forcing a turnover on downs at the Valpo 37.
• With 3:43 left in the first half, Drake took a 10-7 lead on a 24-yard field goal. The Bulldogs sent a 48 yarder through the uprights on the final play of the first half, taking a 13-7 lead into the locker room.
• The teams exchanged punts early in the second half, then Johnson made an interception at the Valpo 47 and returned it 31 yards to the Drake 22. A personal foul penalty against Drake tacked on to Johnson's return, and the Beacons started the drive at the 11-yard line of Drake. White hauled in an 8-yard touchdown catch to help Valpo take a 14-13 lead with 10:26 left in the third quarter.
• Later in the third, Lendino made an interception near midfield to snuff out a Drake drive. Lendino collected his second pick of the day later in the quarter, this one at the Valpo 17.
• The teams exchanged punts early in the fourth, before Valpo went on a key 11-play, 74-yard drive. On second-and-10 from the Drake 27, Keefe delivered a strike to White in the right corner of the endzone. The ruling on the field was out of bounds, but Valpo head coach Andy Waddle challenged the play, and video evidence showed that White dragged his feet in the endzone for a touchdown, extending the Valpo lead to 21-13 with 4:05 left in the fourth.
• Johnson intercepted a Drake pass at the Valpo 41, as the Beacons came up with yet another takeaway. Valpo extended its next drive with a key 17-yard snag by Chris Gundy (Smithfield, Va. / Smithfield) on 3rd-and-8. The Beacons had 4^th-and-2 from the Drake 32 with 13 seconds left and elected to go for it to try to clinch the victory, but Keefe was stopped at the line of scrimmage for a turnover on downs with nine seconds remaining. Drake threw an incomplete pass with two seconds left, then tried a lateral play after completing a pass on the final play of the game. The ball was ultimately recovered by Alex Goworowski (Chicago, Ill. / Saint Patrick) to close out the win for the Beacons.

Inside the Game

• Valpo knocked off the three-time defending PFL champions, beating the reigning champs for the first time since a 28-21 victory over San Diego on Sept. 24, 2022. San Diego had shared the PFL title with Davidson the previous year, but it was Davidson that had the tiebreaker and went to the FCS Playoffs in 2021.
• This was the first time that Valpo beat a team that played in the FCS Playoffs the previous season since beating San Diego 20-19 on April 17, 2021. The Toreros had earned the league's autobid in 2019. Prior to that, it was a 2014 win over a Butler team that had gone to the FCS Playoffs the year prior.
• Drake was picked second in the Pioneer Football League preseason poll.
• Valpo beat Drake at Brown Field for the first time since 2003, snapping the Bulldogs' 11-game road winning streak in the series. Valpo beat Drake for just the sixth time in 35 all-time matchups.
• The Beacons beat Drake in any location for the first time since Sept. 25, 2021, a 24-21 win at Drake. The eight-point margin of victory was Valpo's largest against the Bulldogs since a 17-7 win on Oct. 13, 2001. This also marked Valpo's first regulation victory over Drake at Brown Field since 2001, as the 2003 matchup required overtime.
• Valpo had lost the last two matchups with Drake by a combined score of 68-3 including a 41-0 loss last season in Des Moines.
• Valpo ended Drake's 15-game PFL road winning streak, handing the Bulldogs their first road loss in league play since Oct. 15, 2022 at St. Thomas.
• Drake entered Saturday's game having scored 81 points combined over the previous two games, both against league opponents, before being held to 13 by the Beacons.
• Drake was 24-2 in its last 26 PFL games before losing to Valpo on Saturday.
• Valpo has secured back-to-back wins within the same season for the first time since September 2024 (Indiana Wesleyan and Roosevelt) and has done so in league play for the first time since 2023 (Dayton and Stetson).
• Valpo stands at 2-1 or better through three league games for the first time since 2022.
• The Valpo defense has 10 takeaways in the last two games. The six on Saturday marked the team's most since also notching six on Oct. 28, 2017 vs. Morehead State. It also marked the first four-interception game by the Valpo defense since that game on Oct. 27, 2017.
• Prior to Saturday, no Valpo player had secured multiple interceptions in a game since Jamari Booker on Oct. 26, 2019 vs. Stetson. On Saturday, both Johnson and Lendino turned the trick.
• Entering Saturday, Drake led the FCS nation in passing offense at 364.4 yards per game. The Valpo defense limited the Bulldogs to 264 yards through the air, 100 yards below their average.
• Drake entered the game ranked 12^th nationally in total offense at 454 yards per game before being held to 323 on Saturday. Valpo prevailed despite being outgained 323-250.
• Drake's quarterback Riley Warzynski had thrown five interceptions all season before tossing four on Saturday alone.
• Lendino is up to a team-high three interceptions on the season and has seven in his collegiate career. Johnson now has four in his career and his interceptions on Saturday were his first two of the season.
• Kicker Luke Scoma (Bellevue, Wash. / Bellevue) had a good day as all four of his kickoffs went for touchbacks and he drilled all three extra points. For the season, Scoma has recorded touchbacks on 23 of his 33 kickoffs and he is 20-of-21 on PATs.
• Valpo secured five sacks and 12 tackles for loss, led by Berry with two sacks and three TFL. Cervantes also had three TFL.
• The 12 TFL marked the team's most since 18 on Aug. 30, 2025 against Virginia Lynchburg and the most in league play since Nov. 6, 2021 vs. Presbyterian (18). The five sacks were Valpo's most in a league game since also accruing five on Nov. 11, 2023 vs. Stetson.
• Redshirt sophomore Anthony Feltrinelli (Westfield, Ind. / Westfield) was the team's leading tackler with eight. Goworowski added seven to go along with his fumble recovery, while Max Samuel also had seven stops including 2.5 TFL.
• Drake ran an up-tempo offense, while Valpo used a more deliberate style. Despite the fact that Valpo ran only two more offensive plays than Drake, the Beacons won the time of possession by nearly 14 minutes.
• Keefe recorded his third rushing touchdown of the season and the sixth of his career. He has passed for 10 TDs this season and 28 in his career. Keefe finished the game 13-of-28 for 155 yards and two scores through the air.
• White became the first Valpo player with multiple receiving touchdowns in a game since Solomon Davis on Sept. 23, 2023 vs. Marist. White now has four TD receptions on the season.
• White and Gundy led the team with four receptions apiece, with White accounting for 54 receiving yards to pace the squad.
• In the running game, Michael Rumoro (Genova, Ill. / Geneva Community) and Cedric Benning III (Baltimore, Md. / Episcopal [Dickinson]) shared duties, netting 50 and 44 yards, respectively.
• Valpo held Drake to 1-of-11 on third down after the Beacons entered the game already ranked 10^th nationally in third-down defense at .286. Valpo opponents have gone 3-for-22 on third down over the last two games.
• This marked the second straight game that the Beacons held their opponent scoreless in the second half.
• Valpo held Drake to just 67 rushing yards in the game. In the second half, Drake was held to just 90 yards of total offense.
• Valpo has already surpassed its league and overall win totals from last season.
• Prior to Saturday, there were only 19 instances of a player grabbing multiple interceptions in a game in FCS this season. Lendino and Johnson became the second pair of teammates nationally in FCS this season to both have multiple interceptions in the same game, joining North Alabama's Leo Glover and Anthony Young on Oct. 3 vs. Eastern Kentucky.

Postgame Press Conference
Click here for postgame press conference.
 
Up Next
The Beacons will seek their third straight win as they play at San Diego on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 3 p.m. Central Time (1 p.m. Pacific). The game will air on ESPN+.