Senior Ben Ostermann threw his first two touchdown passes as a college quarterback and Drake earned its first shutout in two years with a 36-0 win over William Penn on Saturday at Drake Stadium.

The Bulldogs (2-1) totaled 361 yards against the Statesmen, who had 14 penalties and turned the ball over three times.

The win was Drake’s sixth in a row against William Penn. It was Drake’s first shutout since blanking Butler 29-0 on Oct. 14, 2006.

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The game was delayed for several minutes in the first quarter when William Penn cornerback Carlos Stepter sustained a neck injury. He was taken off the field on a stretcher.

“He strained a tendon in his neck, but he is OK,” William Penn coach Todd Hafner said. “He was moving everything, but they didn’t want to take any chances. He was back in uniform and had a neck brace on by the end of the game.”

Drake is off Saturday and starts Pioneer Football League play at home Sept. 27 against preseason favorite San Diego.

Ostermann’s 9-yard pass to Zach Brower with 44 seconds left in the first half was his first scoring throw in 91 attempts at Drake.

He tried two more attempts before landing his second touchdown pass, a 42-yard throw to Stephen Platek with 11:48 left in the third quarter.

Saturday was Ostermann’s third career start. He went in place of Cole Ingle, who bruised his knee at Lehigh last weekend.

The Bulldogs came into the game wanting consistent drives, which meant converting on third down.

Drake hit on 5-of-9 third-down conversions in the opening half, a key to its running 41 plays before the break.

“What helped us was hitting those short routes,” Ostermann said. “Completing those helped us get closer to the first-down marker.”

The Bulldogs held William Penn (1-2) to 222 yards, but Hafner said his team contributed to that. The Statesmen had 143 yards in penalties.

“We committed too many penalties and we committed too many turnovers,” Hafner said.

Lucas Mosier’s punt block set up Dain Taylor’s 7-yard touchdown in the second quarter. It was Drake’s first touchdown on a blocked punt since Sept. 30, 2000.

Drake football: Ostermann steps in, leads Bulldogs to win
By Dan McCool, The Des Moines Register
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080914/SPORTS020402/809140344