Bulldogs earn comeback win

Butler travels to North Carolina to take on Davidson (1-6, 1-3) Saturday.

The Bulldogs (6-2, 5-0) are tied with Drake at the top of the Pioneer Football League standings.

The Wildcats of Davidson are coming off their first victory of the season, a 28-21 win over rival Campbell.

Butler is still undefeated in PFL play following a 39-35 Homecoming victory over Morehead State last Saturday.

The Bulldogs trailed 35-17 with about 13 minutes remaining. The Eagles (1-6, 0-4) generated that lead on a touchdown run by senior receiver Kevin Thomas.

Redshirt junior quarterback Matt Lancaster, who completed 31 of 53 passes for 296 yards, recorded three of his four touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to lead the comeback for Butler.

Lancaster connected with redshirt junior receiver Brendan Shannon twice and redshirt sophomore receiver Derek O’Connor once in the final period.

Shannon said he sensed a momentum shift after the first touchdown of the fourth quarter.

“You could feel it in the crowd and on the sideline (that) everyone was starting to see and believe that we could come back and win this game,” Shannon said.

“The whole night was unbelievable,” Lancaster said. “To have that crowd late in the game was obviously a momentum boost for us.”

On the Bulldogs’ next drive, Lancaster connected with O’Connor from 11 yards out and then with redshirt junior tight end Matt Jenson on a two-point conversion.

The eight-point drive left Butler down 35-32 with 3:49 remaining.

The Bulldogs pinned the Eagles deep in their own territory on the ensuing kickoff and got the ball back at midfield with about two and a half minutes left.

The game-winning touchdown came when Lancaster hit Shannon for a 17-yard score with 1:22 remaining.

Shannon finished with 14 catches for 233 yards and three touchdowns.

The dual-threat Lancaster also added 101 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. Redshirt junior receiver Tom Judge caught four passes for 30 yards.

Authors

Related posts

Top