MOREHEAD, Ky. (Interstat) — Drake quarterback Braylon Wilson accounted for four touchdowns and the Bulldogs used a late surge to beat Morehead State 45-35 in an NCAA Football Championship Division game Saturday at Phil Simms Stadium. The visiting Bulldogs improved to 3-6. The home Eagles fell to 2-7 in front of an announced attendance of 4,202. Drake overcame a productive passing day from Morehead State quarterback Bryce Patterson, who threw for 371 yards and four touchdowns. The Bulldogs also had to withstand a fourth-quarter push from the Eagles before closing out the road victory.

Patterson, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound quarterback from Versailles, Ky., completed 20 of 39 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns for the Eagles. Anthony Ice was his top target, catching six passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns while adding three kickoff returns for 64 yards. Cannon Dinger caught six passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. Blake Fisher carried 20 times for 94 yards and a touchdown and caught one pass for 10 yards. Keegan Zylstra had a 54-yard reception, Cross Watson added three catches for 39 yards, and Sam Harkness had two catches for 14 yards. Jackson Lanier rushed eight times for 33 yards and caught one pass for 3 yards.

Wilson led Drake by completing 18 of 33 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns while rushing 29 times for 107 yards and two more scores. Kavaughn Clark ran seven times for 22 yards and a touchdown, caught two passes for 62 yards and another touchdown, and made one tackle. Willis Nofsinger caught three passes for 39 yards and a touchdown. Lincoln DeLaere had two catches for 68 yards. Lucci Fidone caught four passes for 19 yards and returned three kickoffs for 125 yards. Kobe Lewis caught two passes for 23 yards. Cody Blicharz had eight carries for 23 yards and three catches for 22 yards. Adrien Robbins added one carry for 3 yards. Aidan Garcia and Mitchell January each had a reception. Sam Bruno punted four times for 201 yards.

Morehead State’s Blake Surratt made 11 tackles, recorded one sack and intercepted a pass. Sidney Webb made 19 tackles and returned three kickoffs for 72 yards and one punt for 4 yards. Tazion McQueen had nine tackles. Luciano Corpora-Ellis had seven tackles. Quinton Griffin had six tackles. KJ Hardesty had three tackles and one quarterback hurry, while Josh Bowling and Keegan Krupp each had three tackles. Colton Francis recorded two tackles and one sack. Alex Herrera Jr., Luke Popovich, Isaiah Watts, James Ludwig and Alex Valencia each made two tackles. Javon Kinchen, Colton Carmichael, Damiano Mastroianni, Zarius Harvey and Malik Butler each made one tackle. Antwan Hogue Jr. and JC Wilson shared a sack, with JC Wilson adding a quarterback hurry. Ashton Adams punted four times for 168 yards.

Drake’s Tyson Shivers made 11 tackles and two sacks. Dax Wiskur had 11 tackles, Brody Shuss had nine tackles and Jack Ward had seven. Taye Proctor and Riley Contreras each made five tackles, and Skylar James had four. Kavaughn Clark also made a tackle. The Bulldogs limited Morehead State enough in the final moments to preserve the win.

Morehead State struck first in the first quarter when Blake Fisher rushed 24 yards for a touchdown. Drake answered when Wilson hit Clark for a 54-yard touchdown. After the Morehead State kickoff, Lucci Fidone returned it 25 yards to the Drake 25. Griffin Kollhoff added a 33-yard field goal in the second quarter, and Wilson scored on a 5-yard run before halftime. Patterson and Ice connected for touchdowns of 28 and 11 yards in the third quarter, and Patterson found Dinger for a 15-yard score early in the fourth. Wilson responded with a 2-yard touchdown run and a successful pass to Mitchell January for two points. Patterson hit Ice for a 52-yard touchdown, but Wilson found Nofsinger for a 23-yard touchdown. Clark’s 4-yard touchdown run with 49 seconds left helped Drake take control, and the Bulldogs sealed the win when Patterson was sacked for a loss of 16 yards to the Morehead State 38 with three seconds remaining.

Drake entered the game after a loss to Butler in its previous outing. The Bulldogs had also lost to Marist, Valparaiso, Northern Iowa, Montana and South Dakota Mines this season, with victories over Dayton and Davidson. Morehead State had beaten Stetson in its previous game and had earlier defeated Kentucky Christian. The Eagles had also lost to Davidson in overtime, Dayton, Valparaiso, Western Illinois, Austin Peay and Ohio Dominican in overtime.

Drake is scheduled to host San Diego and visit Saint Thomas in Minnesota in its next two games. Morehead State is set to visit Marist, host Presbyterian and visit Butler in its next three games.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Drake 40, Morehead State 33. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Drake with a 73.5 percent probability to win.