Pride Welcome in Vikings for Home Opener

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Clarke University hosts the Missouri Valley College Vikings Saturday at 1 p.m. for the program's 2022 home opener at Dalzell Field. Ticket prices start at just $8. Discounts apply for senior, military, non-Clarke students and Clarke alumni. General admission for Clarke students is free. Fans can also purchase a season pass for all home games for $33. 

The Pride (0-1) fell just short at Evangel last Thursday by a score of 31-20. After trailing 14-3 at the end of the first, CU battled back to make it a four-point deficit ahead of the fourth quarter (24-20).  With 12:20 left in the contest, senior kicker Victor Moreno missed a rushed field goal attempt from 38-yards out. Clarke's defense, however, continued to hold Evangel scoreless throughout the final quarter, but the offense struggled to get back into the endzone – with its best opportunity slipping away after failing to convert on fourth-and-one at the Valor 37-yard line with 2:52 left in regulation. A strip-sack scoop-and-score touchdown on the final play of the game sealed CU's fate.  

The Series

Clarke is 0-2 lifetime versus Missouri Valley. The last meeting was a 44-20 Viking win on Sept. 4, 2021. The two teams didn't meet during the 2020 COVID-19-impacted season. Saturday's contest marks the first trip to Dubuque for Missouri Valley. 

Missouri Valley at a Glance

The Vikings (1-0) beat Peru State 16-6 last weekend and were 3-8 (0-5 Heart South) last season. Connor Dugan and Jett Bridges shared quarterback responsibilities in the team's first game, going for a combined 11-for-23 passing for 165 yards. Seven rushers combined for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Missouri Valley's 3-4 front forced four turnovers and racked up three sacks while limiting Peru State to 57 rushing yards. 

Storylines to Follow

300-Plus Club

QB Brandon Mueller joined a club all his own after throwing for 317 yards in the season-opener. Mueller broke his previous single-game school record for passing yards in a contest and became the first Pride QB to eclipse the 300-yard mark. In seven career games for Clarke, the El Paso, Texas, native has thrown for 1,492 yards and eight touchdowns. 

Breaking Out

Mueller's top target from Thursday, wideout Gabe Deadwiler, turned in a career-best seven catches for 161 yards and a score, breaking the single-game record for yards in a contest and becoming just the fourth receiver in program history to surpass the century mark in a game. The sophomore joins former CU football players Max Steffen, Lane Hickey, and Ss'Ven Walker on the list, which includes nine 100 yard-plus performances in total. 

The list: 

• 2022: Gabe Deadwiler at Evangel – 161 yards
• 2020: Lane Hickey vs. MidAmerica Nazarene – 158 yards
• 2021: Max Steffen at Graceland – 133 yards
• 2021: Max Steffen at MidAmerica Nazarene – 111 yards
• 2019: Max Steffen at Baker – 106 yards
• 2019: Ss'Ven Walker at Graceland – 103 yards
• 2019: Max Steffen vs. Peru State – 103 yards
• 2019: Max Steffen at Benedictine – 103 yards
• 2021: Max Steffen at Missouri Valley – 102 yards

Offense Staying Out There

During the loss to Evangel, the Pride ran 73 plays from scrimmage, the program's most since running 72 against MidAmerica Nazarene back on Oct. 2, 2021. In all, the Pride have hit the 70-plus mark seven times throughout its previous three-plus seasons and own a record of 3-4 in those such contests. 

Breakdown of instances: 

• 2020: 98 against MidAmerica Nazarene (CU won, 55-28)
• 2019: 97 against Central Methodist (CU lost, 49-19)
• 2019: 84 against Graceland (CU won, 28-23)
• 2019: 82 against Peru State (CU won, 18-17)
• 2020: 81 against Benedictine (CU lost, 38-0)
• 2022: 73 against Evangel (CU lost, 31-20)
• 2021: 72 against MidAmerica Nazarene (CU lost, 56-39)

Count to Three

The Pride are trying to flip the script when it comes to playing within the comforts of home. Over the first three seasons, Clarke owns a record of 2-13 while playing at Dalzell Field. The program will seek win number three at home against a stingy Missouri Valley defense on Saturday. 

At a Loss for Yards

After recording two tackles for loss against Evangel, junior defensive end Griffin Mulcahy has accumulated 38.5 career TFLs, totaling 38.5 over his career. 

Fun fact: With last week's two TFLs cumulating in 10 lost yards, Mulcahy has now eclipsed the 100-yard mark (106.5) in yards lost from TFLs. 

Twice as Nice

The last time the Pride played Missouri Valley, then-sophomore running back Craig Elmore scored two touchdowns and rushed for 91 yards. It was the third instance of a CU ball-carrier scoring two-plus touchdowns in a game and Elmore's first of two games that season where the Chicago, Ill., native would accomplish the feat. Three of those four instances have come against Graceland University. 

Two-plus rushing touchdown performances: 

• 2020: Jordan Brown vs. Graceland (3)
• 2021: Craig Elmore at Graceland (2)
• 2021: Craig Elmore at Missouri Valley (2)
• 2019: Jordan Brown at Graceland (2)

Head Coach Miguel Regalado Weekly Sit-Down

Thoughts on the first game: 

"We won every major category, with the exception of the redzone. We didn't score touchdowns in the redzone. We were three-of-four with no touchdowns, and Evangel was four-of-four and scored touchdowns – that was the difference. We didn't start fast and our special teams, in my opinion, let us down a little bit. The field position was awful. Their starting field position was around the 48-yard line on average, we started on the 35. When you look at the game as a whole, you're saying, "Okay, we're a much better football team. We're moving the ball." We had seven explosive plays – which are completions of 20 yards or more and runs of 15 yards-plus. We had seven, they had one. Bottom line: you have to score touchdowns in the redzone. That's what got us. I expect us to do all of those things right this week. You're going to make the most improvement from week one to week two and that's what we're going to see this week."

On the duo of Brandon Mueller and Gabe Deadwiler: 

"There is something building there. The crazy thing is that we have two really good receivers right now that are on injured reserve. Jaquan Graham – people don't really know a lot about him. He scored four touchdowns in our final scrimmage, but unfortunately rolled his ankle at the end. Jackson Ostrander, out of Dubuque Hempstead, is going to be a stud for us. You throw those two in with Deadwiler and that's a pretty scary group. Deadwiler is a fantastic receiver. He's young and still learning the position. He was out-of-shape coming into camp, as most freshman do – they go home and screw it up over the summer. So, he's just starting to get his legs under him. I'll tell you what, he can flat out fly. Something I thought Evangel did a great job in the second half that we didn't not adjust to was doubling Gabe. They started cloud coverage over him to take him out of the offense and we did not adjust fast enough. We've got some things in this week that will move him around and give him more opportunities to catch the football. I think you're going to see Gabe Deadwiler have another great game."

On Missouri Valley's defense: 

"They're getting back to what I think Coach (Paul) Troth has always been about at Missouri Valley. I think they kind of lost their identity for a while there after they were winning championship after championship. I think he's getting them back to what they want to be, which is a big, physical offensive line paving ways to run the football and a very sound, stingy defense. They're still a 3-4 front, which they've always believed in, but they're a little more – I don't want to say conservative, but it is. They're not letting balls get behind them. They're saying that you're going to have to drive the football if you're going to score touchdowns on us. It's the same way Evangel was with us. They didn't do it with explosive plays, but rather with an 18-play drive. Peru State was not able to do that against Missouri Valley last week. I think they (Missouri Valley) played a fantastic football game. They played really hard on defense. I think they have a big, physical offensive line that we're going to have to match up front with our defensive line. It'll be a good matchup."

On the Vikings' rushing attack: 

"Coach Troth is a smart football coach. He's won a lot of championships there. He knows how to protect a young quarterback, and that's what they have. They have a young quarterback that they are not going to ask to go and beat Clarke. They're going to run the football, be sound on defense, and be in the game at the end with a chance to win it. The young quarterback there is a dynamic runner with the ball in his hands. His brother was a four-year starter for Missouri Valley, so they got him in right after the brother got done. He's going to be a great football player but right now they're just using that run game to protect him a little bit. We've got a bit of a challenge ahead of us."

Three keys to a victory over Missouri Valley: 

"Start fast. We've said it since the day we got here. We've got to start fast and finish strong. I know it was a long trip last week, but I'm not about making excuses. We are what we are. We're 0-1. We didn't start fast at all. Number two: we have to score in the redzone. We've got to stop people in the redzone on defense and score when we're on offense. Number three: our special forces need to show up. We need to make better decisions at the returner spot. I think Kenneth Spaight would tell you that he was trying to make too many plays that are not there instead of doing what we do – which is catching everything catchable and secure the ball. If we do those three things, we're going to be just fine." 

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