The Bulldogs will be heading to Chicago this week to face off against the newest member of the GLIAC, the Roosevelt Lakers.
The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs (4-0, 0-0) will begin GLIAC play against the Lakers (1-2, 0-0 in GLIAC). When these two last faced off in the 2024 season, the Bulldogs took down the Lakers handily by a score of 55-13.
This game saw former Bulldog quarterback Trinidad Chambliss complete 18 of 30 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 43 yards on the ground and scoring another touchdown. The current senior defensive back, Jalen Jones, had three tackles and an interception in last year’s matchup.
This season, the Bulldogs have the highest scoring offense in all of Division II, averaging 53.5 points per game, led by redshirt freshman quarterback Wyatt Bower. On the season, Bower has 688 passing yards with six touchdowns, while adding 353 yards on the ground and five touchdowns.
Bower spoke about his performance thus far in his first season.
”I am okay with my performance so far this season,” Bower said. “I need to still work on everything that goes into the games and prep. I have a long way to go to being happy with my play.”
On defense, one of the standouts this season has been sophomore defensive back Ahlston Ware, who has 23 total tackles, four pass breakups and an interception in the 76-0 victory against Rio Grande.
Junior slot receiver Taariik Brett believes the team can keep firing on all cylinders as it heads into conference play.
“I absolutely believe we will keep things rolling and keep continuing to better ourselves,” Brett said. “Especially as we start GLIAC play. The team is fired up to get back out there after the bye week and compete.”
In prior seasons, coming off a bye week has usually been a great thing for the team. In the last four seasons, the Bulldogs have won every post-bye week game by a large margin. In the 2021 season, they shut out Davenport 38-0; in 2022, they defeated Waldorf University 69-3; in 2023, they took down Northern Michigan 78-3; and last season, they set a school record with an 84-7 win over American International.
Sophomore quarterback Chase Carter is happy with how his team has performed this season, but knows there are still many games to be played.
“We’re undefeated and for the most part we’re healthy,” Carter said. “So I am very happy with how the team is progressing so far but we still have a long way to go. We know the expectations placed upon us and we know we have to continue to attack each day as we still have much more to prove.”
The Lakers are led on offense by senior quarterback Zach Zella, who has performed quite well despite his team’s record, passing for 815 yards and eight touchdowns. His leading receiver is senior Norion Espadron, who has 212 yards and one touchdown.
On defense, the Lakers have struggled quite a bit, as they have allowed 33 points per game and 428 yards per game. In comparison, the Bulldogs have allowed 14.25 points per game and only 249 yards of offense per game.
Roosevelt is led on defense by senior defensive back Kamal Mukarram, who has 30 total tackles on the season, which is good for the top 20 in Division II, with one tackle for loss, one pass breakup and one forced fumble.
The Bulldogs travel to Morris Field in Chicago on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. to take on the Roosevelt Lakers.