DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Mike Piatkowski threw two touchdown passes and Drake defeated Grand View 28-8 Thursday night in its season opener.  Piatkowski finished with 271 yards passing for the Bulldogs, with the touchdowns going to Nick Rosa and Dan Hohenstein. Drake also scored on Gary Scott’s 2-yard run and John Hugunin’s 35-yard return of a blocked punt.  Grand View, also located in Des Moines, scored first on Darius White’s 10-yard run. But the Vikings missed the extra point and their only score the rest of the way came on a safety. It was 14-8 in the fourth quarter before Naser Hanoon blocked the punt that turned into Hugunin’s TD.  The NAIA school won its opening game last week, beating Graceland 26-6.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – No. 12 Wisconsin opens the season at home Saturday against Northern Iowa.  All eyes are on Badgers running back Montee Ball, who was attacked and beaten up near campus a month ago, leaving him with a concussion that caused him to miss part of camp. Three men were arrested in connection with the incident this week.  Ball scored 39 touchdowns to tie Barry Sanders’ NCAA record last season.  Northern Iowa is ranked No. 7 in a preseason FCS coaches’ poll. The Panthers beat Iowa State in 2007 and nearly beat the Cyclones again last year, losing 20-19 after blowing a late lead. Northern Iowa lost 17-16 at Iowa in 2009 after having a pair of late field goal attempts blocked.

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Backup quarterback Graham Harrell finally came through with the strong preseason performance the Green Bay Packers were looking for, driving the offense for touchdowns on all three of his possessions in a 24-3 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Harrell completed 13 of 15 passes for 223 yards with two touchdowns in both teams’ final tuneup Thursday night. Second-year running back Alex Green had touchdowns rushing and receiving, and Jarrett Boykin caught a touchdown for the Packers. Peyton Hillis had 46 yards on six carries early on and the Chiefs rushed for 247 yards. Defensive tackle B.J. Raji appeared to hurt his left ankle on the Packers’ first defensive play, but was able to walk off the field without assistance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bryce Harper hit his third home run in two games, Jason Werth homered for the first time since May, and Edwin Jackson struck out 10 Thursday night as the Washington Nationals padded their NL East lead with an 8-1 win over the punchless St. Louis Cardinals. The Nationals opened an 11-game homestand with an overwhelming performance against a wild-card contender that failed to score an earned run for the third straight game. Jackson (8-9) was so dominant that three of his strikeouts required throws to first because the Cardinals were chasing balls in the dirt. The victory moved the Nationals 5½ games ahead of idle Atlanta. Jaime Garcia (3-6) allowed six runs for the Cardinals, whose streak of 28 scoreless innings ended in the eighth.

Week 2 — August 31

Class 3-A District 1               

•  Atlantic (1-0) @ Carroll (0-1)
• Winterset (1-0) @ ADM (1-0)
• Creston (1-0) @ Clarinda (0-1)
• Thomas Jefferson (1-0) @ Glenwood (1-0)
• Harlan (1-0) @ Abraham Lincoln (0-1)
• Lewis Central (1-0) @ St. Albert (1-0)
• Boone (1-0) @ Perry (1-0)

Class 3-A District 2

• Kuemper Catholic (1-0) @ Denison (0-1)

Class 2-A District 8      

• East Mills (0-1) @ Clarinda Academy (0-1)
• Grene County (0-1) @ North Polk (0-2)
• Cherokee Washington (0-1) @ OA-BCIG (0-1)
• Red Oak (0-1) @ Treynor (1-0)
• Shenandoah (1-0) @ Riverside (0-1)

Class 1-A District 2

• IKM/Manning (1-0) @ Logan-Magnolia (1-0)

Class 1-A District 8 

• Missouri Valley (0-1) @ West Monona (0-1)
• West Marshall (2-0) @ Panorama (1-0)
• Underwood (0-1) @ Tri-Center (1-0)

Class A District 7

• Mount Ayr (1-0) @ Bedford (0-1)
• DM Christian (1-0) @ Woodward-Granger (1-0)
• West Central Valley (0-1) @ Earlham (0-1)
• Guthrie Center (0-1) @ Ogden (0-1)
• Van Meter (1-0) @ Madrid (0-1)
• Martensdale-St. Marys (1-0) @ Pleasantville (0-1)
• Woodward Academy (0-1) @ South Hamilton (1-0)

Class A District 8 

• Audubon (1-0) @ A-H-S-T (0-1)
• East Mills (0-1) @ Clarinda Academy (0-1)
• Griswold (0-1) @ Nodaway Valley (0-1)
• Maple Valley (0-1) @ Westwood (0-1)

8-Man District 6

• *Adair-Casey (2-0, 1-0) @ East Union (1-1)
• *Murray (2-0, 1-0) @ Ankeny Christian (0-2)
• NE Hamilton (1-0) @ Colo-Nesco (0-2, 0-1)
• *Mormon Trail (1-1, 0-1) @ Grandview Park Baptist (0-2, 0-1)

8-Man District 7

• River Valley (0-1) @ Ar-We-Va (0-1, 0-1)
• *Boyer Valley (0-1, 0-1) @ Glidden-Ralston (1-1, 1-0)
• *West Harrison (0-1, 0-1) @ Charter Oak-Ute (1-0)
• *Coon Rapids-Bayard (2-0, 1-0) @ Heartland Christian (1-1, 0-1)
• *Woodbine (1-0, 1-0) @ Exira/EHK (1-0, 1-0)

8-Man District 8

• *Nishnabotna (0-1, 0-1) @ CAM (1-1)
• *Essex (1-1, 0-1) @ Corning (0-1, 0-1)
• Fremont-Mills (1-0, 1-0) @ Whiting (0-1)
• *Stanton (0-1, 0-1) @ Lenox (2-0, 1-0)
• *Sidney (1-0, 1-0) @ Villisca (1-0, 1-0)

*district game

w/ Jim Field

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The Drake football team opens the seaason at home tonight (Thursday) against Grand View. The Bulldogs have high hopes after earning a share of the Pioneer Football League title a year ago and coach Chris Creighton says his team is ready for a game. Grand View opened the season ranked 15th in the NAIA and opened last Saturday with a 26-6 victory over Graceland. Drake avoided the upset in last year’s meeting. The Bulldogs tied the game in the waning seconds before edging the Vikings 28-21 in overtime. Grand View coach Mike Woodley says last year’s game should give the Vikings the confidence that they can compete with Drake. Woodley says the key for the Vikings will be to slow down Drake senior quarterback Michael Piatkowski who threw for more than 29 hundred yards and 25 touchdowns last season. It is a seven o’clock kickoff in Drake Stadium.