Oct. 2, 2004

The University of Dayton defeated Davidson College 45-27 on a windy Saturday afternoon at Welcome Stadium. The Flyers scored a pair of touchdowns just a minute and 22 seconds apart late in the first quarter to gain control of the game. Senior safety Doug Jones scored a special teams touchdown, blocked a PAT and led the Dayton defense with eight hits on the day.

UD, ranked #1 in the Sports Network and Football Gazette NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major rankings, improves to 4-1. Davidson falls to 1-3.

After forcing Davidson into a three-and-out to open the game, Dayton marched 57 yards down the field in their opening drive, scoring on a 19-yard touchdown run from Matt Mong. Jason Resch added the PAT to give the Flyers a 7-0 lead.

Davidson answered the challenge on the next drive. A 21-yard pass from true freshman quarterback Beaux Jones to Jake Rice and a 30-yard run by John Leverett brought the Wildcats down to UD's two-yard line. Jones took it in himself to cap off the ten-play, 80-yard scoring drive and bring the score to 7-6. The Flyers would not give up the lead as Doug Jones broke through the line and blocked the point-after attempt.

Dayton's next possession came to a halt at its own 34-yard line, Jack O'Dell came in to punt the ball away. O'Dell's line-drive punt bounced once and ricocheted high off the hands of Davidson returner Jake Rice and into the end zone. Three Dayton players converged on the ball and Jones came up with it for the UD touchdown.

The Flyers' 14-6 lead quickly became a 21-6 lead when the Wildcats fumbled the ball away on their very next play from scrimmage. Defensive tackle Matt McQuiston picked up the fumble at the Davidson 15 and returned it 11 yards to the four. Three plays later Mong scored his second TD of the day.

UD scored on its next two possessions (a 24-yard Matt Marshall run and a 44-yard Brandon Staley-to-Ryan Wrobleski pass) to take a 35-6 lead with 6:23 left in the half. But Davidson had two quick scores of its own in the last 1:08 of the half to get back in the game.

Jones, the son of former NFL quarterback Bert Jones, drove his team 72 yards to a score (a ten-yard pass to Rice) to make the score 35-13, and then a bad Flyer snap on a punt put the ball back in Jones' hands on the UD 30. Jones then put the ball in Zack Schrandt's hands in the end zone, making the score 35-20 at the half.

After 55 points were scored in the first half, only three (a 27-yard Jason Resch field goal) were scored in the third quarter. But if the Dayton offense couldn't reach the end zone, the Flyers did the next-best thing with a two-touchdown lead--they managed the clock. UD had the ball for ten minutes and 47 seconds of the third quarter, compared to 4:13 for Davidson. And the Dayton defense did its part, holding the Davidson offense to just 29 yards in the third quarter.

The two teams exchanged a series of four punts to start the fourth quarter before Flyer tailback Steve Verhoff scored on a one-yard run to make the score 45-20 with 3:44 left in the game. Leverett closed the scoring with a 10-yard Wildcat score, to make the final 45-27.

UD gained 500 yards in the game (340 on the ground, 160 in the air), while Davidson had 332 (138 rushing, 194 passing). Staley led a balanced Flyer attack with 77 yards rushing, and 94 yards passing. Staley was seven of 13 through the air, and threw his seven completions to six different receivers.

Dayton had three ballcarriers gain 50 yards or more, and seven with at last 20 yards. Eight different Flyers receivers pulled in the ball, led by Ryan Wrobleski's four catches for 84 yards.

Jones' team-high eight tackles included four solo hits. End Scott Wintering, middle guard Trent Warren and cornerback Casey Klaus all added five tackles. Wintering also had a sack and batted down a pass at the line.

Dayton will begin league action in the Pioneer Football League's North Division on the road next Saturday. The Flyers will be at defending Pioneer Football League champion Valparaiso. Game time is 1:30 p.m. CDT (2:30 p.m. EDT).