In a season where every game has been decided by a touchdown or less, Saturday's Dayton at Davidson football game could not have been any closer. Despite trailing by 23 points with just a quarter to play, it came down to a foiled UD two-point conversion attempt with 1:01 to play as Davidson held on to win 37-36.

The loss spoiled the return of Flyer quarterback Kevin Hoyng, who missed last week's game at Jacksonville with a knee injury. It also took the shine off the fact that Hoyng became the Dayton career passing yardage record holder early in the game. The redshirt junior from Coldwater, Ohio needed just 34 yards to reach Steve Keller's previous mark of 3,768, and he got 307, giving him 4,041 for his career. Hoyng was 22 for 34 on the day, with a passing TD and a rushing TD.

The two teams traded touchdown drives in the first quarter. Davidson scored first, and UD answered with a 13-play, 80-yard drive, with Hoyng running it in from two yards out. Davidson then scored the next 23 points. The Wildcats got 13 in the second quarter to lead 20-7 at halftime, and 10 more in the third to take a 30-7 seemingly insurmountable advantage.

But Flyer redshirt junior Nick Ruhe had other ideas. After a Davidson field goal put Dayton down by 23, Ruhe took the kickoff and returned it 53 yards to the Davidson 43 to fire up the Flyers. Eight plays later, fullback Ben Shappie scored the first of three one-yard TD runs, Matt Schwartz converted the PAT to make it 30-14, and the climb out of the hole was underway.

A three-and-out gave UD the ball at its own 32, and nine plays later (including three Hoyng-to-Ruhe connections for 59 yards), Shappie scored again. On the conversion,  Brandon Godsey took the option pitch to the left pylon, and the Flyers trailed 30-22.

The Dayton D then forced a turnover to give the Dayton O a short field to work with. John Andryc's fumble recovery set-up a six-play, 24-yard drive (Shappie from the one again) and Hoyng's quick slant pass to Carlton McFadgen on the conversion tied it at 30 with 7:38 left.

But Davidson came back behind quarterback Ryan Alexander. Alexander moved the Wildcats 80 yards in five plays, all through the air, and threw the fourth of his four touchdown passes to put Davidson back ahead 37-30. Alexander finished 24-for-39 for 329 yards passing,

UD answered with a drive back into the Davidson red zone, but on third-and-12 at the 15, Hoyng was intercepted at the eight. The Flyer defense got the ball back with a quick three-and-out, and Dayton scored its third TD of the quarter on a 40-yard drive. Hoyng ran twice for 18 yards, and then hit Matt Champa for 22 yards. When Champa got to the goal line, the ball was knocked loose, but McFadgen fell on it to make the score 37-36 with 1:01 left on the clock.

The decision to go for two had already been made. After timeouts by both teams, UD flooded the right side with receivers, and Hoyng rolled right. But as Brandon Godsey came free, the Davidson defender stepped up and pressured Hoyng's throw, which came up short.

Davidson recovered the onside kick, and took two snaps to improve to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the Pioneer Football League. Dayton is now 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the PFL. This was Dayton's fourth straight loss for the first time since 1982.

The 23-point comeback to tie the game was UD's largest in 26 years. The Flyers came from a 24-0 halftime deficit to defeat Widener in the 1980 NCAA Division III national semifinals. The 23 points was tough enough, but the fact that both starting cornerbacks were out made it even more remarkable. Senior Chance Walton injured his knee in the second quarter, and freshman Scott Horcher (who is already starting in place of injured senior Casey Klaus) left in the fourth with a groin injury.

Ruhe led the receiving corps with a career-high nine catches for 136 yards. It was the PFL's leading receiver's third straight game over 100 yards. He also returned three kickoffs for 92 yards and five punts for 45 yards. Champa added five catches for 69 yards and McFadgen had three for 57. Godsey led the Flyers in rushing, gaining 53 yards on eight attempts.

Defensively, backup safety Corey Vossler led with a career-high seven unassisted tackles. Brian Kelly had six (three solo), and three players had four - Matt Smyth (replacing Walton), Horcher and Hoppe. All three had three solo tackles, and Horcher and Hoppe also batted down a pass.

Dayton returns home next Saturday to face off against Drake. Game time at Welcome Stadium is 1:00 p.m. EDT.