Oct. 11, 2008

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DAYTON, Ohio -- Dayton's defense forced three second-half turnovers that led to 14 points in a 27-9 home win over the Drake Bulldogs on Saturday. Senior Steve McDonald spearheaded the UD defensive effort with an interception, a fumble recovery and 10 tackles as Dayton improved to 5-1 overall (2-0 PFL), and secured the 599th victory in the program's history. Drake dropped to 2-4 (0-3 PFL). The Flyers did most of their damage through the air, as quarterbacks Rob Florian and Jeff Pechan combined to throw for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Senior running back Ben Shappie scored two TD's.

Drake was held to only 181 total yards and just 3-of-18 on third down conversions. The Flyers had to overcome a sluggish start. On the second play from scrimmage, Florian's pass attempt over the middle was intercepted by safety Andy Green. The turnover led to a 24-yard Drake field goal by Logan Rees that split the uprights, giving the Bulldogs an early 3-0 lead.

The Dayton offense continued to sputter early. Florian threw his second interception of the game with 14:43 remaining in the second quarter, as Drake defensive back Richard Courtney picked Florian on an attempt deep down the right sideline.

Both defenses continued to hold strong, but the Flyers won the field position battle in the second quarter. At the 7:44 mark, redshirt freshman Pechan replaced Florian at quarterback as Dayton regained possession on their own 45. On his very first collegiate pass attempt, Pechan launched a 53-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open James Ward streaking down the left sideline to give Dayton a 7-3 advantage.

Following a second consecutive three-and-out for Drake, Pechan - who completed 4-of-5 attempts for 111 yards in the first half - drove the Flyers to the Drake 25. But Nick Glavin's 42-yard field goal try was blocked by Drake with 1:14 remaining in the half. Dayton would take its four-point lead into the locker room for intermission.

The Flyers special teams unit set up the offense early in the second half. Redshirt sophomore Steve Valentino returned a Drake punt 33 yards with 7:38 remaining in the third quarter to Drake's 31 yard line. With Florian back under center, he aired out a 31-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the drive to Justin Millio. The ensuing extra point missed wide left, making the score 13-3 in Dayton's favor.

Dayton's smothering defense took over from there. Drake quarterback Cole Ingle fumbled with 2:25, and the loose change was recovered by Dayton's McDonald on the Drake 22. Shappie capped off the short-field drive with a 6-yard touchdown plunge up the middle to put the Flyers up 20-3.

The Dayton "D" did it again on the Bulldogs' next possession, as senior Scott Vossler intercepted Ingle's pass on the last play of the third quarter. Just minutes later, a third second-half turnover plagued Drake as McDonald picked off Ingle's pass over the middle and brought it back to the four-yard line. It was McDonald's first interception of the season. Another Shappie touchdown run at the goal line helped Dayton pull away, 27-3, with 7:51 to play.

The Bulldogs would then gain over a third of the offensive output with a 74-yard drive that ended with a late touchdown pass from Ingle to Steve Platek with 2:41 remaining. The PAT missed wide left, and UD held on for the 27-9 victory on Alumni Day at Welcome Stadium.

Steve Valentino paced the UD offensive attack with seven catches for 94 yards. J.J. Vercammen was the game's leading tackler with 12 total (five solo) in his first collegiate start. Nick Glavin had his best day punting, averaging 41.2 yards in his six punts, with two of them going inside the 20-yard line.

Dayton is back in action next Saturday, Oct. 18 at Davidson. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET.