Feb. 15, 2008
Seven Dayton Flyer football players received All-America honors on the 2007 Sports Network Mid-Major All-America team. Those honored are tight end Matt Champa, offensive tackle Jim Croghan, defensive end Scott Vossler, defensive end Kalen Hemmelgarn, quarterback Kevin Hoyng, fullback Ben Shappie and center Blake Bikowski.
Matt Champa received first team offense honors to go along with his First Team Sports Network FCS All-America squad. Champa who is a senior from Sagamore Hills, Ohio, caught 59 passes for 921 yards and tallied nine touchdowns on the season. Jim Croghan joined Champa on the first team. Croghan is an offensive tackle from St. Louis, Missouri who played in all 12 games for the Flyers.
Scott Vossler and Kalen Hemmelgarn were part of the first team defense. Vossler, a senior from St. Mary's, Ohio played in all 12 games for the Flyers contributing 32 solo tackles and assisting with 36 others. Vossler also led the team with nine sacks throughout the 2007 season. As a junior Hemmelgarn tallied up eight sacks along with 41 tackles, 20 of them being solo. Hemmelgarn is from St. Henry, Ohio.
Securing the quarterback position on second team offense was senior Kevin Hoyng from Coldwater, Ohio. After completing his senior year Hoyng holds UD records for passing yardage (7,862), completions (530), pass attempts (1,013) and total offense (9,565). Hoyng also holds the top three spots on the single season total offense records. Also on the second team offense were seniors Ben Shappie and Blake Bikowski. Shappie from Versailles, Ohio scored seven touchdowns for the Flyers through 548 rushing yards and 53 receiving yards. Bikowski who came to the Flyers from South Bend, Indiana was the starting center for all 12 games this season.
Dayton was 11-1 in 2007. The Flyers were voted as FCS Mid-Major National Champions after defeating #3 Albany 42-21 in the Gridiron Classic Bowl Game. UD also claimed the co-championship in the PFL, the school's ninth league title in the last 15 years. Dayton ended the season ranked #24 in the final FCS Coaches Poll.
