April 20, 2008

Photo Gallery | Stats

DAYTON, Ohio - The Dayton Flyers basked in the glow of its first Gridiron Classic Championship on Sunday with the Red and White intersquad scrimmage that bridged the past with the future.

The spring game not only concluded spring workouts and drew a crowd that braved the rainy weather, but also served as the first official event for new Flyer head coach Rick Chamberlin.

With former Flyer footballers Dale Fouse and Tom Southard serving as honorary head coaches the Red defeated the White 17-7.

For the Red squad, Joe Gulick rushed for a touchdown and Steve Valentino caught an eight-yard touchdown pass to lead the way. Quarterback Jeff Pechan went 9-for-11 for 108 yards and a touchdown.

Valentino finished the game with six catches for 113 yards highlighted by a 52-yard reception in the first half. Bart Bergfeld and Nick Collins each had five receptions.

Meanwhile for the white team, Steve Wirkus rushed for a score and completed 7-of-9 passes for 89 yards. Connor Mackovjak, J Michael Jonard and Justin Millio each recorded four receptions apiece. Kam Bonner and Devon Langhorst each recorded six tackles.

The scrimmage also served as a send-off for departing stars from a team that claimed the co-championship in the PFL, the school's ninth league title in the last 15 years. The entire 2007 team received rings from their Gridiron Classic championship after the game.

It was just another payoff for a school that returns 11 of 22 starters from last year's 11-1 team that was voted the Sports Network FCS Mid-Major National Champions after defeating No. 3 Albany 42-21 in the Gridiron Classic Bowl Game.

The atmosphere surrounding Welcome Stadium had a regular season feel to it. UD hosted a free cookout, live band, cornhole tournament taking place before the start, countless fans clad in red and then tailgating in the parking lot just as they would before a big game.

Chamberlin spent a good portion of the scrimmage roaming the sidelines discussing aspirations for next season. Dayton opens Aug. 31 against Central State in Dayton.

The 2008 season will be a special one at Dayton as it's the 30th anniversary of UD's first-ever NCAA playoff team, and both honorary coaches, along with Chamberlin, were seniors on that team.

Before the game UD announced seniors Scott Vossler, Rob Florian and Steve McDonald will serve as the team captains for the 2008 campaign.