DAYTON, Ohio - A dominant rushing attack led the homestanding Dayton Flyers to a 27-16 victory over Marist in front of 2,594 fans on Senior Day at Welcome Stadium. With the win, UD earned a share of its 10th Pioneer Football League Championship.
Dayton (9-2, 7-1 PFL) shared the PFL Title with Butler but the Bulldogs will represent the PFL in the Gridiron Classic by virtue of the head-to-head victory by BU over UD on Nov. 7 (31-28).
"I don't know of any other team that could have come through the season like we did with what happened beginning with week one," UD Head Coach Rick Chamberlin said. "Everybody stepped up. That is what this team is all about. Somebody stepping up."
UD controlled the clock with a 36:03 to 23:57 lead in time of possession as it was good on 10-of-17 third down conversion attempts and a 169-79 lead in rushing yards. Dayton ran 70 offensive plays to Marist's 49 and held a 444-338 lead in total offense.
"Our running game today kept them off the field and that is what we have been doing all year," UD Chamberlin said. "This was the best day of our running attack all year. Brian Mack and Dan Jacob played well and then Steve Valentino hit the big passes when we needed it."
Senior Steve Valentino finished 19-for-27 for 275 yards passing with two touchdowns while also rushing for 72 yards and one more score to lead the Flyer offense. "Our main goal every year is to get a PFL Championship and that is what we did today," Valentino said. "We got a share of the championship and that is as much as we can do. We were focused on this game because we knew that if we beat Marist we got a share of the Championship."
Redshirt sophomore Justin Millio made a season-high nine catches for 80 yards and the first touchdown of the game. He was joined by senior Justin Watkins who had five grabs for a game-high 113 yards and one touchdown of his own.
"It varies on offense," Millio commented. "I can have one catch one game and then have a bunch the next day. Whatever helps out the team is what I am going to do. If the ball is thrown my way, I am going to try to get to the end zone."
Redshirt freshman Brian Mack paced the Flyer rushing attack with 86 yards on 19 carries.
The Flyer defense was led by senior defensive back James Vercammen who tallied a game-best 11 tackles including five solo stops. Vercammen added the only two sacks of the game in the first half.
Redshirt senior Drew Fumagalli followed with seven tackles and one pass breakup while fellow senior Scott Horcher had the only turnover of the game with an interception with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter.
An evenly played first half began with Marist punting twice around a nine-play, 61-yard drive by Dayton that ended in a 22-yard missed field goal. UD then took over at its own 35-yard line on its second drive of the first quarter and Valentino led the Flyers down the field going 5-for-6 passing for 61 yard including an 11-yard strike to running back Justin Millio in the corner of the end zone for a 7-0 lead with 51 second left in the first quarter.
Marist answered back with an eight-play, 43-yard drive to get on the board with a 34 yard field goal just over three minutes later. Dayton had a chance to return the favor but a 13-play, 51-yard drive ended with a 36-yard missed field goal to keep the score at 7-3 with 6:22 left in the second half.
The Red Foxes would put together an impressive drive to end off the second quarter. MC quarterback Chris Debowski led the charge as he accounted for all but nine of a 58-yard drive that encompassed 12 plays. Debowski connected with Robert Spano for a 29-yard pass play that followed shortly after by a 10-yard scamper by Debowski to convert a 3rd-and-8 to keep the drive alive. However, the Flyer defense would step up with key pass breakups by Scott Horcher and Drew Fumagalli to keep the Red Foxes out of the end zone. Marist would end with a 40-yard field goal to end the half and pull to within a point at 7-6.
Dayton outgained Marist 183 yards to 132 yards overall in the first half as Valentino was 11-for-16 for 145 yards passing. Millio had six catches for 61 yards alone in the opening half while James Vercammen picked up six tackles including two sacks to pace the Flyer defensive efforts.
The offensive paced picked up in a third quarter that saw Dayton take control of the action with three scoring drives. UD took the opening kickoff and just three plays later Valentino connected with Justin Watkins on a 50-yard touchdown pass just 1:31 into the third quarter.
UD added to its advantage just over six minutes later when Valentino finished a nine-play, 57-yard drive with a 1-yard rush up the middle for a 21-6 Flyer lead. Marist would strike back just two plays later with a 77-yard touchdown strike down the middle of the field when Debowski connected with Lamacchia to pull the Red Foxes to within eight at 21-13 with 6:02 left in the third quarter.
Dayton would put a little more cushion into its lead near the end of the fourth quarter when Nick Glavin drilled a 24-yard field goal from the right hash to cap a nine-play, 60-yard drive for a 24-13 Flyer lead with 1:22 left in the third quarter.
Marist would start off the fourth with an 11-play, 67-yard drive that resulted in Jason Myers' third field goal of the afternoon from 24-yards out. However, Dayton would put the game out of reach on the following drive. UD took over on its own 30-yard line and Valentino completed two third down passes to keep the drive alive. Dayton would end the 15-play, 63-yard possession by running 6:54 off the clock and finish with a Nick Glavin 24-yard field goal with 2:54 left to close out a 27-16 victory.
