Game Notes In PDF Format
Dayton -- The University of Dayton football team will open the 2013 season Thursday, August 29, when the Flyers travel to northeast Ohio to take on Youngstown State. Game time at Stambaugh Stadium is 7:30 p.m. ET.
Dayton won five of its last six games in 2012 to finish the year 6-5 overall and 5-3 in the Pioneer Football League. It was UD's 35th winning season in 36 years as a non-scholarship program.
The Flyers return 13 starters (four offense, eight defense, one specialist) from last season. Among the eight starters returning on defense are three preseason all-league selections – end Pat Dowd, linebacker Colin Monnier and cornerback Kyle Sebetic.
Other returning starters on defense are tackle Brannon Dunn, end Victor Kaczkowski, linebacker Clay Krafft, cornerback Howard Savage and safety Matt Bianco. The starters back on offense are tackles Ben Estey and Tom Corcoran, quarterback Will Bardo, and receiver Branden Johnson. In the kicking game, punter Kyle Pignatiello is back for his second season.
Youngstown State won its final three games of 2012 to finish 7-4 overall and 4-4 in the tough Missouri Valley Football Conference. A highlight of last season was YSU's upset of Pitt at Heinz Field in the season opener.
GOOD NEWS WORTH REPEATING
The Flyers enter the season with the third-best winning percentage (.762, 109-34) in FCS football since 2000 AND have produced the most football Academic All-Americans (22) at any level of competition in the same time frame. The top five are Harvard (.775), Montana (.769), Dayton (.762), Appalachian State (.739) and North Dakota State (.710).
STREAKING
UD has not been shut out in an NCAA-record 408 straight games, the best such active string in all of college football. The last team to shut out UD was Marshall, 9-0, on Oct. 16, 1976.
SERIES STUFF
Dayton leads the series 9-0. The last meeting was a 27-23 outcome in Youngstown on Oct. 23, 1977. That was the last season any Flyer football players played on scholarship. One of those players was UD head coach Rick Chamberlin.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Fourth-year Youngstown State head coach Eric Wolford's team will be led by quarterback Kurt Hess, wide receiver Jelani Berassa, center Chris Elkins, strong safety Donald D'Alesio and linebacker Dom Rich, the YSU co-captains.
Hess, a product of Dayton's Chaminade-Julienne High School, is the first three-time team captain in school history. He has started all of his 33 games at YSU and owns the Penguin career marks for career TD (53), passing yards per game (202.9) and passer rating (141.78)
Rich is another repeat captain. The senior linebacker played in 11 games with eight starts in 2012 and was credited with 17 tackles.
THE MAN AT THE TOP
Head coach Rick Chamberlin guided UD to 40 wins in his five seasons, going 9-3, 9-2, 10-1 and 6-5 the last two years. Dayton won a share of PFL championships in two of his first three years, and missed the third by just five points at Jacksonville in the last game of 2008.
MORE THAN HIS FAIR SHARE
Rick Chamberlin has been a part of 334 of UD's 634 wins – 26 as a player, 268 as an assistant coach, and 40 as a head coach. He has also been a part of 428 of UD's 1,013 games.
LONG TIME STARTERS
Eight Flyers own start totals of 10 or greater. Cornerback Kyle Sebetic has 28 starts in his career. QB Will Bardo has 21. OT Tom Corcoran and LB Colin Monnier have 19. WR Branden Johnson has 17. DT Brannon Dunn has 13. CB Howard Savage has 11 and DE Pat Dowd has 10. Monnier's 19 is the longest string of consecutive starts on the team.
FIRST-TIME STARTERS
The Flyers had a glut of injuries in 2012 that resulted in 45 starts missed by players who were considered starters in the pre-season. The other side of that coin is that UD has 22 players back this season who have previous starting experience. Still, four Dayton players will be making their first collegiate start at Youngstown State -- center Grant Georgic, guard Jimmy Vogel, slot receiver Gabe Macis and wideout Cory Stuart. It will be Vogel's and Stuart's first action in college.
LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN, CAPTAIN
The Flyers will be led by four co-captains in 2013 -- Brannon Dunn, Ben Estey, Colin Monnier and Kyle Sebetic.
Dunn started at defensive tackle in 2012, but was limited to six games due to an in-season appendectomy. He was in on 14 tackles and 2.5 hits in the backfield with 1.5 sacks. In 2011, he played in all 11 games with seven starts and had 38 tackles with eight sacks.
Estey started the last six games of 2012 at offensive tackle when the Flyers finished the season by winning five of their last six contests. He played in all 11 games last year after seeing action in just four career games heading into the season. He was the 2009 Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year.
Just the fifth two-time captain in Dayton football history, Monnier is a preseason First Team All-PFL selection. He was the team's White-Allen Most Valuable Player Trophy 2012. The only member of the defense to start every game, Monnier led the team in tackles (92), solo hits (46) and tackles in the backfield (12.0). He was also tied for second in interceptions (2) and batted away another pass and had a quarterback hurry.
A three-year starter at cornerback, Sebetic led NCAA FCS football in passes defensed in 2012. He had 15 passes broken up and three interceptions in nine games, for a 2.0 per game average. He also had 52 total tackles and was second on the team with 39 solos. Sebetic was also named preseason First Team All-PFL.
"We've got a great mix" according to coach Rick Chamberlin. Colin is the veteran of the bunch, having been a captain already last year. He's an outstanding player and the emotional leader of the team. Brannon is a down and gritty kind of leader. The tougher things are, the more he likes it and he showed that by battling back from having his appendix removed to play that last part of the year."
"Ben may have shown the biggest improvement as a football player of anyone on the team, and his hard work, maturity and leadership have earned him the respect of all of his teammates and coaches. Kyle is the quiet one of the group. He lets his play and work ethic do his talking for him. But when he does speak, everyone listens."
DOWD GOES THE QUARTERBACK
One of three Flyer preseason First Team All-PFL selections, senior defensive end Pat Dowd led UD and was third in the PFL in sacks (0.85 per game). All but one of his 8.5 sacks in 2012 were in PFL action. Dowd was in on 36 hits and was also second on the team in TFL (10).
SAVAGE HITS
Senior cornerback Howard Savage returns after missing the last half of 2012 with an injury (ironically, the injury happened against Butler in his hometown of Indianapolis). He second on the team in tackles per game (6.6) and also had two interceptions and four passes broken up.
WHERE THERE IS A WILL
Will Bardo returns for his third season at the helm of the Flyer offense. In 11 games last year, Bardo passed for 1687 yards (152 of 306, .497, 8 TD, 9 INT) and rushed for 405 yards and three touchdowns. After beginning the year 58 of 131 (.443), Bardo completed 94 of 175 of his passes (.537) for 1,087 yards in his last seven games. He threw for a career-high 255 yards at Butler, completing 25 of 47 passes. He took over at quarterback for Dayton as a redshirt freshman in 2011, following two-time PFL Offensive Player of the Year Steve Valentino. A dual threat, he averaged over five yards a carry on designed run plays in 2012. (5.7 per carry without sacks, 3.9 with sacks factored in).
FRESHMAN FEAT
Connor Kacsor was the first Flyer freshman football player to run for 100 yards in a game three times in a season last year as a redshirt freshman. He had with 135 at Davidson, 106 in the Morehead State win and 124 vs. Valpo in back-to-back-to-back weeks. He is only the second freshman to rush for 100 yards in a game at UD. The first was quarterback Kelly Spiker, who ran for 142 yards vs. Morehead State and 157 vs. Butler in back-to-back weeks in the 2000 season. Kacsor led the PFL with a 10.6 yard-per-carry average in 2012. Kacsor missed most of his senior season in high school, and then redshirted his first year at UD in 2011.
HAND IT TO BRANDEN
Wide receiver Branden Johnson (28 catches for 270 yards, 9.6 avg) is back after missing the last five games of the season with an injured shoulder. Even though he missed those five games, Johnson was still the Flyers leading receiver with 28 catches. Before the injury, Johnson set career highs in catches (eight at Butler) and yardage (98 at Duquesne). He was the second-leading Flyer receiver in 2011 (25 catches for a team-high 15.9 yards per catch average). He will miss the YSU game due to discipinary reasons
SPREAD IT AROUND
Dayton had eight different pass catchers with at least 10 receptions in 2012. Ross Smith was second with 26. He had nine for 108 yards in his last two games of the year.
THE HUNTER
Flyer senior slot receiver Gary Hunter averaged 22.6 yards per touch as a pass receiver (25.0 yards on 7 catches), punt returner (25.5 on 4) and kick returner (21.2 on 20) in 2012.
HUNTER THE HISTORY MAKER
Gary Hunter is believed to be only the second Flyer football player to have three special teams touchdowns in his career (available statistics are incomplete prior to 1950). Kelvin Kirk (the original Mr. Irrelevant) had three from 1974-77. Hunter had what is believed to be the first kickoff return for a touchdown by a freshman in the history of University of Dayton football when he had an 82-yard scamper against Valparaiso in 2010. He returned a kickoff for a TD in both of his first two seasons at Dayton and had a 77-yard punt return in the 2012 opener at Illinois State.
IT'S WHAT'S UP FRONT THAT COUNTS
Dayton returns three players with starting experience in 2013 on the offensive line. Tackles Ben Estey and Tom Corcoran are back from a year ago, and Chris Cortopassi, who has also started in the past at tackle and is now at guard, give the Flyer o-line experienced depth. The Flyers led the PFL in rushing (196.9 yards a game) in 2012, averaging 5.0 yards a carry.
PIGGY'S PUNTS
Kyle Pignatiello is back for his second season as UD's punter. As a redshirt freshman, he averaged 37.4 yards a punt in 65 kicks. Twenty-four of his punts were inside the 20 (with only three touchbacks), and 19 were fair caught. His career-long 63-yard punt at Davidson was the third-longest in the PFL this season.
2012 PLAYER OF THE WEEK SCORECARD
Three Times: Kyle Pignatiello, Ben Welch (twice in the same week) ; Twice: Zach Elias, Dan Jacob, Joe Janasek (in the same week), Colin Monnier, Kyle Sebetic, Robert Washington, Once: Austin Alber, Will Bardo, Matt Bianco, Pat Dowd, Owen Elger, Jordan Elmore, Taylor Harris, Gary Hunter, Connor Kacsor, Bill Petraiuolo, Pat Sankovic, Howard Savage, Ross Smith
2012 SCOUTS OF THE WEEK SCORECARD
Five Times: Chris Hagan, Twice: Luke Bonifas, Cory Stuart, Cameron Stubbs, Chuck Zavarella, Tommy Zervas; Once: Miles Ashelman, Ryan Aske, Joe Blume, Joe Bodnar, Matt Brown, Michael Gray, Nick Kaczkowski, Ricky Lawniczak, Michael Scott, Shane Toub, Jimmy Vogel, Spencer Weeks, Luke Welsh, Owen Williams
LET'S TALK CAMPBELL TROPHY
Dayton has had at least a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's Campbell Trophy, the major award of the NFF's Scholar-Athlete Award program (the academic Heisman if you will), for seven straight years. This season, linebacker Colin Monnier is UD's nominee. Semifinalists will be announced in late September. Previous Flyer picks were Bill Petraiuolo (2012), Devon Langhorst (2011), Brandon Wingeier (2010), Sean Heenan (2009), Bart Bergfeld (2008), Brandon Cramer (who was also a finalist in 2007), and Brandon Godsey (2006). Dayton is the only PFL team to even have three straight (Drake has two). Among Division I schools, the Flyers are one of 10 institutions with a semifinalist in the last seven years. The others are Austin Peay, Bucknell, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, Rutgers, South Dakota State, Texas, and Wisconsin.
PFL POWER
The Pioneer Football League is entering its 21st season. The original (and now the only) Division I strictly need-based football league began with charter members Butler, Dayton, Drake, Evansville, San Diego and Valparaiso. The Flyers' 84-26 PFL record is the best in the history of the league. The league will expand by two members this season as Mercer and Stetson begin varsity play. Dayton has won 11 (shared or outright) league championships, the most of any Pioneer Football League member.
600 CLUB
The Flyers became the 11th NCAA FCS team (and the first west of the Alleghenies) to win at least 600 games in its football history when UD beat Davidson on October 18, 2008. Here are the 15 members of the club, heading into the 2013 season. Yale (871), Harvard (829), Penn (824), Princeton (791), Dartmouth (662), Delaware (661), Lehigh (660), Lafayette (659), North Dakota State (641), Dayton (634), Cornell (629), Northern Iowa (625), North Dakota (617), Colgate (618) and Holy Cross (605). Of the 600 Club members, Dayton has played the fewest seasons (104, nine fewer than Northern Iowa's 113). UD moved into the Top 10 in 2010. The Flyers' .640 all-time winning percentage is fourth among the "600 club" and ninth all-time. The top 10 FCS winning percentages going into 2013 consists of Yale (.701), Grambling (.698), Harvard (.677), Florida A&M (.663), Princeton (.662), Tennessee State (.656), Georgia Southern (.647), Appalachian State (.6403), Dayton (.6395) and Penn (.634).
WELCOME MAT
The UD Flyers moved to Welcome Stadium in 1974. The word "Welcome" implies hospitality, but UD has been anything but hospitable to its opponents at home, where it is 205-43-2 (.824). The "Welcome" is not a greeting, but an honor to the late Percival Welcome, longtime AD for the Dayton Public Schools.
FLYER FAMILY
Six current members of the Flyer football team have had relatives who also played for UD, including three players whose fathers played -- Austen Alber (Tim, 1986-88), Alex Husted (Jon, 1986-89)and Kyle Pignatiello (Mike, 1980-82).
SUPER STAT
When Jon Gruden coached the Tampa Bay Bucs to the Super Bowl championship in 2003, he became the second UD grad to coach a Super Bowl winner. Former UD co-captain and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Chuck Noll won four as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Noll started at center and linebacker for the Flyers and graduated in 1953. Gruden played quarterback at Dayton and earned his degree in 1986. UD became only the third school (now there are four) to have two alumni coach Super Bowl winners. The others are San Jose State (Bill Walsh and Dick Vermeil), Arkansas (Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer), and Eastern Illinois (Mike Shanahan and Sean Payton). At the time of their wins, Gruden was the second-youngest coach to win a Super Bowl and Noll was the fifth-youngest. As a matter of fact, UD has ties to 19 Super Bowl rings. In addition to Noll's four and Gruden's one, six former members of Dayton coaching staffs own a total of 14 Super Bowl rings between them. They include current Saints QB coach Joe Lombardi (XLIV). Lombardi, an Air Force Academy grad and the grandson of Vince Lombardi, began his coaching career at Dayton. He coached for three seasons on Mike Kelly's staff while stationed at Wright-Pat AFB.
UP NEXT
UD' s home opener is against Duquesne at 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 7. YSU hosts PFL member Morehead State.
