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DAYTON – Dayton owned the first quarter, but Marist grabbed the next three as Marist beat Dayton 31-20 in the Pioneer Football League opener for both teams Saturday at Welcome Stadium. The Flyers led 13-0 and outgained Marist 139-59 in the first quarter, but Marist responded by scoring the next 31 points in the game.

For the game, the Red Foxes out-gained Dayton 488 to 341.

Quarterback Will Bardo was 15 of 31 passes for 136 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. He was also UD's leading ground gainer with 45 yards on eight carries. Connor Kacsor added 42 yards on the ground in nine carries, while Robert Washington had 39 yards and a touchdown in 11 rushes. Branden Johnson caught seven passes for 74 yards and two TD's. Ross Smith had five for 65. Backup quarterback Luke Johnson completed six of nine attempts for 73 yards and a score on UD's final drive of the game.

Linebacker Colin Monnier was the game's top tackler, with 14. Howard Savage had 12 (including seven solo tackles) and Zach Elias added 10. Nick Weston had an interception.

Marist quarterback Chuckie Looney accounted for 354 total yards. He was 19 of 36 passing for 233 passing and carried the ball 10 times for 121 yards rushing.

It was all Dayton in the game's first 13 minutes. UD led 13-0, driving 70 yards on eight plays on its first possession to score, and then taking advantage of a 10-yard punt to go grind out a nine-play, 41 yard drive to score its second TD. Even though the PAT was tipped at the line of scrimmage, the Flyers were seemingly in control since the Dayton defense had not yet allowed a Marist first down.

But Dayton would not gain another first down for the next 25 minutes of play, and Marist would get 14 first downs and 14 points over that same time span to take a lead it would not relinquish. After three quarters the score remained Marist 14, Dayton 13 but a 48-yard touchdown run by Looney made it a 21-13 game with 9:34 left in the fourth quarter, keeping UD only one score behind.

But two plays later, Bardo's pass was tipped at the line by Marist defensive end Terrence Fede and Zach Quarles returned the interception 30 yards for the Red Foxes final TD of the day. After a Jesse Signa field goal, Dayton scored one last time on a Luke Johnson-to-Branden Johnson 15-yard TD pass to make the final score Marist 31, Dayton 20.

Both teams are now 2-2 in 2013. Dayton had a two-game winning streak snapped while Marist won its second straight.

The Flyers remain home, taking on the Davidson Wildcats on Saturday, Oct. 5. Game time is 1:00 p.m. ET.