DES MOINES, Ia. -- The University of Dayton Flyer football team moved into a tie for second place in the Pioneer Football League Saturday with a 46-29 win at Drake.  

Dayton safety Brandon Easterling led the way with a record day.  Easterling was the 11th Dayton player to intercept three passes in a game.  On the last play of the first half, he took one of those picks back 100 yards to give the Flyers their first lead of the day and become the third Dayton player to bring one back as far as he can possibly can (statistically speaking).

UD trailed 22-7 early in the second quarter, and then scored the next 39 points in the game.

The Flyers are now 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the Pioneer Football League.  Dayton is tied for second in the PFL with Drake and Davidson.


GAME BREAKDOWN
1st Quarter – Drake 14, Dayton 7

• Drake jumped out for a 14-0 lead after gaining 140 yards on its first two possessions.
• A Jake Chisholm nine-yard run got Dayton on the board after an eight-play, 69-yard drive.

2nd Quarter – Dayton 25, Drake 22

• Drake answered with another 75-yard drive, with running back Drew Lauer scoring his second TD of the day.  The Bulldogs scored two on a fake PAT.
• The Flyers answered with their own 75-yard TD drive, Jack Cook running it in from the four.
• Brandon Easterling's  first interception of the day set up a 31-yard field goal by Sam Webster with 31 seconds left in the half.
• Drake moved the ball down the field and threatened to take its lead back to 10, but instead Easterling came up with the play that turned the game around.  He beat the Drake tight end to the ball and took it back 100 yards on the final play of the half.  A Jack Cook-to-Adam Trautman two-point pass gave Dayton a three-point lead going into the locker room.  UD would not trail again.

Third Quarter – Dayton 32, Drake 22

• Dayton took the second-half kickoff and kept it, eating up nearly seven minutes of clock and driving 83 yards in 13 plays.  Cook scored on one-yard keeper.
• Drake had the ball the remainder of the quarter but was unable to score.

Fourth Quarter – Dayton 46, Drake 29

• The Flyer defense stopped the 'Dog offense after it had a 1st-and-goal on the eight-yard line, including two plays from the one.
• UD went as far as they could go, scoring again on an 11-play, 99-yard drive.  Chisholm scored his second TD of the day from 15 yards out.
• Drake went 75 yards again to score with 6:13 left in the game.  
• The Flyers recovered the ensuing onside kick and moved the ball into Drake territory before turning it over on downs with 2:22 left.
• Easterling's third interception gave Dayton a short field, and four plays later Chisholm ended the scoring with a three-yard touchdown run.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Brandon Easterling is the 11th Dayton player to get three interceptions in a game.  The last was Christian Searles at Jacksonville in 2016.
• Easterling is also the third Flyer to return an interception 100 yards.  The other two are Sean Gorius against Morehead State in 1997 and Mark Kasmer against Duquesne in 2001.
• Easterling also had a game-high 11 tackles, including seven solo hits.
• Sam Broom also had an interception.
• Jake Chisholm had his fourth consecutive game of at least 100 yards, rushing 25 times for 142 yards and three touchdowns.
• Jack Cook ran for two scores, gaining 72 yards on 17 attempts.
• Cook was also 15 of 20 passing for 193 yards.
• Adam Trautman caught eight passes for 104 yards.  He now has 65 receptions on the season, the most by a Flyer tight end.  He is just two catches away from Justin Millio's Dayton single-season record of 67 set in 2008.
• Neither team punted in the game.

UP NEXT

• UD will close out the regular season at home against Butler on Saturday, Nov. 23.
• Dayton will celebrate Senior Day and at halftime, the Lt. Andy Zulli Memorial Award will be presented to a member of the senior class.  The Zulli award is a character-driven award that is considered the most prestigious honor in the Flyer football program.
• Game time is 1 p.m. ET.