DAYTON – Elite special teams play coupled with strong defense and  the first 200-yard rushing game for sophomore Mason Hackett led the University of Dayton football team to a hard-fought 16-14 win  over Davidson on Saturday.  Dayton blocked four kicks -- one punt and three field goals -- and made the only successful field goal of the game in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game-winning points.  A 39-yard punt return by Paul Kelly set up Dayton's first TD, and a blocked punt led to its second.

Defensively, UD held Davidson 28 points under its scoring average and 187 yards under its usual total offensive output.  The Wildcats came into the game with a third-down conversion rate of 48.9%, but converted just four of 20.  Linebacker Aiden McKinley led the effort with 15 tackles.

Offensively, UD sophomore running back ran the ball 22 times for a career-best 218 yards. The Flyers' longest drive of the day came when they needed it most.  Trailing 14-13 in the fourth quarter, Dayton went 65 yards to set up Dannny Baker's 25-yard field goal with 10:03 left in the game.

UD improves to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Pioneer Football League.  Davidson is now 4-2, and 2-1 in the PFL.

GAME RECAP
1st Quarter – Dayton 0, Davidson 0 
•    Dayton forced a fumble by Davidson as one of the first plays of the game forcing an early Davidson timeout.
•    Flyer defensive end Jerrell Lewis blocked a 41-yard field goal attempt by Davidson 
•    The two teams combined for a total of 33 yards and two first downs
2nd Quarter – Dayton 13, Davidson 7 
•    One minute into the second quarter, freshman Paul Kelly covered more ground that either offense had covered to that point with a 39-yard punt return
•    On the very next possession, Mac Grant III blocked a Davidson punt, picked it up and returned it 21 yards to give UD the ball on the Davidson 10
•    Three plays later, VanVleet found Jake Coleman in the back of the end zone
•    Davidson responded on the next series, driving 80 yards, the bulk coming on a 39-yard touchdown run by Mason Sheron to put some points on the board for the Wildcats
• The Wildcats had another chance to put some more points on the board, but Gideon Lampron blocked Davidson's 42-yard field goal attempt
3rd Quarter – Davidson 14, Dayton 13
•    Dayton took the second-half kickoff and drove to the Davidson 23 before turning it over on downs
•    The two teams exchanged punts, and then Sheron continued his big day for Davidson with a 44-yard rush to score a touchdown and give Davidson its first lead of the day
•  The Flyers took the ensuing kickoff and moved 71 yards downfield to the four, but VanVleet was hit when he threw and a second interception in the end zone eliminated UD's chance to re-take the lead
4th Quarter – Dayton 16, Davidson 14 
•    Three punts later, UD had the ball on its own 27-yard line.  Hackett ran to the right for 58 yards to flip the field
•    Danny Baker capped off the long drive with a 25 yard FG from Baker to pull ahead 16-14 with 10:33 to go in the game
• Davidson drove down the field, using 11 plays to move 46 yards, setting up a Wildcat 46-yard field goal attempt that was blocked again by Lampron. 
•    Dayton would take over leading 16-14 with 3:56 to go.
•    The Flyers would move into Davidson territory, but chose to punt and make the Wildcats cover more real estate to get into scoring position with 2:17 left
•  Davidson was able to move 46 yards again, but a 51-yard field goal attempt with 27 seconds on the clock was short and off target to preserve the Flyer win

BY THE NUMBERS
•    Mason Hackett carried the ball 22 times for 218 yards (9.9 avg.)
•    The sophomore running back gained 144 of his career-high 218 yards in the second half
•    Gavin Lochow caught five passes for 58 yards.
•    Aiden McKinley led the Dayton defense with 15 tackles, 1.5 TFL and half a sack
•    Gideon Lampron added 11 tackles, and Logan Miller had 10
•    Luke Mitchell had six solo tackles, while Lampron and Miller each contributed five
•    Miller also had 1.5 TFL
•    Chase Brown had the other half sack for the Flyers
•    Cornerback Cam Cope broke up two passes
•    Logan Forcum punted six times for a 43.8 avg with two inside the 20 

UP NEXT
•    UD travels to Indianapolis next Saturday to play against Butler in its third conference game of the season, at 1:00 p.m. EST. 
•    UD's next home game is on Oct. 26 against Morehead State

Please return to DaytonFlyers.com for a more complete recap.