Oct. 22, 2005
DAYTON, Ohio - Seniors Ryan Wrobleski and Matt Mong each scored two touchdowns in a 52-7 Dayton victory over Valparaiso on Senior Day in front of 6,263 fans Saturday in Pioneer Football League North Division action at Welcome Stadium.
The win closed out the home schedule for Dayton (7-1, 2-1 PFL North. #2 in the Sports Network's NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major poll) which will travel to Davidson next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff in a PFL crossover game. With the loss, Valparaiso fell to 2-6 overall and 1-1 in PFL North action.
The Flyers racked up 368 yards rushing and held the Crusaders to just 59 yards on the ground. Valpo held an edge through the air at 207 yards to 125, but the Flyers' forced two interceptions and a fumble by Ryan Doerffler.
Kevin Hoyng led UD with 85 yards rushing - all in the first half. Matt Mong carried eight times for 47 yards and Greg Wimberly added 44 yards on four carries. Robert Dence - who at halftime was named the 50th winner of the Lt. Andy Zulli award - completed two of his three passing attempts for 21 yards, and ran for a 23-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.
The Flyers' opening drive took 10 plays, 80 yards in 5:02 for a 7-0 UD lead. Ryan Wrobleski took an end around 29-yards to pay dirt for the touchdown. <P>After forcing Valparaiso to a three-and-out on their its' first possession, Wrobleski returned the punt 86 yards, cutting back at the 25 to avoid the last would-be tacklers and pull away for the score.
Valpo answered on their next drive, as Steve Ogden got behind the UD defense and caught a 62-yard pass from QB Ryan Doerffler on the third play off the drive.
The Flyers responded with a 10-play drive that marched 86 yards down field before Matt Mong punched it in from one-yard out.
With the Crusaders knocking at the door just before the half, UD's Chance Walton forced a fumble on the one yard line and Brandon Cramer returned it 98 yards for a touchdown. Cramer crossed the goal like with 1:05 remaining in the first half, 14-point
Wrobleski had 136 yards combined (rushing, receiving, returning) at the half and two scores. The Flyers as a team posted 197 yards rushing in the first half.
Dayton began the half with a 20-yard field goal by Josh Heyne just 4:32 into the third quarter. The kick ended a seven-play, 42-yard drive that gave UD a 31-7 lead.
The Flyers then got the ball back on its own 43 yard line just 1:15 later and used a 39-yard pass from Hoyng to Carlton McFadgen down to the one-yard line to set up another touchdown run by Mong to put the Flyers ahead 38-7 at the 8:09 mark.
Then with 3:38 left in the third quarter Dence scampered around the left side for a 23-yard touchdown to give Dayton a 45-7 advantage. The score completed a 17-point scoring output by the Flyers and 31 unanswered points over the second and third quarters combined.
In the fourth quarter, Dayton pushed its lead to 52-7 with a Greg Wimberly 32-yard burst through the middle of the Crusader defense with 9:03 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Flyers honored 20 seniors in pre-game ceremonies. This season's senior class has totalled a 34-7 record the last four years with two regular season games remaining. Dayton ends the season at Davidson next Saturday and at Butler on November 5 at 1:00 p.m.
