Oct. 10, 2009

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For the fourth straight week, the University of Dayton football team found itself down 7-0 in the opening minutes of the game, and for the fourth straight week, the Flyers came out victorious, winning Saturday 35-17 at Campbell. With the win, Dayton improves to 4-1 overall and moves UD into a first-place tie in the Pioneer Football League with Butler and Drake at 2-0.

After trailing 14-0 and spotting Campbell a 126-10 margin in total yards, UD started to climb back into the game with a pair of Nate Miller field goals on its next two possessions. The Flyers tied it up with 1:50 left in the half when senior QB Steve Valentino scored on a three-yard run and then hit Anthony Papp for a two-point conversion.

Dayton took the lead for good on the fourth play of the second half when Valentino went 64 yards on a quarterback draw. Campbell cut the margin to four with an Adam Willets field goal, but UD would score the next 14 points on a pair of five-yard TD runs by Andrew Zapinski in the third quarter and Dan Jacob midway through the fourth. The Zapinski TD was set up by a blocked punt by Matt Riddle.

The Flyers outscored Campbell 21-3 in the second half, outgained the Camels 245 to 78 and had 10 first downs to Campbell's three.

Valentino led the way with a career-high 114 yards rushing and two TD's on 13 carries. Valentino also completed 23 of 39 passes for 241 yards. Brian Mack added 48 yards on nine carries, and Jacob had 43 on six carries. Dayton averaged 5.7 yards a carry on the day. Seven different Flyers caught multiple passes, led by JMichael Jonard's seven receptions for 54 yards. The Flyers' 35 points were a season high.

James Vercammen led UD in tackles for the fifth time this season, getting in on nine hits (five solo) and a sack. Matt Smyth had seven tackles, including a team-high six solos. Drew Fumagalli also had seven. Greg Ochab was in on 1.5 sacks, and Ochab and Brandon Wingeier each had 1.5 tackles in the backfield. Redshirt freshman cornerback Matt Shurtleff broke up two passes to go with three solo hits.

Dayton returns home next Saturday, October 17 when the Davidson Wildcats visit Welcome Stadium. At halftime of that game, UD's 1989 NCAA Division III national championship football team will be inducted as a unit into the UD Athletic Hall of Fame. Game time is 1:00 p.m. ET.