Oct. 17, 2009

Final Stats |  Quotes |  Photo Gallery 

Defense was king Saturday as the University of Dayton Flyers defeated the Davidson Wildcats 17-0 in front of a crowd of 5,069 at Welcome Stadium. The win was the fifth in a row for the Flyers as they returned home after back-to-back road games.

On a day in which the school's 1989 National Championship team was honored and inducted into the UD Athletic Hall of Fame, the current Flyers threw their first shutout since blanking Campbell 42-0 on October 4, 2008.

The two teams went back and forth in the first with Dayton's best scoring chance coming on their second possession of the game. Senior quarterback Steve Valentino led the team on an eight-play, 68-yard drive, but was picked off in the end zone by Davidson sophomore defensive back Peter Kidwell

The game remained scoreless after one quarter.

Senior safety Kevin Burns would provide the spark that Dayton needed, blocking a punt with 8 minutes to go in the half. The block gave the Flyers the ball at Davidson's 29-yard line. That would be as close as Valentino needed, as he hooked up with senior wide receiver Justin Watkins on a 29-yard pass for the score. Watkins not only came back for the ball and wrestled it away from what looked like would become another Wildcat interception, he then spun away from the first would-be tackler at the five-yard line, tight-roped along the sideline. Even though as he was knocked off his feet and heading out of bounds, he was able to reach back to the pylon for the score.

Dayton's defense came up big on the next possession. After a 28-yard completion from Michael Blanchard to Jonathan Adams, Davidson had the ball first-and-goal at the one. That's when Dayton's goal-line defense stepped up, forcing the Wildcats back to the four-yard-line for a field goal attempt that was wide left by Ben Behrendt.

Dayton led 7-0 to close out the half.

On Dayton's first possession of the second half, Valentino threw a bomb to a diving Watkins for a 44-yard pickup. Four running plays later, coupled with a late hit penalty, the Flyers had a 14-0 lead after a one-yard run by the senior quarterback for the touchdown.

Davidson tried to respond later in the quarter, but a bad snap forced quarterback Michael Blanchard into a fumble recovered by Dayton senior defensive tackle Mike Morante at the Dayton 43-yard line. The Flyers were unable to take advantage of the turnover and were forced to punt from Davidson's 33-yard line.

However, Dayton would get the ball right back after the new Davidson quarterback Matt Heaver, was picked off by senior linebacker Joe Ries at the 22-yard line. The Flyers capitalized with a 36- yard field goal by Nate Miller.

The Wildcats had their final scoring opportunity in their next possession, keeping the ball for 14 plays and moving it 37 yards to the 24-yard line, but Behrendt missed his 41-yard field goal attempt.

Ries delivered the knockout blow with another interception, returning it all the way to the Davidson four yard line. The Davidson D kept UD out of the end zone, and the flyers turned the ball over on downs at the nine with 18 seconds left.

Valentino was 10-of-18 passing for 145 yards, and was also the game's leading ground-gainer with 77 net yards on 19 attempts. Running back Brian Mack added 52 yards on 10 carries. Watkins was the top receiver with five receptions for 106 yards. He moved over 1,000 career receiving yards in the first half.

Defensively, senior Flyer James Vercammen led the Flyers for the sixth straight game this season with 12 hits. Burns had 10 tackles (six solo) to go with his blocked punt. Safety Matt Smyth had nine tackles and a fumble recovery. The linebacker tandem of Drew Fumagalli and Joe Reis each contributed eight hits, with Ries stuffing the stat sheet with a tackle in the backfield, a forced fumble, and a pass broken up to go with his two interceptions that were returned for 62 yards.

The win was Dayton's fifth straight, and the Flyers remain in a first-place tie in the Pioneer Football League at 3-0. With the loss, Davidson dropped its record to 2-4. (2-2 in the PFL)

UD is back on the road next week as the Flyers travel to Indiana to take on the Valparaiso Crusaders for a 2 p.m. ET game.

Written by Dan Vohden '11