Dec. 1, 2007

Final Stats |  Quotes |  Photo Gallery 

DAYTON, Ohio - Kevin Hoyng threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns as Dayton scored 28 points in the second half to beat Albany, 42-21 in the 2007 Gridiron Classic on Saturday at a cold and windy Welcome Stadium. The Gridiron Classic is a post-season bowl game matching up the champions of the Pioneer Football League and the Northeastern Conference.

The PFL champion Flyers (11-1) out-gained NEC champion Great Danes (8-4) 473-259 on the strength of an MVP performance by Hoyng who was playing in his final game for UD.

The senior quarterback was named the games Most Outstanding Player by going 34-for-45 for 316 passing with three touchdowns including a pair to classmate Matt Champa to pace a Flyer offense that ran 90 plays to the opposition's 45. Hoyng also caught an eight-yard touchdown pass when he slipped out into the left flat on what initially began as a sweep to the right.

Ben Shappie ran for two scores (the first and last TD's of the game) and threw the TD pass that Hoyng caught. Shappie was the Flyers' leading ground gainer with 62 yards on 13 carries.

Dayton secured its fourth national championship in football, and its second mid-major national title since 2002. UD was ranked #1 in the last NCAA FCS Mid-Major poll that was released on November 18. The Flyers will presumably be awarded The Sports Network Cup (a traveling trophy which goes to the mid-major national champion) when the final poll is released on Monday.

UD won NCAA Division III titles in 1980 and 1989, and the Sports Network Cup in 2002 as a then-NCAA I-AA mid-major team.

Going into the game, Albany had the reputation for a powerful ball control offense, but UD had the advantage of a 41:03 to 18:57 lead in time of possession. The Great Danes used three big plays to come up with more than half of their 259 yards in total offense. A 35-yard run by David McCarty that was immediately followed by a 42-yard touchdown pass from Vinny Esposito to Mike Wall made the score 7-6 early in the second quarter. Then, in the first minute of the second half, McCarty tied the game at 14-14 with a 63-yard run.

From that point, the UAlbany offense was held to 66 yards and three first downs and the Flyers ran off 21 straight points on Hoyng's three touchdown passes (two to Matt Champa and one to Jack O'Dell).

McCarty was the game's leading ground gainer, with 134 yards on 16 carries with two TD's. It was his sixth straight 100-yard+ effort. Esposito was 10-of-18 passing for 132 yards for Albany.

The Dayton defense held Albany 123 yards below its offensive average, and 89 yards under its usual rushing output, despite the fact that the UD defensive line was out-weighed by the Great Dane offensive line by an average of 66 pounds. Safety Corey Vossler and defensive tackle Sean Heenan had nine tackles while defensive tackle Kalen Hemmelgarn added a pair of sacks. The Dayton defense that allowed Albany to convert just 2-of-10 third down conversion attempts throughout the game.

J Michael Jonard had nine catches for 54 yards for the Flyers. Champa (90 yards) and O'Dell (74) had eight catches apiece. Nick Ruhe added seven for 73 yards. All four finished the year with more receptions than the previous single-season record of 55 (set by Bill Franks in 1989). Jonard is the record holder with 64, Ruhe had 61, Champa 59 (a Flyer tight end record) and O'Dell 56.

The Flyers' 11-1 record marked the 18th time in Mike Kelly's 27 years as a head coach the Flyers won at least nine games.