DAYTON — The Dayton Flyers overcame a third quarter deficit to beat the Stetson Hatters, 23-20, Saturday afternoon at Welcome Stadium.
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UD trailed 20-10 with 6:59 left in the third quarter and scored 13 unanswered points. Sam Webster’s 22-yard field goal with 6:06 remaining put the Flyers up for good.
Jake Chisholm ran for 96 yards and a touchdown while Shane Hamm passed for 122 yards and rushed for 44. Dayton’s defense had four sacks.
Neither team scored in the first quarter but the scoring picked up in the second quarter.
Cameron Gillis made a 33-yard field to put Stetson ahead, 3-0, but Webster added a 39-yard field to tie the game at 3-3.
Logan Dalton intercepted Brady Meitz’s pass and returned it 34-yards for a touchdown to give Dayton a 10-3 lead. Stetson responded as Jalen Leary’s two yard touchdown run tied the game at 10-10 at halftime.
The Hatters scored on the first play of the second half as Meitz hit Quinton Lane for a 75-yard touchdown pass to take a 17-10 lead. Gillis’ 21-yard field goal increased Stetson’s lead to 20-10.
UD responded with a 41-yard kickoff return by Luke Brenner which set up a 44-yard field by Webster to cut it to 20-13. After forcing the Hatters to punt, quarterback Shane Hamm found Derek Willits for 58-yard completion to the Stetson 12-yard line. Three plays later, Jake Chisholm’s one-yard touchdown run tied the game at 20-20.
Stetson went three-and-out on their next series and the Flyers drove to the Hatters five-yard line. Webster’s 22-yard field goal gave Dayton a 23-20 advantage.
The Hatters faced a third and six from their 39-yard line but Ben Schmiseing sacked Meitz and forced them to punt. UD’s offense ran out the clock to end the game.
The Flyers improved to 5-2 overall, 3-1 in the Pioneer Football League.
Dayton is back in action next Saturday, October 29, when they host Valparaiso at Welcome Stadium. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m.