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DAYTON, Ohio--Morehead State heads to Dayton for the Pioneer Football League opener for both teams. The Eagles are shooting for their third straight win at UD’s Welcome Stadium and their second consecutive win this season. Saturday’s kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
The Series: Dayton Leads the series 10-5
The Coaches: Matt Ballard (MSU) and Rick Chamberlin (UD) are 1-1 in head-to-head meetings
Media Coverage
Video: Dayton Live Video Streaming
Radio: Eagle Sports Network (Flagship 96.3 FM WIVY or MSUEagles.com)
Play-by-play: Chuck Mraz;
Color: Jason Blanton;
Sidelines: Tanner Hesterberg
The Eagles are flying high after a dominating performance against St. Francis. MSU racked up 512 yards of total offense versus the Red Flash, the best offensive output by an MSU team since the 2005 PFL Championship game. Quarterback
Zach Lewis had a career day, throwing for 458 yards, one shy of the school record. His favorite target was
Donte Sawyer who had seven catches for 96 yards.
Lewis’ emergence as a true threat from under center should make Saturday’s matchup interesting. One of Dayton’s best weapons is quarterback Steve Valentino. Valentino ranks third in the PFL in passing yardage per game and fourth in passing efficieny. Lewis is first in both categories. He is also the Flyer’s leading rusher, averaging 76.5 yards per game, well ahead of Brian Mack’s second place 59 yards per game. Jack Watkins is Valentino’s favorite target in passing. Watkins averages 100.5 yards per game in receiving.
The Flyers, the 2009 PFL Co-Champions, are coming off a 35-31 loss versus Duquesne. Dayton leads the PFL in scoring offense with 29.5 points per game and the Flyers are second in total offense with 381 yards per game. UD is no slouch at defense either. It ranks fourth in both points allowed and yardage allowed in the PFL. Dayton is minus one in turnover margin, middle of the pack in the PFL in third down conversions, second in time of possession, and they lead the league in first downs.
A perennial top-tier PFL team, Saturday will be a good early season test for the Eagles against a team of similar caliber. While another career performance by Lewis isn’t needed to beat Dayton, a solid performance, both offensively and defensively will be needed to earn the road win. And a victory to start MSU’s three-game road swing would go a long way in helping the Eagles prepare for next week’s game at Marist.
Quick Hits
--Saturday’s game will mark the first in a three-game road swing.
--Morehead State has won its last two games in Welcome Stadium.
--MSU had won three straight games over Dayton before last year’s loss at home.
--Zach Lewis had the best performance in passing yardage in Division I this year.
--MSU is 4-5 in Pioneer Football League openers.
--MSU’s defense ranked first in the nation in tackles for loss, fourth in run defense and seventh in total defense last season.
