Dayton Falls To Drake, And Out Of PFL Contention

Atticus Hughes
Contributing Writer

The Dayton Flyers fell to the Drake Bulldogs this weekend by a score of 28-17. The Flyers fall to (3-4) on the season, and (2-3) in Pioneer Football League play.

The Drake Bulldogs entered this matchup boasting the best defensive stats in the PFL and they showed exactly why against the Flyers.

The Flyers came out of the gates determined to put PFL’s best defense in their place, and it looked like they might do just that. After an Interception return to the two-yard line by redshirt sophomore Tim Simon, the Flyers punched in the first score of the game on a run by redshirt freshman Richie Warfield.

From then on, the Drake defense made a point of stalling out every Flyer drive holding the Flyers to 2 of 13 on third down, leaving senior punter Sean Smith with a sore leg.

Despite the offensive woes the Flyers kept battling and managed to keep the game within reach at halftime with a score of 14-10.

In the second half, The Bulldogs defense came out in full force, holding the Flyers to five total yards in the third quarter, as their offense added another touchdown to the lead on a two-yard touchdown pass from Steven Doran to Grant Kraemer.

Entering the fourth quarter the Bulldogs added another score to the lead, making it 28-10.

However, the Flyers were determined to make a last-ditch effort to come back as they put together a nine play 77-yard drive, capped off by a two-yard run from redshirt quarterback Jack Cook, putting the Flyers within striking distance at 28-17.

The defense stepped up as well in an attempt to give the Flyers another chance, as Senior David Leisring came up with two turnovers in the fourth quarter on an interception and a fumble recovery to make things interesting.

Ultimately the Flyers couldn’t get the job done, and fall out of contention for the PFL title, and (3-4) on the season.

The Flyers continue play next Saturday at 12:00 PM on the road against Butler to try and right the ship and get back to .500 on the season.

Photo courtesy of Griffin Quinn.