“No one has ever run away with it,” Chamberlin said. “We just made plays to win, and today they made those plays.”
Dayton made plays early. Kyle Kaparos, in his first college start at quarterback in place of injured captain Alex Jesse, completed his first four passes. His 16-yard toss to Matt Tunnacliffe in the corner of the end zone gave UD the early lead.
“I threw it up there to give him a chance,” Kaparos said, “and he made a great catch.”
Dayton led 10-0 after freshman Patrick Sandler’s 25-yard field goal, but Robert Morris got on the board with a Bisceglia field goal right before halftime and then tied it in the third quarter on a 72-yard bomb from Jimmy Walker to Tavin Allison.
The teams went back and forth through much of the fourth quarter.
Bisceglia’s game-winner was set up when Ryan Richards Jr. recovered a fumble by Dayton’s Kyle Butz with 2:19 to play.
While Chamberlin was disappointed with the loss, he was pleased with the performance of Kaparos, who finished 13 of 18 for 122 yards. Tucker Yinger rushed for 107 yards.
“We just need to be more consistent on both sides of the ball,” Chamberlin said.
Dayton hosts Southeast Missouri State in the home opener at Welcome Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m.
CSU drops opener
After leading 14-0, Central State lost its season opener 34-23 to Elizabeth City State College on Saturday at McPherson Stadium in Wilberforce.
Marauders junior quarterback Trent Mays, in his Central State debut, ran for two scores and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Martell Clark.
Defensive lineman Raekwon Barnes completed CSU’s scoring when he tackled the quarterback in the end zone for a safety.
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