Dayton football: Flyers hand Presbyterian first loss of season

The Dayton Flyers handed Presbyterian its loss of the season, winning 35-19 at Welcome Stadium on Saturday.

Gavin Lochow starred for Dayton with 133 rushing yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 41 yards. He scored on a 79-yard run after taking the snap at quarterback to tie the game at 7-7 in the first quarter.

Dayton (6-2, 4-1) bounced back from a 23-17 loss at home to Butler last week. With three games to play, it trails Drake (5-2, 4-0) by a half game and has a half game lead over Presbyterian (7-1, 3-1) in the Pioneer Football League.

Drew VanVleet filled in for injured starting quarterback Bryce Schondelmyer. He completed 10 of 12 passes for 104 yards.

Luke Hansen gained 88 yards on 15 carries. His 32-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter gave Dayton a 14-13 lead.

VanVleet threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Thulin with six seconds remaining in the second quarter to give Dayton a 28-13 halftime lead.

Vincent Firenze returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown for Dayton’s only score of the second half.

Firenze led the defense with 14 tackles. Josh Williams and Mac Grant III also had interceptions.

Dayton ended a two-game losing streak in the series and improved to 3-2 against Presbyterian in the last five seasons.

Dayton will travel across the country for its next game. It plays San Diego (4-4, 2-2), which won 40-28 at last-place Davidson (1-7, 0-4) on Saturday, at 4 p.m. next Saturday.