Emotional leader and statistical stuffer are just two ways of describing Dayton Sharks inside linebacker Santino Turnbow. He is the immovable force of indoor arena football.

“When they come in the Shark Tank, we just smell blood all over and we gotta do what we do,” said Turnbow after the Sharks blew out the Kentucky Drillers 55-12 on Sunday at Hara Arena. It was the first home game for Dayton since the season opener a month ago.

The Sharks were one of three unbeaten teams entering weekend play. Dayton (5-0), the Saginaw Sting and Erie Explosion all shared the Continental Indoor Football League lead. Saginaw should defeat the expansion Flint Fury (0-1) today. That would set up next Sunday’s 4 p.m. visit to Hara by the Sting in a battle of unbeatens.

Turnbow, a Cincinnati Woodward High School grad who played at the University of Iowa, led the Sharks’ shutdown defense with four solo stops and an assist.

Offensively, Sharks quarterback Tommy Jones completed 15-of-23 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns. Robert Redd had six catches for 126 yards and two scores.

Jones directed the Sting to a championship last season.

“(Playing the Sting) is something that we’ve been looking forward to,” said Sharks coach Chris Taylor.

Call-up: The Sharks lost defensive lineman Terrill Byrd to the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League two weeks ago. Byrd played on Colerain’s 2004 state title team and at the University of Cincinnati. The AFL is the highest level of indoor football.

Hello, Miss Ohio: Elissa McCracken, a 21-year-old student at Ohio Northern University and Ohio’s representative for Miss America, made a guest appearance and mangled the national anthem. But she looked great.

No go: The minor leagues in any sport is only as stable as ownership’s finances. The CIFL recently suspended the Kane County (Ill.) Dawgs. All of Kane’s home games were canceled and the remaining CIFL teams’ schedules were adjusted to pick up the Dawgs’ away games.

The price is right: Cost for a hot dog at Hara Arena, $3. Cost for a 12-ounce draft beer, $2. An adult beverage that’s cheaper than a dog may be a first in all of football stadium history, indoors or out.

It’s a hit: After home games, the action begins for fans. The Sharks set up tables on the field where fans — lots of children — mingle, get autographs and snap pictures with the players.

Numbers game: The Sharks don’t announce official attendance. Sunday’s game drew at least 2,000-plus.