College Football: Dayton Flyers hope October magic continues

The Dayton Flyers have had more treats than tricks in October in the last several seasons. The Flyers (6-2, 4-1) go after a ninth straight October win when Stetson (4-3, 2-2) makes its first visit to Welcome Stadium on Saturday.

Coach Rick Chamberlin’s team is riding a four-game winning streak.

“We’ve been in a good rhythm in all phases of the game,” Chamberlin said. “We’ve played a lot of football now and we have a lot of veterans on this team that are really into a good sync right now.”

Dayton is 19-2 in its last 21 games in October with both of the losses coming in San Diego. The Flyers are a game behind the Toreros in the Pioneer Football League standings after losing out west last month. San Diego has a first-place showdown at Marist on Saturday.

Chamberlin said that’s a game he and his team won’t worry about until later Saturday afternoon:

“We have to play our game, we can’t worry about what game San Diego is playing. We have to concentrate on who we’re playing starting with a very good Stetson team coming in here on Saturday.”

Stetson showcases the reigning PFL defensive player of the year. Senior linebacker/safety Donald Payne will likely draw interest from NFL teams. Saturday, Payne and the Hatters will try and slow down a Dayton offense averaging 38 points a game during the current four game win streak.

“Offensively we’ve been able to move the ball very well lately,” Flyers QB Alex Jeske said. “Defensively we’re coming up with stops and a lot of turnovers so we’re coming in with a lot of confidence.”

Dayton’s defense can boast about a statistic other team in all of college football can match. The Flyers have three players with four interceptions each. Cornerbacks Cameron Stubbs and Christian Searles along with safety David Leisring have combined for 12 of Dayton’s PFL-leading 14 interceptions.

“After we got a couple of wins in a row we really found our confidence and that’s been huge for us,” said senior linebacker Jack Crain, who also owns an interception. “We haven’t been at home in a couple of weeks and we’re exited to play in front of our crowd.”

Quick hits

• Last week's win at Butler clinched a winning record for the Flyers for the 39th time in the last 40 seasons.

• Chamberlin is closing in on the most wins in PFL history. His total of 52 is three behind his old boss, Flyers Hall of Famer Mike Kelly.

• Senior receiver Jack Euritt has caught a pass in 20 straight games. He is coming off a career-best performance last week when he grabbed eight passes for 136 yards and a touchdown.

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