MOON TOWNSHIP– Dayton (2-1) Rallied late to defeat the Robert Morris Colonials (1-3) after trailing for most of the game Saturday afternoon, knocking off the Colonials 17-14 at Joe Walton Stadium.

On the Colonials’ second drive, they would score the game’s first points after Ethan Shine ran the ball two yards for the game’s first touchdown. The Colonials drove down the field 66 yards to cap off their first scoring drive of the game.

The Flyers would eventually find the endzone after a seven-yard touchdown pass from Dayton quarterback Bryce Schondelmyer to equalize the game in the second quarter. On the scoring drive, Dayton found a rhythm as they rushed heavily to the right side. This allowed them to drive down the field and score a touchdown.

Ameer Dudley replaced the injured Zach Tanner after a scramble. The Colonials then turned the ball over on downs. The Flyers regained possession but went three and out after a 21-second drive.

Sophomore Jake Wolfe would start on the opening drive of the second half. Jake Wolfe and the Colonials’ offense would drive down the field after a run-heavy drive to score. Ethan Shine would get his second touchdown of the game as he ran the ball nine yards to score.

The Robert Morris Defense would force a three-and-out following the touchdown drive. Jerry Riggins would get the sack that sealed the Flyers’ fate on third down.

Dayton would find the endzone on their first drive of the 4th quarter. Schondelmyer would find Luke Hansen for a 26-yard touchdown. To set that scoring opportunity up, Dayton would drive 73 yards down the field to make the scoring drive happen.

Following that drive, the Robert Morris offense couldn’t get anything going as they went three and out with under 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Dayton would keep their foot on the gas as it drove down the field into Colonial territory. Schondelmyer would find Ethan Thulin for a 45-yard gain. Following the false start penalty, Schondelmyer would find Micahel Mussari for a 24-yard gain. The flyers found themselves knocking on the door at the end zone. Dayton would end up only getting a field goal.

Robert Morris would embark on a potential game-winning drive, but fell short as they could not convert on a 4th and 10, which was contested. On that fourth down play, Jake Wolfe lined up in shotgun and fired the ball downfield to Thomas Lee. On that play, there was contact, which resulted in the pass not being completed.

“I thought it was pass interference, but the referee said both of them were hand fighting… I said, “Well, it’s kind of hard to hand-fight when you are getting pushed out of bounds.” But you know those things happen,” Said head coach Bernard Clark Jr. “There’s nothing you can do about it, referees are referees, you can’t leave it in their hands.”

Robert Morris opens up Conference play next week in North Andover, Mass., where they will take on Merrimack. Kickoff will be at 1:00 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 4.