Valparaiso
For senior day, the Flyers host the Valparaiso Crusaders who carry a 3-6 record (2-4 in the PFL) into the contest. They are led by a true F QB in Jimmy Seewald. They also utilize Jr QB Ryan Clarke at time. When the Valpo coach was asked this week during his weekly show who is going to play against Dayton, he said they will decide by today. Either way, they are averaging 202 yd/gm through the air. Their leading receiver is Jr Frank Catrine with 390 total yd and 56 yd/gm average. Right behind him is So Jean Rene with a 380 yd total and averaging 42 yd/gm. Based on their YTD stats, they have gained 3 times more yards passing than rushing. Last week against Butler, the Crusaders managed only 33 yd on the ground. Their leading rusher is RB Jarrett Morgan, who has 552 total yd on the year averaging 58 yd/gm. During the weekly show, the commentator lamented about how young the Valpo line is on both sides of the ball and how that hurt them in the Butler game. On defense, they are led by Jr DB Kellan Hughes with 71 stops on the year along with 6 pass breakups. The Crusaders have allowed 290 points on the year while scoring 190 points on offense. Although their record is not spectacular, it appears to me that they have improved off of their overall performance in 2015 (i.e., I think they are better this year than they were last year).
The Flyers will have to play an overall better game this week to be successful at Welcome this weekend. I think our offensive performance will improve and we will continue to work hard on defense to keep them out of the endzone. Our special teams have been, well, special all year and I anticipate that will continue. I expect our guys to play a strong game this week and be successful against the Crusaders. Go Dayton Flyers!
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