Dayton holds off a late rally by Morehead State in a 34-28 win in Pioneer League action

Dayton holds off Morehead State 34-28

DAYTON, Ohio — Steve Valentino threw for one touchdown and rushed for another score as Dayton held off Morehead State’s late rally in a 34-28 win on Saturday.

The Flyers (2-1, 1-0 Pioneer League) took a 24-0 lead on Dan Jacob’s 12-yard run with 1:26 left in second quarter.

Morehead State quarterback Zach Lewis connected with Andre Williams on a 35-yard touchdown, cutting Dayton’s lead to 27-14 in the fourth quarter. Valentino threw a 50-yard touchdown to Luke Bellman to put the Flyers ahead by 20 points.

Lewis answered with touchdown passes of 69 and 49 yards, trimming the margin to 34-28 with 4:21 left in the game for the Eagles (1-2, 0-1). But Dayton held Morehead State scoreless the rest of the way.

Valentino, who threw for 243 yards, also ran for 81 yards on 21 carries for Dayton.

Lewis had 349 yards passing, two more scoring passes and an interception for Morehead State.