Dayton Football Enters Final Stretch of the Season

This Story was originally posted in the Flyer News October 2025 Digital Edition

Gabriel Ward | Sports Editor

DAYTON, Ohio — The Dayton Flyers football team is closing in on the end of the 2025 season and currently sits at third in the Pioneer Football League (PFL) with an overall record of 6-3 and a PFL record of 4-2.

Dayton is currently in third year of the Trevor Andrews era, and with one win in either of their last two games, will once again improve on last year's record of 6-5. Slow but steady improvement has become the standard for Andrews so far at UD, as in his first season, UD went 4-7, followed by a 6-5 2024 season. Now the standard is beginning to rise. With UD (4-2 in PFL play) currently in third place in the PFL behind Presbyterian (4-1) and Drake (5-0), it would take a lot for UD to win the league, but the next step in rebuilding a proud program has already been taken.

This season for the Flyers has been filled with plenty of ups and downs, but through it all, a signature win and a sign of hope for the future. On Oct. 25, the Flyers welcomed in the 16th-ranked Presbyterian Blue Hose to Welcome Stadium for arguably the biggest regular-season home game in Dayton’s Division I FCS history. Earlier in the season, Presbyterian defeated both 11th-ranked Mercer and Furman, which was receiving votes, on the road.

But the Blue Hose could not stop the Flyers’ offense as UD threw everything in their playbook at Presbyterian en route to a 35-19 Dayton victory. A win that at the time put Dayton in the driver's seat in the PFL, but a loss the following week to San Diego derailed the hype. 

Despite the loss at San Diego, Flyers fans can expect an exciting end of the season, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Junior wide receiver Gavin Lochow told me that from the offense, we “can expect a little bit of everything for the rest of the season. We are going to give the defenses different looks with lots of different guys that can make plays. It’s fun being a part of an offense that has so many weapons.”

The offense has been the key to UD’s improvement, as in over half of the team's games, they have eclipsed the 30-point mark, something they did only twice total last year.

“The team's growth has been incredible. We have taken some tough losses, and the ability to come back the following weeks and respond is awesome. Our coaches do a great job of keeping us focused on one game at a time,” Lochow stated.

And while the Flyers' improvement is already a win for the program, the team is not completely out of the PFL race just yet, although they would need a lot of help. First, the Flyers would need to win out; if that does not happen, none of the chaos would matter anyway. Next, Presbyterian has three games remaining, and if they drop one, they would finish with the same PFL record as UD, 6-2. The next team ahead of Dayton is Drake, which is undefeated in PFL play. But Drake and UD face off Nov. 15 at Welcome Stadium, so a Dayton win and Drake falling to either St. Thomas or Morehead State as well would also tie them up with UD in the standings.

Overall, all of this chaos could cause up to a 5-way tie for the conference crown, causing a long tiebreaking scenario for the PFL’s bid to the FCS playoffs that may go the Flyers' way.

Regardless of how the PFL standings shake out, one thing is clear: the UD football program is on an upward trajectory. Under Andrews, the Flyers have regained their competitive edge and are once again among the elite of the conference. Even though the path back to the top of the PFL is not finished, the foundation has been set.