Flyers Lean on Discipline and Defense as PFL Play Begins

This story was originally published in the Flyer News September 2025 Digital Edition

Gabriel Ward | Sports Editor

DAYTON, Ohio – The Dayton Flyers football team entered the third year of the Trevor Andrews era, looking to continue the trend of improvement that was set over the past two seasons with a 4-7 record in his first year and a 6-5 mark in his second year. The 2025 season has the potential to be the year the Flyers break through and compete for their 13th Pioneer Football League (PFL) title and their second Division I FCS (formerly I-AA) playoff appearance.

Dayton, a non-scholarship FCS program, faced off against three scholarship programs, Division I Eastern Illinois and Robert Morris, and Division II Thomas More in non-conference play. Although the season got off to a rocky start with a 24-14 loss on the road at the hands of Eastern Illinois, they would bounce back with a home-opening 38-0 win over Thomas More in the program's first matchup with the Saints since 1992, an 18-7 Dayton win when both programs competed at the Division III level. 

Dayton completed their three-game non-conference slate back on the road this time at Robert Morris, the second matchup in four years between the squads. In a defensive battle, the Flyers entered the fourth quarter down 7-14 but rallied behind quarterback Bryce Schondelmyer, who led the offensive surge, and defensive back Mac Grant III, who totaled nine tackles in his second straight start. 

Grant spoke about the lessons learned from the non-conference slate, stating, “The non-conference taught us how to play as a team; we played two really close games against some good opponents, and it showed us how to fight through adversity and play for each other.” 

The Flyers will open PFL play against the Stetson Hatters, who are under the leadership of first-year head coach Michael Jasper, who enters the game 1-3 with a notable 31-21 loss to NAIA Webber International University. The matchup between the Flyers and Hatters will also be Parents Weekend at Dayton and a “whiteout” at Welcome Stadium.

Despite some PFL schools struggling in the non-conference, the league is as competitive as ever, with Presbyterian College even being ranked 25th in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, the first time a PFL school has been ranked in that poll since the final 2018 rankings, when San Diego finished ranked 25th.

On the mentality of the team heading into PFL play, Grant emphasized that “Mentally we’re really just focused, and we are eager to compete against the league. There are a lot of good teams this year, and we are ready to show the league what we can do.” 

One reason for the Flyers' early success is their discipline and defense. Right now, the team is among the nation's elite when it comes to fewest penalties against, with just 12 penalties in three games, trailing only the Citadel, fellow PFL school Drake, and almost all of the Ivy League, whose schools have only played one game so far this season. Along with being disciplined, the team is also nearly impossible to score on, as they are eighth in the nation in scoring defense, only allowing 12.67 points per game. The combination of discipline and defense is what has allowed the Flyers to be competitive in every game they have played. 

When asked how they can separate themselves from the rest of the conference, Grant noted that they “just have to keep taking the ball away and focus on the details, make splash plays on special teams, and dominate the line of scrimmage.” 

The season has a long way to go, and a lot about how good this team truly is will be known in the coming weeks. But as of now, the squad has positioned itself as a potential contender in a tough PFL.

“We're just excited to keep playing. It has been a good season so far; we have shown some good things, and we are just excited to get better,” Grant added.