Dayton senior running back Joey Flores led the Pirates with 185 yards on 35 carries. (Photo by Blake Thiess)
Dayton head coach Rob Umbenhower closed the postgame huddle near midfield on Thursday by saying, "No passes. That's the Dayton tradition."
Indeed, the late Dewey Sullivan would have been proud.
Harking back to the days the legendary coach roamed the sidelines four decades ago, the No. 10 Pirates (5-1, 2-1 West Valley) ran the ball on all 69 offensive plays during a 42-27 victory at home against No. 4 Willamina (4-1, 2-1 West Valley).
"Just old, traditional Dayton football – ground and pound," said 5-foot-8, 195-pound senior running back Joey Flores.
Dayton's option attack gained a total of 440 yards on the ground. Flores led the way with 185 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries.
"My legs are hurting pretty bad, but it's all good," Flores said. "I'm pretty proud of my performance."
As he should.
His touchdown, from three yards out, came on the opening drive of the game as Dayton covered 65 yards in 12 plays. Flores carried five times for 34 yards on the drive.
Dayton senior quarterback Caleb Wegner guided the Pirates' option attack to 440 yards rushing Thursday. (Photo by Blake Thiess)
"Joey Flores was a horse tonight," Umbenhower said. "We could get 3-5 yards (per play). I know the pass was open, and we might have gotten away with it. But I didn't want to give that offense (Willamina's) any more opportunities to score."
Quarterback Caleb Wegner added 111 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. He didn't mind not attempting a single pass in the contest.
"I'm fine with that, as long as we come out with the win," he said. "It's a huge win." Dayton quickly went ahead of Willamina 14-0. On the next offensive play after Flores' touchdown, Willamina quarterback BJ Wilson was intercepted by linebacker Hayden Craig on an attempted wide receiver screen that the receiver bobbled.
Craig returned it 42 yards for the score.
"To go up 14 in the first two minutes of the half had to have been a shocker for them after our game with Horizon (Christian, a 26-14 loss) and their game with Horizon (a 42-15 win)," Umbenhower said. "Ball control was huge. Having Flores and the option we run was huge."
Willamina senior quarterback BJ Wilson sets to deliver his 21-yard touchdown pass to Devin Cavan in the second quarter. (Photo by Blake Thiess)
Willamina scored its first touchdown of the game on the ensuing kickoff when Brady Bruckner took it back 91 yards. But Dayton eventually built a 35-7 lead in the first half. Wegner scored on a 47-yard run on the following drive, Jacob Becker scored from nine yards on an option pitch from Wegner and Lucas Flores scored from eight yards out with 5:46 remaining in the second quarter.
But the Pirates fumbled on their next two possessions and Willamina found traction in its passing game before half to seize a small amount of momentum.
Wilson hit Devin Cavan with a 21-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds remaining. The pass capped a nine-play, 59-yard drive in which Wilson was 4-of-5 passing for 54 yards.
The Bulldogs carried that energy into the second half, pulling to within 35-27 in the fourth quarter. Wilson scored on a 56-yard run on Willamina's second offensive play in the third quarter. The kick failed, leaving Dayton ahead 35-21.
The Pirates turned the ball over on downs and fumbled on its first two possessions of the second half. The Bulldogs made it a one possession game when Wilson lofted a 17-yard pass to Andy Zimbrick in the left side of the end zone with 8:57 remaining in the game. Wilson was stopped short on the two-point conversion run.
Wilson, the senior quarterback, finished 20-of-33 passing for 212 yards and two touchdowns. He also gained 79 yards rushing on 11 carries. Cavan had 12 catches for 130 yards.
"We didn't roll over," Willamina coach Tim France said. "We fought back. The bad turnover right at the beginning of the game, that was tough to overcome. But we came out in the second half and played a good half. Unfortunately we didn't start the game that way."
Willamina's Devin Cavan led the Bulldogs with 12 receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown. (Photo by Blake Thiess)
Dayton returned to its power running attack on its next possession – with Flores carrying on four straight plays and six total times on the 10-play drive – to extend its lead to 42-27. Wegner sealed the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run with 4:06 to play.
"That's Dayton tradition right there," France said. "They know what they like to do, and they did it well."
Looking to stay alive, Willamina drove to the Dayton 15, but was hampered by a pair of penalties before turning the ball over and allowing Dayton to run out the clock for a key victory. "This puts us back in the hunt," Umbenhower said.
FIRST QUARTER
D – Joey Flores 3 run (AJ Hedgecock kick) 7:28
D – Hayden Craig 42 interception return (Hedgecock kick) 7:10
W – Brady Bruckner 91 kickoff return (BJ Wilson kick) 6:53
D – Caleb Wegner 47 run (Hedgecock kick) 5:11
SECOND QUARTER
D – Jacob Becker 9 run (Hedgecock kick) 9:53
D – Lucas Flores 8 run (Hedgecock kick) 5:46
W – Devin Cavan 21 pass from BJ Wilson (Andy Zimbrick pass from Wilson) 0:21
THIRD QUARTER
W – Wilson 56 run (kick failed) 10:57
FOURTH QUARTER
W – Zimbrick 17 pass from Wilson (run failed) 8:57
D – Wegner 8 run (Wegner kick)
TO VIEW MORE PHOTOS: http://coachesaid.com/Blog/Luke-Andrews/2009/10/9/DaytonWillamina-photos
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