Oct. 27, 2009

USD-Dayton Game Notes

GAME #8: The USD Toreros (3-4; 2-3 pfl), who have dropped two straight, head to Dayton, Ohio this Saturday to take on the UD Flyers (6-1; 4-0 pfl). The Halloween contest is scheduled to kickoff at 10:00 a.m. (PDT) at Welcome Stadium.

SERIES RECORD: This is 17th meeting between USD and Dayton with the Flyers owning a commanding 12-4 lead in the series... Dayton has won the last two meetings with the Toreros having won four straight between 2003-2006... Last season's 30-22 win at Torero Stadium snapped USD's 28-game home winning streak... The Toreros held a 22-13 halftime lead, but UD outscored the Toreros in the second half, 17-0... The Flyers held USD to 10 yards rushing on 20 attempts and 216 total yards... WR John Matthews led the offense with 11 receptions for 104 yards and 1 score.

RADIO/INTERNET: Saturday's contest will air live on San Diego 1700 AM with Jack Cronin calling the action. Cronin's pre-game will begin at 9:40 a.m. (PST), and the broadcast can also be heard via the internet at www.usdtoreros.com.

PFL STANDINGS/SCHEDULE FOR OCT. 31st: Butler (4-0 PFL; 7-0), Dayton (4-0; 6-1), Drake (4-0; 6-1), Jacksonville (3-1; 4-3), Marist (3-2; 4-3), San Diego (2-3; 3-4), Davidson (2-3; 2-5), Campbell (0-4; 1-6), Valparaiso (0-4; 1-6), Morehead State (0-5; 2-6). This week's PFL games: Davidson at Butler, Valparaiso at Marist, Morehead State at Campbell, Jacksonville at Drake, San Diego at Dayton.

SCUDELLARI LOST FOR SEASON: Red-shirt freshman quarterback Sam Scudellari (Saratoga, CA) will miss the rest of the season after he suffered a fracture to his left fibula (non-displaced) in Saturday's 34-16 home loss to Jacksonville... Scudellari completed 8-of-22 passes for 172 yards and 1 TD before being replaced by Justin Fontenberry with 8:53 left in the game... Sam started 4 of the 6 games he appeared in this season and finished 67-of-117 (57.3%) for 1,004 yards and 8 TDs... He did not throw an interception and finished with a passer rating of 151.91(2nd in PFL).

JACKSONVILLE DEALS TOREROS 34-16 LOSS (Oct. 24th): The Toreros dropped a 34-16 contest to Jacksonville. The Dolphins jumped out to a 13-0 first quarter lead and never trailed. JU totaled 402 yards of offense against a Torero defense that has been hit by the injury bug of late. Jacksonville marched 60 yards on 7 plays on the game's first possession as WR josh Philpart hauled in a 28-yard pass from QB Josh McGregor with 11:32 left in the opening period. Their second score came late in the quarter following a misplayed punt return by Al-Rilwan Adeyemi. Adeyemi muffed catch was recovered by Eric Kornhauser on the USD 39-yard line. McGregor hit Sam Bell for a 35-yard completion and one play later Keith Dawson rushed in for a 4-yard score to make it 13-0. In the second quarter a Mike Levine 41-yard field goal followed by a 2-yard JT Rogan touchdown run pulled the Toreros to within 13-10 with 5:44 to go. On Jacksonville's next possession the Toreros forced a punt, but the punt hit a Torero player in the leg and JU recovered with 3:04 left in the half on USD's 32. McGregor quickly connected with Tommie Rogers for a 32-yard score to extend their lead to 20-10 at halftime. The Toreros opened up the 2nd half with their own quick score as Sam Scudellari found WR John McGough up the right side for a 59-yard TD on the first play of the half and USD was back in the game, down just 20-16. From there it was all Jacksonville as the Dolphins scored the game's final two touchdowns to close out the third quarter. J.J. Laster scored on a 1-yard run, and Philpart hauled in his second TD pass from McGregor for an 8-yard score. Rogan was the team's workhorse finishing with 85 tough yards on 20 carries. He also added 101 yards on 5 kickoff returns. McGough finished with 4 receptions for 117 yards and 1 TD. Kyle Negrete punted 5 times, averaging 47.8 yards with a long of 55 yards. Defensively the Toreros were paced by senior captain Gabe Derricks (8 tackles), and LB Anthony McCrady (7 stops).

TORERO TIDBITS: The Toreros head to Dayton in hopes of ending a two-game skid... It will be no easy task as the Toreros have won just twice in 8 tries at Welcome Stadium... USD won back-to-back games in Dayton in 2003 & 2005... Last time out the Toreros dropped a 35-16 decision in 2007... USD will look to freshman Bo Stompro (San Ramon, CA) to step in at quarterback for the injured Scudellari... Stompro has yet to see any action this season as he was initially earmarked for a redshirt year by the Torero coaching staff.. His senior year at California HS he threw for 1,835 yards and 15 touchdowns... In Dayton, Stompro will be going against the PFL's #1 team in pass defense (125.6 yards per game) and total defense (208.7 yards per game)... Among PFL teams, USD ranks 2nd in punting (35.7 avg.) and kickoff returns (24.0 avg.)... Toreros that rank in the top-5 among PFL players for all games played include Sam Scudellari (2nd in pass efficiency, 151.9), JT Rogan (2nd in kickoff returns, 25.2; 3rd in all-purpose yards, 117.7; t-5th in scoring, 4.3 ppg), Mike Levine (4th in FG%, .750; 5th in scoring for kickers, 3.7 ppg), and Kyle Negrete (1st in punting, 42.9 avg.)... Negrete ranks 9th in the nation among all FCS players, while Rogan is 18th in kickoff returns... Torero leaders for the season include Rogan (306 yards rushing, 5 TDs), WR John McGough (30 receptions for 466 yards and 4 TDs), SS Derek Pilkington (47 tackles), LB Derek Marten (35 stops) and LB Loka Kanongataa (32 tackles).

SCOUTING THE DAYTON FLYERS: Since opening the season with a 13-10 loss to Urbana, the Dayton Flyers have run off six straight wins... UD is 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the PFL, tied at the top of the standings with Butler & Drake... This past weekend the Flyers earned a 38-7 road win over Valparaiso as the Dayton defense held the Crusaders to just two first downs and 60 yards in total offense... Dayton QB Steve Valentino ran for 3 TDs and threw for one more in earning PFL offensive player of the week honors... He rushed 17 times for 127 yards and completed 13-of-18 passes for 188 yards... Senior DE Brandon Wingeier was tabbed the PFL defender of the week after totaling 4 tackles, a fumble recovery and interception that he returned for a 57-yard TD... Season leaders include Valentino (473 yards rushing & 6 TDs; 93-for-153 passing for 1,280 yards & 7 TDs), FL Justin Watkins (28 for 505 yards, 4 TDs), RB Brian Mack (259 yards, 3 TDs), Flyer James Vercammen (78 tackles; 11.5 tackles for loss), LB Joe Ries (47 tackles; 2 interceptions) and safety Kevin Burns (41 stops)... Second-year head coach Rick Chamberlin (15-4) returns 42 lettermen and 12 starters from last year's 9-3 ball club (6-2 PFL)... Welcome Stadium has been anything but hospitable to its opponents at home, where Dayton is 191-39-2 (.828) since 1974.

SMITH NAMED SEMIFINALIST FOR WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) recently announced the 154 semifinalists for the 2009 William V. Campbell Trophy (formerly known as the Draddy Trophy), endowed by HealthSouth, and the candidates for the 2009 NFF National Scholar- Athlete Awards. USD senior offensive right tackle Conrad Smith (Long Beach, CA) is one of five student-athletes selected from the Pioneer Football League. He is joined by Dayton DT Sean Heenan, Drake DT Sean Kitts, Marist DL Terrence Turner and Morehead State LB Wes McDermott. Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, semifinalists must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The NFF Awards Committee will select and announce up to 15 finalists on Oct. 29. Each finalist will be recognized as part of the 2009 NFF National Scholar- Athlete Class, receiving an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. The Campbell Trophy winner, who will have his scholarship increased to $25,000, will be announced live at the NFF's Annual Awards Dinner on December 8 at the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK: The Toreros return to Walter J. Zable Field at Torero Stadium on Saturday, November 7th, to take on the Davidson Wildcats. The PFL contest is slated to kickoff at 1:00 pm.