Dayton beats Butler on touchdown pass with 11 seconds to play

“This is a play we’ve been working on and just waiting for the right time to use it,” Dayton coach Trevor Andrews said. “It was so open. Drew didn’t want overthrow it, and he just put it up there where Luke could go up and get it. "

Dayton (5-1, 3-0) won its fourth straight game and ended a two-game losing streak in the series against Butler.

“You’ve got to find a way to win,” Andrews said. “It’s hard to win at home, let alone on the road. You’ve got to be gritty. That was a gritty win.”

The Flyers are 3-0 in the Pioneer Football League for the first time since 2015 when they last won a share of the PFL title. They won their first seven PFL games that season before losing 27-17 to Drake in the final game of the regular season.

Butler (5-2, 1-2) tied the game on an 8-yard touchdown run by quarterback Reagan Andrew with 5:38 to play and then a 2-point conversion run by Butler’s other quarterback Nick Howard.

Dayton then began a 10-play, 93-yard drive that lasted 5 minutes, 21 seconds. VanVleet ran 17 yards to convert on 3rd-and-9 early in the drive. Hackett ran for a yard on 4th-and-1 to keep the drive alive. One play later, VanVleet connected with Brenner.

“There was no way he wasn’t coming down with it,” Andrews said. “You put a fifth-year senior receiver in that position. That’s what they’re there for. He’s a great athlete.”

VanVleet completed 11 of 14 passes for 137 yards and three touchdowns. He threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jake Coleman in the second quarter to give Dayton a 7-0 lead. He threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Brenner to give Dayton a 14-3 lead in the third quarter.

Hackett rushed for 111 yards on 35 carries. Brenner, who has four touchdown catches this season, caught three passes for 56 yards.

Dayton’s defense held Butler, which averaged 432.2 yards in the first six games, to 260 yards. The Flyers benefitted from three Butler turnovers, including an interception by cornerback Jeremy Jonozzo on Butler’s first possession.

Dayton returns to action at noon next Saturday against Morehead State (4-3, 2-1) at Welcome Stadium.