“I usually don’t like to let out where we’re practicing,” Trevor said Wednesday, “but I don’t think I’ll have trouble because my brother’s the head coach. That’s my hometown. I don’t think anybody’s going to get over there and try to get eyes on us or talk to anybody.
“I‘m excited about it. I’ve been in the college coaching profession so long I don’t get to get back there much in the fall. It’ll be good to see my brother and show the guys where I grew up. We talk about family, and you want to get to know people, and I think it’s my way of sharing a little bit of me with the team.”
Dayton (2-6, 0-5) plays Valparaiso (1-7, 0-5) at 2 p.m. Saturday. They are the only two Pioneer Football League teams without a league victory. Dayton leads the series 27-24 and won the last meeting 31-24 on a touchdown run by Jake Chisholm with 18 seconds to play in 2022.
This is Dayton’s longest losing streak since 2006 when it also started 0-5 in the PFL. It has not lost six games in a row since 1974 when it lost eight in a row in a 3-8 season.
Dayton was off last weekend after losing 37-10 to Butler at Welcome Stadium on Oct. 21.
“It’s a good time late in the season for guys to get healthy,” linebacker Nate Arthur said, “and also for us to take a look at ourselves and see what we need to improve on and build that confidence. Everybody’s believing in each other. We believe we’re going to go win these next three games.”
Dayton plays its home finale against Marist (4-2, 4-4) on Nov. 11 and closes the season with a road game at Davidson (6-2, 5-0) Nov. 18.
After Dante Casciola started the first six games at quarterback, Dayton has started freshman Drew VanVleet the last two games. He has completed 39 of 63 passes for 263 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
“It was a combination of two things,” Andrews said. “Dante got banged up in the Morehead State game, and he was available and sort of the emergency guy but didn’t get much practice in. I just felt Drew was ready. It’s something we had looked at possibly doing coming out of the bye week, depending on how things were going. We were starting to bring Drew along. (Casciola’s injury) kind of made it a situation where you go, ‘Let’s just go with it if Dante can’t get the practice reps he needs.’ Drew’s got a live arm and can make all the throws. He’s a bright kid, and he’s worked at it. He’s evolving. You always worry about growing pains with a freshman, but with where we’re at, I just thought, ‘Let’s get a spark in there. Let’s see if we can can make some things happen.’'
SATURDAY’S GAME
Dayton at Valparaiso, 2 p.m., 1290, 95.7
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