Robert Morris (0-4) continued a difficult season Saturday, suffering a 31-7 pounding at the hands of the Dayton Flyers (2-1) at Welcome Stadium.
The Colonials were down early and down big, shutout in the first half as they trailed by 24 at halftime. Four turnovers and a general inability to move the ball through their air or on the ground proved too costly in the team’s third road loss.
Flyers QB Will Bardo threw two touchdowns and ran for one in the first half, finishing the game 15-26 for 201 yards. His counterpart, Colonials QB Luke Brumbaugh, was 18-32 for just 107 yards and two interceptions. Derik Abbott also spent time at the quarterback position for Robert Morris, going 6-11 for 60 yards and an interception. Forrest Barnes led the Colonials rushing attack with 61 yards on 16 carries, also scoring the only points with a third quarter touchdown. That score made it 24-7 at the time, but Dayton answered later with a two-yard touchdown drive that was set up by a Barnes fumble.
Robert Morris had greater time of possession, three more first downs, and only 41 less total yards on offense, but the four turnovers, ten penalties and a 4-19 third down conversion rate made it easy for Dayton to pile it on.
Duane Mitchell led Colonials receivers with eight receptions for 64 yards and David Taylor had an interception for the defense. The Colonials will try again for the first victory of the season at home against Monmouth on Saturday, October 4 at Joe Walton Stadium.
