BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal Dayton junior Anthony Onstott takes back a blocked punt for a touchdown during the Deust Devils game against Bishop on Saturday.
DAYTON - The Dayton Dust Devils football team dodged a bullet Friday night at Dust Devil Stadium when it held on to beat Bishop 14-13.
The Broncos scored on a nine yard run with 1:01 left in the game to pull within one point and coach Bill Egan decided to go for the win with a two point conversion. Zach Riesche made a diving catch of Nate Rigney's pass at the right side of the end zone, but was ruled out of bounds by the side judge to preserve Dayton's lead.
"They went for the win and I applaud that," said Dayton coach Rick Walker. "I would have done the same thing."
Bishop had come into the game with a 2-0 record having beaten Truckee in Truckee, 10-0, and Arrowhead Christian of Redlands, Calif., 61-0.
Walker knew his team had its work cut out with this opponent.
"I watched them play Truckee, and I was very impressed," Walker said. "They are by far the best competition we've faced so far. They're well coached and have some great players. This was a great test for us."
Bishop struck first after Dayton fumbled a punt to set the Broncos up at Dayton's six yard line. Two plays later, tailback Brandon Griffiths punched in from the one with 6:15 left in the first quarter.
After trading punts, Dayton managed to put together a drive as Erik Hopper followed his offensive line. Hopper carried the ball eight straight times for 26 yards, including two fourth down conversions to start the Dust Devils offensive push. Senior QB Travis Woods found James Yeater for seven yards and then hit Brandon Aguilera for 13 more to get to the Broncos 34.
Aguilera ripped off an eleven yard run to give Dayton another first down. But two plays later, on third and twelve, Aguilera's halfback pass attempt was picked off by Brad Seitz at the 13 yard line to end the threat. The junior fullback made up for his mistake after the Dust Devil defense forced Bishop to punt. Aguilera broke through to block the punt and Anthony Onstott grabbed the ball in full stride, taking it to the house for Dayton's first score. Aguilera's extra point tied the game at seven.
The Dust Devil 'D' set the tone to end the first half with two big stops after Bishop drove deep into Dayton territory. After reaching the Dayton 16 following a pass interference call, Nate Rigney was sacked twice, moving the ball back to the 39, where a field goal attempt fell short.
Dayton took over with 50 seconds left and instead of running out the clock, Woods aired it out and was intercepted. Bishop couldn't capitalize and Dayton took over on downs as the half expired.
Walker rolled the dice again in the second half, starting with an onside kick that Dayton recovered at its 44. Aguilera broke free broke for 24 yards but the drive stalled.
After forcing Bishop to punt, Hopper and his linemen got going again. Hopper carried 6 times for 51 yards before Woods found Michael Martin behind the defense for a 24 yard strike and the lead.
Hopper carried the ball 29 times for 117 yards, 73 in the second half. Aguilera got 41 yards on three carries. Woods was four of eight with two interceptions and one touchdown.
Afterwards, Walker was pleased with his defense and the offensive line play that allowed Hopper to find holes.
"Those defensive stops were big. We don't win this game without that. Hopper really got on track tonight. When he tucks in behind his offensive line and gets five or six yards a time, we're going to be tough. 4-0. That's new territory for Dayton."