Kevin Hoyng has exploded onto the scene as the quarterback of the UD football team this season.

Hoyng has passed for 567 yards in two games and is the team's leading rusher with 139 yards on the ground. He has also been named Pioneer Football League (PFL) Offensive Player of the Week in each of the first two weeks of the season.

The red-shirt sophomore from Coldwater, OH, is the catalyst for the Flyers offense, which is averaging 542 yards and 39.5 points per game. With numbers like that and a 2-0 start to the season, is there anything Hoyng can't do?

'I'm about a 7-handicap in golf,' Hoyng adds.

The 6-foot, 188 pound quarterback came to UD in the fall of 2003, but decided to sit out his first season of football.

'It's really tough for a true freshman to come in here and play,' said Hoyng. 'So I thought it would be in my best interest to red-shirt. That way, I can have that fifth year if I want it.'

As a red-shirt freshman, Hoyng split time with senior Brandon Staley as the Flyers' signal caller.

'Last year was a good experience for me,' he said. 'I was able to learn a lot out on the field rather than watching.

'It was really good experience for me coming into this year, so I could make the transition to playing fulltime.'

And what a transition he has made. With Staley's graduation, Kevin Hoyng has taken over at the helm for UD, and the offense has not skipped a beat.

Hoyng complements his strong throwing arm with great athleticism and an ability to run the football. This makes the Flyers' quarterback twice as dangerous to the opposing defense.

'We do have designed running plays for myself,' Hoyng explained. 'We like to run the option.

'Also if there's any pass play out there and I don't like it, I always have the option to run the ball, which makes it really nice.'

He made the first start of his career in the season opener against Tiffin. Most young quarterbacks would undergo some pre-game jitters.

'I really wasn't too nervous at all going into the game,' said Hoyng. 'I go into the game not trying to do too much, but let the game come to me and then make some plays.'

He passed for one touchdown and ran for another as the Flyers won by a count of 38-0. Hoyng completed 12 of his 19 attempts for 271 yards, including a 50-yard scoring pass to receiver Ryan Wrobleski. UD out-gained Tiffin 530 to 87 in total offense for the game.

'We knew it was going to be a challenge,' Hoyng said of the Tiffin game. 'We knew they were athletic, but we felt like we could come in and do some really good things and put a big score up.'

As if he had not performed well enough in the opener, UD's quarterback did himself one better in the team's next game against Wittenberg. This time, Hoyng ran for a touchdown and threw for two scores in the game.

Wittenberg started fast, though, and took a 20-13 lead into the locker room at halftime.

'I think everyone knew at halftime that we could come back and win the game,' said Hoyng. 'It was just a matter of us being mentally tough and taking the challenge.

'Nobody was really panicking at halftime. It was just a matter of bouncing back and playing a solid second half.'

The Flyers bounced back in a big way, outscoring Wittenberg 28-3 in the second half en route to a 41-23 victory.

Hoyng rushed for a team-high 82 yards and put up 296 yards through the air. His 378 yards of offense is the second highest single-game total in UD history, and was good enough to earn PFL Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.

'I don't think you go into the game looking to see how many yards you're gonna put up or anything like that,' Hoyng said of his performance. 'It's just one of those things that happened in the game. The whole offense did a great job.

'You know, two weeks in a row PFL Player of the Week, I kind of look at that more as a reflection of the whole offense playing really well. I look at that as the whole offense's award more than anything.'

Dayton is ranked No. 1 by the Sports Network in their latest NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major poll. The Flyers remain at home to take on Austin Peay Saturday at Welcome Stadium.

He passes, he runs, he wins awards on a weekly basis. Is there anything else Kevin Hoyng does for the Flyers?

'I guess I try to be a little bit of a leader for the team out there,' he says, 'but we got great senior leadership already.'

It's still early, but UD has jumped out to a 2-0 start and has its sight set on another PFL Championship. With Kevin Hoyng under center, the Flyers are the smart bet to host the league championship game on Nov. 19.