UD celebrated the 100th anniversary of Flyer football with a 49-17 win over Jacksonville Saturday at Welcome Stadium.

The Flyers used four interceptions on defense, a big day from wide receiver Ryan Wrobleski on offense and a 28-point third quarter to remain undefeated and improve to 5-0 on the season.

John Hoppe picked off two Anthony Salgado passes, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Cornerback Chance Walton and safety Steve McDonald each intercepted the Jacksonville quarterback in the game.

Wrobleski gained 162 yards of total offense and scored three touchdowns, two on the ground and one through the air.

The Flyers tried to strike first blood on their second possession of the game. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Kevin Hoyng found receiver Jack O'Dell for a 50-yard completion which gave UD the ball deep in the Jacksonville territory. But the Flyers couldn't convert as tailback Tim Watson fumbled and the Dolphins recovered.

The UD defense returned the favor by forcing a turnover of its own. At the 6:37 mark in the first quarter, Hoppe, a senior linebacker, snagged his first interception of the game.

Just three plays later, Wrobleski took a pitch from Hoyng on an end around and ran 33 yards to pay-dirt to give UD a 7-0 lead.

The Flyers defense bent, but refused to break in the first quarter. Jacksonville was driving in UD territory when Walton picked off Salgado to preserve the lead.

Early in the second, the Dolphins got on the board with a 25-yard field goal from kicker Ryan Feely.

UD answered, though, later in the second quarter. Linebacker Brian Kelly gave the Flyers great field position after he recovered a Jacksonville fumble at the Dolphins 26 yard line. Wrobleski then scored his second TD of the game, this time on a 22-yard pass from Hoyng with 2:07 to play in the first half.

The Dolphins answered almost immediately as Salgado engineered a four-play, 65-yard touchdown drive to cut into the Dayton lead. The Jacksonville QB found receiver Julio Santiago for a 33-yard gain down to the UD 22-yard line. On the next play, Salgado hooked up with wideout Eldin Ferguson on a 22-yard scoring strike. The Flyers' lead was cut to 14-10 at the half.

The Flyers used a third quarter explosion, which featured four touchdowns, to put the game on ice. Hoppe was the catalyst when he returned his second pick of the game 47 yards down the sideline and into the end zone.

Defensive end Tom Jakacki recovered a JU fumble on the Dolphins' 29-yard line to put the Flyers in scoring range once again. On the third play from scrimmage, UD ran an identical end around play with an identical result. Hoyng pitched to Wrobleski who went 19-yards to score his third touchdown of the day and give the Flyers a 28-10 lead.

Later in the third, Hoyng threw his second touchdown pass of the day, this time to Matt Champa. Hoyng found the junior tight end deep down the sideline for a 69-yard bomb.

McDonald forced the sixth Jacksonville turnover of the afternoon when he intercepted a Salgado pass. Senior tailback Steve Verhoff capped the 28-point quarter when he ran 11 yards for the score and put UD on top 42-10.

Salgado scored on a six-yard keeper in the fourth quarter to cut the Flyers' lead to 25, but that was as close as the Dolphins would come. Reserve tailback Brandon Godsey tacked on a two-yard scoring run to end the day's scoring and give UD a 49-17 win.

Every living former Flyer football player who could be contacted was invited to attend the 100th anniversary celebration, which featured a pre-game tailgate, pre-game festivities and a post-game reception held in UD Arena's Time Warner Cable Flight Deck.

A crowd of 7,257 fans was in attendance to commemorate 100 years of varsity football at UD, and the Flyers celebrated in style with a victory. The Flyers are the consensus No. 1 in all of the NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major polls, and Dayton remained the only undefeated team in I-AA non-scholarship football.

Jacksonville dropped to 1-2 on the season as the Flyers out-gained the Dolphins 339-279 in the game.

Wrobleski caught four passes for 110 yards and had three rushes for 52 yards to complement his three touchdowns. Hoyng chipped in with seven completions for 246 yards and two TDs.

Defensively, the Flyers forced six Jacksonville turnovers picking off four passes and recovering two Dolphin fumbles. Ten Flyers had five tackles or more in the game, and Kelly led the team with 13 stops.

The UD defense has held opponents to just 40 total points in five games this season. The Flyers have also posted three shutouts in 2005.

The Flyers travel to Des Moines, Iowa, next weekend for their first Pioneer Football League North Division game of the season. Drake hosts UD as the Flyers look to improve to 6-0. 660and kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m.