"Our focus is always on the league championship," Flyer football coach

Rick Chamberlin said. "That's what we want to shoot for." Chamberlin's

words have set the tone for the remainder of the Flyer football season.



The head coach is fired up and eager to begin league play. His Flyers

prepare to host the Campbell Fighting Camels Saturday in their Pioneer

Football League opener. Despite a loss last Saturday in Pittsburgh

against Duquesene, Chamberlin has faith that his team will respond, in a

big way.

"We're better than the way we executed on Saturday," Chamberlin said. "I

really believe our kids will respond well going into this game."



The Flyers' loss to Duquesne came after three consecutive wins to begin

the season and 10 wins overall last season. Losing the field position

battle and struggling with turnovers hampered the Flyers' opportunities.

Duquesne was able to convert Flyer mistakes into points and Dayton never

recovered.

"Whether you win or lose a game, you have 24 hours to get over it. You

move on, and I think our team will do just that," Chamberlin said.

So how does a team so accustomed to winning adjust and prepare for a

league game following a frustrating loss? "I don't think I have to deal with it very much, because I think it's our upperclassmen that will get

the point across," Chamberlin said. "The intensity and how important

a league game is, it comes from those upperclassmen. They've been

through it. Our leadership will handle it."



After the 3-1 start, Dayton is kicking off the PFL season with two

straight home games, the first against Campbell University. The Fighting

Camels are hitting the gridiron this season for the first time in nearly

60 years. The school dropped the football program due to the conflict in

Korea in 1950, and has spent the past two years building a coaching

staff, facility, and program that is now a member of the PFL.

Coach Chamberlin will be the first to praise the new Campbell football

program in Buies Creek, N.C. "They did not just throw this thing

together," Chamberlin said. "They have a beautiful facility, a great area

to recruit from, and Coach [Dale] Steele and his staff know how to win

games."



Campbell is coming off its first victory last Saturday and is looking to

build on the program's monumental win. Chamberlin understands that the

Camels will be fired up and the pressure will be on his Flyers.

"We have to go in knowing they're going to come in well- prepared and

play with a lot of intensity," Chamberlin said. "We have to go out and

do our own thing and we'll be fine."

Coming off a league title and the I-AA Mid Major National Championship,

the Flyers are beginning league play as major targets for the rest of the

league.

Chamberlin is confident in his team's ability to thrive off this

pressure. "Dayton has always had a bull's-eye on its back because of

our reputation," Chamberlin said. "We are going to be the big game for

everyone, whether we were defending champion or not. We have to make

sure we're at the top of our game. The quality of young men we have here

at Dayton, I don't worry about big heads. They know how to handle this

type of situation."



The Flyers refuse to prepare any differently for a conference game than a

nonconference game, and this is essential to the Flyers' success

throughout the season.

"You can't put special attention on any specific game, whether a new

opponent or not," Chamberlin said. "You have to keep the routine and

momentum that you build throughout the season.

The preparation will not be any different. Our focus is on the league

championship."

For this Flyers team, that focus begins now.