Dec. 9, 2007

The University of Dayton honored the 2007 Flyer football team today at its annual Football Awards Banquet. The banquet, presented by the UD Flyers Club, was at the Kennedy Union Ballroom on campus.

The banquet was the final team event of a championship season. Dayton finished 11-1, including 6-1 in the Pioneer Football League. The Flyers were co-champions of the PFL, and after defeating Albany 42-21 in the Gridiron Classic bowl game, were awarded the Sports Network Cup, which goes to the Mid-Major National Championship team.

In addition to the trophies earned by this year's football team, this squad's legacy will also be on display in print, as UD set 32 different records in 2007.

Many of those records belong to senior quarterback Kevin Hoyng (Coldwater, OH). He was voted the recipient of the White-Allen Most Valuable Player Trophy. The PFL Offensive Player of the Year was named for the second time in his career, also earning the MVP award as a sophomore in 2005.

In 2007, Hoyng completed 251 of 384 passes for 3,317 yards and 31 touchdowns, all Dayton single-season records. He also led the Flyers in rushing (640 yards on 163 carries) and scoring (60 points). He had a hand in 41 of UD's 64 touchdowns - 31 passing, nine rushing and one receiving.

As good as the numbers were, it was when he had them that set Hoyng's season apart. He completed 23 of 29 passes for 252 yards, and rushed for a career-high 127 more yards when Dayton knocked off then-#1 San Diego. In the PFL-championship-clinching win at Drake, Hoyng set a school record with 33 completions for 360 yards. Three weeks later, in the bitterly cold and windy conditions that the Gridiron Classic was played in, Hoyng broke his own one-game-old record with 34 completions for 316 yards and was named the game's Most Outstanding Player.

In his final four games, from San Diego to the Gridiron Classic, with a championship on the line, Hoyng completed 77.8% of his passes (115 of 147).

Hoyng ends his days in a Dayton uniform the Flyer career record holder in passing yardage (7,862, twice as much as the next player), completions (530), attempts (862), TD's (59), passing efficiency (158.1) and total offense (9,528). In fact, Hoyng holds the top three UD single-season totals for total offense.

A Flyer captain in 2006 and 2007, Hoyng was just the third two-time captain in school history.

The White-Allen Most Valuable Player Trophy is sponsored by Tim White and White-Allen Auto Group, Inc. The award is selected by members of the team. The White-Allen Trophy has been awarded annually since 1953. White-Allen now sponsors the MVP award for UD's men's and women's basketball, football and volleyball teams.

Another team captain, senior linebacker Brian Kelly (Cincinnati, OH), was presented the Emil Karas Memorial Award. The Karas Award is for the most inspirational leadership as chosen by his teammates. A three-year starter, Kelly led the Flyers in tackles the last two seasons. In 2007, Kelly had 86 tackles (36 solo), with four tackles in the backfield, two fumble recoveries and two fumbles forced.

The third captain, senior safety Brandon Cramer (Toledo, OH) was a repeat winner of the John L. Macbeth Memorial Scholar-Athlete Award. A 4.0 student majoring in Pre-Med, Cramer received the highest honor a University of Dayton student-athlete has ever received when he was named the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year. He was also a finalist for the National Football Foundation's Draddy Award, which is sometimes referred to as the "Academic Heisman."

The other repeat award winner was senior center Blake Bikowski (South Bend, IN), who was presented his second Stan Kurdziel Memorial Trophy. The Kurdziel Trophy goes to the team's top lineman. Bikowski was a four-year letterwinner and two-year starter who was named First Team All-Pioneer Football League in 2007. Another First Team All-PFL performer, Steve McDonald (Newark, OH), was named the recipient of the Chief Toscani Hitter Award. Playing the hybrid linebacker/safety position known as "Flyer" in the Dayton defensive scheme, McDonald led UD with 40 solo hits in 2007. He was second in total tackles (79), and added 8.5 tackles in the backfield, four pass break ups, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions, a sack and a fumble forced.

The PFL's Rookie of the Year, freshman cornerback Joe Castaneda (Villa Hills, KY), won the ROTC Cannonball Award, which goes to the team's top newcomer. Castaneda is only the third freshman in Kelly's 27 years as a head coach to earn a starting job. He led Dayton with eight pass break ups, and tied for team honors in interceptions (3, all in conference play). He was in on 51 tackles (27 solo). He was also UD's top return man, averaging 11.8 yards a punt return and 24.1 yards a kick return.

The Sheriff "Beno" Keiter Award, which goes to the senior for the most outstanding contribution to the program over his college career, went to wide receiver Jack O'Dell (Bellbrook, OH). A three-year letterwinner, O'Dell returned to the field in 2007 after sitting out the 2006 season because he was not eligible because he was not enrolled in school during the spring of 2006. Over his career, O'Dell played receiver, running back, punted, kicked off, and returned kicks. One of four Flyer receivers who surpassed the old Dayton record of 55 catches in a season (he had 56 for 506 yards), O'Dell caught a single-game record 14 passes in the Drake win.

The A.J. Cohen Flyer of the Year went to senior quarterback Rob Florian (Cincinnati, OH). A pure team guy, Florian was UD's #2 quarterback and #1 PAT/FG holder in 2007, two vital but usually overlooked roles on a football team. In 2007, he was 26 of 42 passing (.619) for 261 yards and two touchdowns. His positive attitude every day and "team-first" approach epitomizes the award, which is in memory of Cohen.

This season's Most Improved Player Award went to junior defensive tackle Sean Heenan (St. Joseph, MI). Heenan lettered as a backup linebacker in 2006, but moved up to defensive tackle and moved into the starting lineup in 2007. He was in on 51 hits this season, with 11.0 tackles in the backfield (second on the team) and 7.5 sacks (fourth). He also batted down four passes at the line of scrimmage.

It's fitting that a member of UD's defensive line was named Most Improved Player. While the record-setting offense deservedly got most of the headlines, the defensive line's improved playmaking ability in 2007 was extremely important to UD's championship season. The Dayton defense has 48 sacks and 16 fumble recoveries in 2007. Last year, for the entire year, the Flyers had 13 sacks and six recoveries.

Freshman running back Justin Millio (Wellington, FL) was named the Scout Team Offensive Player of the Year. Freshman defensive back James Ward (Pataskala, OH) was awarded the Scout Team Defensive Player of the Year award. Freshman linebacker Jacob Brumbaugh (Wyoming, OH) was named the Special Teams Scout Team Player of the Year.

One award had already been announced: The Lt. Andy Zulli Award was presented to senior cornerback David Walbright (Worthington, OH) at halftime of UD's final regular season home game vs. Butler. The award, one of the most prestigious in the program, is for sportsmanship, character, and leadership.

Along with honoring the individual award winners and the players receiving letters, UD also acknowledged the players who received conference and national awards.

Members of the University of Dayton football program were named the recipients of three of the top four awards presented annually by the Pioneer Football League. Head coach Mike Kelly was named Coach of the Year, senior quarterback Kevin Hoyng was named Offensive Player of the Year, and freshman cornerback Joe Castaneda was named Rookie of the Year.

In addition, UD placed ten players on the all-league teams. Seven were named to the first team, including one unanimous selection - tight end Matt Champa. Joining Hoyng and Champa on the first team were center Blake Bikowski, offensive tackle Jim Croghan, defensive tackle Kalen Hemmelgarn, Flyer Steve McDonald and defensive end Scott Vossler. Dayton players named to the second team were Castaneda, wide receiver Nick Ruhe and safety Corey Vossler.

Champa was also named a First Team All-American when he was named to the Walter Camp Foundation's FCS All-America Team.

In addition to Brandon Cramer being chosen the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America of the Year, he was also First Team Academic All-America for the second straight year. The Flyer football team placed eight Flyer football players on the 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV Team. UD's eight selections were twice as many as any other team in the district. Brandon Cramer was a selection on the first team for the third straight year. Brian Kelly joined Cramer on the first team. Senior safety Tyler Blue and senior defensive tackle Chad Burton were repeat choices for the second team. They were joined by senior offensive tackle Jim Croghan, junior defensive tackle Sean Heenan, junior defensive tackle Kalen Hemmelgarn, and senior running back Ben Shappie were named second team all-district.

The 2007 season marked the 18th time in head coach Mike Kelly's 27 years at Dayton the Flyers won at least nine games. It was the fourth time in school history (and the third time for a Kelly-coached team) the Flyers won a national title. UD won the NCAA Division III National Championship in 1980 and 1989, and the Sports Network Cup in 2002 and 2007.

2007 UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON FOOTBALL AWARD WINNERS White-Allen Most Valuable Player Kevin Hoyng Chief Toscani Hitter Steve McDonald Sheriff "Beno" Keiter Award Jack O'Dell Emil Karas Inspirational Leadership Brian Kelly Stan Kurdziel Outstanding Lineman Blake Bikowski A.J. Cohen Flyer of the Year Rob Florian John L. Macbeth Scholar-Athlete Brandon Cramer Most Improved Player Sean Heenan Lt. Andy Zulli Memorial Trophy David Walbright ROTC Cannonball Award Joe Castaneda Scout Team Offensive Player of the Year Justin Millio Scout Team Defensive Player of the Year James Ward Scout Team Special Team Player of the Year Jacob Brumbaugh