Dayton Defense Struggles Against Gar-Pal

DAYTON - The Dayton Bulldogs football team came out strong Friday night, scoring two quick touchdowns against Garfield-Palouse, and taking an early 14-0. But it wasn't to be, as the Vikings fought back with six first-half touchdowns of their own, before rolling to a 62-26 win.

Quarterback Cal Martin connected with receiver Ben Kleck twice for early scores: once from eight yards out and again from 53. Kleck scored again on an 84 yard kickoff return late in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs got their final touchdown late in the fourth quarter on an Andrew Mendoza 16- yard run. Prior to that score, the Vikings rolled over the Bulldog defense for 40 unanswered points in the second and third quarters.

"I'm seeing a lot of improvement each week, but we're still making too many mental mistakes," said Dayton coach Jerry Dedloff. "I have to keep reminding myself that this football program was on the brink of going away last season so I'm pretty pleased with where we are."

Dedloff had special praise for Cal Martin's first long stint at quarterback. "I was happy with the way Cal Martin ran our offense," he said. "He keeps our offense moving, gaining yards on the ground when we need it and finding time to get the ball to our open receivers."

Dedloff said he's looking forward to a good week in practice. "This week we will work on adding a couple of new wrinkles to our offense so were not so one dimensional," he said. "I'm looking forward to a good week of practice while we prepare for