Dayton, Ohio - Steve Valentino tossed a pair of touchdown passes in the second quarter to help give Dayton a 21-0 halftime lead and the Flyers held on Saturday afternoon for a 28-14 win over the Robert Morris University football team in the 2010 season opener for both programs.

Down by three scores late in the third quarter, the Colonials mounted a comeback with 14 consecutive points within the span of a minute and 53 seconds.

Struggling to move the ball most of the game, RMU got on the board and trimmed Dayton's advantage to 21-7 with just 1:06 left in the third quarter by engineering a seven-play, 92-yard scoring drive.

Sophomore quarterback Jeff Sinclair (Natrona Heights, Pa. / Highlands) capped the drive with a 33-yard scoring strike to junior wide receiver Anthony Coleman (Cheltenham, Md. / St. John's College High School).

It was a balanced offensive possession for Robert Morris, as senior running back Myles Russ (Boca Raton, Fla. / West Boca) ran twice for 28 yards, while Sinclair completed a 14-yard pass to senior split end T.J. Green (Stamford, Conn. / Milford Academy) before hooking up with Coleman for the score.

On Dayton's third play of its next possession, Valentino was intercepted by senior cornerback Rolf Bathold (Naples, Fla. / Lely), who returned the pick 37 yards to the six-yard line of the Flyers with just two seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Colonials would capitalize on the interception, as Sinclair helped cut RMU's deficit to just a touchdown, 21-14, by scoring from a yard out on 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line of the Flyers with 14:13 to play.  

Momentum in RMU's favor, on the third play of Dayton's next possession redshirt senior safety Michael Landers (Springdale, Pa. / Springdale) stepped in front of wide receiver Nick Collins and intercepted Valentino again. Landers raced down the sideline toward the end zone, but on the tackle Valentino stripped Landers to force a fumble. Tyler Hujik pounced on the loose ball, helping give possession back to Dayton at its own 19-yard line.

Valentino atoned for his pair of interceptions, marching the Flyers 81 yards on 10 plays, their fourth such scoring drive of at least 65 yards on the afternoon, before Brian Mack scored on a three-yard touchdown run with 7:45 to play to give Dayton a 28-14 advantage.

The Flyers had taken an early 7-0 lead when Andrew Zapinski scored from two yards out with 10:13 to play in the first quarter. Valentino's 48-yard run down to the Robert Morris two-yard line helped set up the first score of the afternoon. 

Valentino added a pair of touchdown passes in the second quarter to help the Flyers take a 21-0 lead into the break, hitting Justin Watkins for a 24-yard score on 4th-and-10 and adding a four-yard touchdown pass to Nick Collins with just 40 seconds left before intermission.

On the afternoon Valentino finished 19-for-37 passing for 211 yards, a pair of touchdowns and a pair of interceptions while adding 106 yards rushing on 16 carries, an average of 6.6 yards per rush. Watkins hauled in eight passes for 95 yards and a touchdown for the Flyers.

Sinclair finished 14-for-29 passing for 146 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while Russ compiled 70 yards rushing on 14 attempts. Junior tight end Shadrae King (McKeesport, Pa. / McKeesport) caught six passes for 42 yards, while Coleman finished with three receptions for 61 yards and a score en route to 158 all-purpose yards on the afternoon.

Defensively the Colonials were led by senior linebacker Alex DiMichele (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Sto-Rox), who finished with 13 tackles, including seven solo and a pair for losses that totaled three yards.

Robert Morris continues its two-game road trip to open the 2010 campaign Saturday, Sept. 11, when it opens the Northeast Conference portion of its slate with a Noon kickoff against Sacred Heart at Campus Field in Fairfield, Conn.

Notes: Robert Morris dropped its eighth straight game to Dayton and slipped to 2-11 (.154) all-time against the Flyers ... The loss was also RMU's eighth straight in the month of September dating back to a 27-13 win over Morehead State (9/6/08) in the 2008 season opener ... The Colonials slipped to 9-8 (.529) all-time in season openers and 3-7 (.300) all-time in season openers on the road ... Russ moved into sole possession of the second place all-time at Robert Morris with 2,978 career rushing yards and is just 22 yards shy of becoming the second player in school history to eclipse 3,000 career rushing yards ... DiMichele's 13 tackles moved him into ninth place at RMU with 238 career takedowns ... Dayton finished with 388 yards of total offense compared to 213 for the Colonials ... Robert Morris was penalized 10 times for 119 yards, while the Flyers suffered 11 infractions for 68 yards.