Robert Morris Football Turns to Third-String QB in Loss to Dayton

MOON TWP, Pa. — Coming off of its first win of the season, Robert Morris (1-3) entered Saturday’s game against longtime rival Dayton (2-1) still looking for answers for a multitude of problems on both sides of the ball.

While the defense looked as if they finally turned a corner against Dayton, the offensive struggles continued.

The problem was magnified in Saturday’s loss when starting quarterback Zach Tanner exited the game in the second quarter following a big hit from a Flyers’ defender.

Top backup Ameer Dudley replaced Tanner and finished the second quarter with little success before the team opted to give third-string sophomore Jake Wolfe a chance in the second half.

While Wolfe provided some exciting plays with his legs and helped engineer a go-ahead touchdown drive in the third quarter, the Flyers eventually pushed ahead in the final minutes of the game to steal the victory, 17-14.

“It was more about the decisions,” Robert Morris head coach Bernard Clark Jr. said following the game. “In practice, Jake makes the decision to go to his check down and make a smart decision. Ameer was doing a good job but we just thought that with Jake, it would be a good chance because we could move it down the field a little bit better.”

The Colonials’ defense opened up the game wanting to make a statement and they did just that as the Flyers were forced to punt on each of their first two drives of the game.

Following the Flyers’ second punt, the Colonials offense returned the favor as they used a nine-play drive to score the game’s first points on a one-yard rushing touchdown by running back Ethan Shine.

Run game is on 🔥. RMU scores first #41 #bobbymo pic.twitter.com/3wmqQtqmXi

— RMU Football (@RMU_Football) September 20, 2025

The scoring drive was nearly derailed by multiple overthrows from Tanner but it was ultimately saved, in large part, because of three separate drive-extending penalties by the Flyers’ defense.

The Colonials had a chance to go up by two scores on the ensuing offensive drive. After starting with solid field position, the Colonials got into Flyers’ territory on a nice 15-yard catch-and-run by tight end Richard Ransom.

Following Ransom’s big play, the Colonials’ drive stalled at the 35-yard line and the staff opted to go for it rather than attempt a 52-yard field goal. In total, the Flyers forced three turnover-on-downs on the day.

“I will take the blame for the first one, but we probably should have went for a field goal or just punted and put them deep in their own zone, because they were struggling a little bit trying to drive the entire field,” Clark said about the team’s three turnover-on-downs. “On the minus-35, they have a one-in-eight chance to score so that is something that I should have probably thought about.”

The Flyers turned the defensive momentum into offense as they operated their best offensive drive of the first half.

Dayton running back Mason Hackett started the drive off with a 24-yard run and followed it up with a 19-yard rush later in the drive that set up the game-tying touchdown.

The score came on a 7-yard connection between quarterback Bryce Schondelmyer to wide receiver Gavin Lochow.

Following the Flyers’ touchdown, the Colonials started to march down the field in hopes of re-claiming the lead. The drive stalled after quarterback Zach Tanner exited the game due to an injury after picking up a first down inside of Flyers’ territory.

Robert Morris replaced Tanner with Harvard transfer Ameer Dudley Jr., who showed some rushing ability but went 0-for-2 passing on the drive.

Once again, the Colonials turned the ball over on downs after they opted to go for it on fourth down rather than attempting a 50-plus yard field goal.

The two teams entered the locker rooms at halftime all knotted up at seven after the Colonials’ defense played its best half of football all season.

Robert Morris opened the second half up with the ball and handed the reigns of the offense over local product, Montour graduate Jake Wolfe, who engineered a 12-play touchdown drive.

While the Colonials recorded 12 rushing plays and zero passes on the drive, the longest play came from the legs of Wolfe on a 19-yard scramble that put the offense in striking distance.

Shine capped the drive off with his second touchdown of the game, a 9-yard rush straight through the heart of the Flyers’ defense.

The Flyers opened up the fourth quarter with a touchdown drive of their own. After being aided by a 15-yard personal foul call on the Colonials’ defense, the Flyers scored a few plays later on a 19-yard throw by Schondelmyer.

The Colonials did nothing with their next offensive possession which gave the Flyers the ball back with all of the momentum.

Despite the punt, the Colonials’ defense had the chance to get the ball back for the offense but the Flyers converted on a third-and-one before gaining 45 yards and position on the Colonials’ side of the field on a catch from Ethan Thulin.

The big reception turned into an and-goal situation for the defense in which it stood tall and forced a 26-yard field goal attempt from Robby Smart with 3:28 left in the game. Smart’s field goal ended up being the deciding factor in Saturday’s defensive showdown.

“We are still making mental mistakes,” Clark said. “Those are the things, and I was just talking about [to the players], it is a situation where you still have eight games left. We have to understand that we have eight games left and we have to understand what we can do.”

“Right now, we are 1-3 in non-conference so a lot of things can play off of that,” Clark continued. “We have eight games left, one of them is non-conference, but the rest of them are so we have to play our best when we get there and do what we are supposed to do. We just have to get focused on what we need to be focused on.”

Following the loss, Robert Morris enters its bye-week at the best possible time, as it is granted the chance to recover from some key injuries and the time to study and learn from their mistakes from the first four games of the season.