Dayton opened the scoring first with Evan Sawyer taking the ball in from 1 yard out. The PAT was kicked by Zack VanZant and the Silverbacks led 7-0. The Patriots came right back down the field and scored on 4-yard run by Tracey McIntyre with 5:52 left in the opening stanza. Mark Carter ran in the two-point conversion and the host led 8-7. Dayton took the next possession and moved down the field and answered the call with touchdown with 1:47 left in the quarter. Sawyer passed the ball to Bruce Peters from seven yards out, and VanZant added the PAT. At the end of the first quarter, Dayton led 14-8.
