STATESBORO, Ga. — Old Dominion's football team broke a three-game losing streak, kept its bowl hopes very much alive and finally, after the schools met for the first time 12 years ago, defeated Georgia Southern.
Buoyed by perhaps the best defensive performance of the Ricky Rahne era, a dramatic drive in the final 1:25 and a 22-yard game-winning field goal from Ethan Sanchez as the clock ran out, the Monarchs knocked off the Eagles, 20-17, Saturday night at Paulson Stadium.
Georgia Southern led the Sun Belt with an average of 32.7 points and 435 yards per game. Defensive coordinator Blake Seiler's corps held the Eagles to 17 points and 354 yards. The Eagles (6-5 overall, 3-4 Sun Belt) had not lost at home this season and had won six-straight at home.
ODU's road to a bowl game is simple. The Monarchs (5-6, 4-3 Sun Belt) must defeat Georgia State Saturday at S.B. Ballard Stadium. Win and ODU is in a bowl game for the second time in Rahne's three seasons. Lose and the season is over. Game time is 2 p.m.
ODU had lost three in a row to Georgia Southern, including FCS playoff losses in 2011 and 2012. And while those games are not remembered by the current Monarchs, they have long been a thorn in the side of ODU fans.
Georgia Southern also won at ODU last season in their first Sun Belt game against each other.
Among those watching Saturday was Taylor Heinicke, the former ODU All-American quarterback who played in the losses in 2011 and 2012. He plays for the Atlanta Falcons, who were off this weekend.
He hugged Rahne just before the game and cheered the Monarch victory.
"It was so cool to experience this," he said. "This is a big-time win for the program. It was an awesome win."
ODU led most of the game and held a 17-10 lead when the Eagles, whose offense had been stymied the entire second half, got the ball with 3:08 left and drove 66 yards in seven plays to knot the score at 17-17. Georgia Southern quarterback Davis Brin threw 18 yards to Jjay Mcafee for the touchdown with 1:25 left.
ODU quarterback Grant Wilson said at that point he was confident the Monarchs could come back. "We had all three timeouts in our pocket," he said. "The defense had stepped up all game.
"It was our time to step up."
Step up they did.
Keshawn Wicks got things started with a 14-yard run, and two plays later, Wilson passed 17 yards to Ahmarian Granger, the sophomore wide receiver from Norfolk's Maury High School. Two plays later, Wilson hit Granger with a 7-yard pass, and with a first down at the 32, the Monarchs were in field goal range.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Decker called for a delayed run by Wilson, and he sprinted through a wide open hole up the middle. He could have scored but following orders from coaches and hit the turf and slid after a 28-yard run.
Sanchez had made from 47 but missed from 40 yards earlier in the game and missed twice in ODU's 28-23 loss to Georgia Southern last season. Sanchez booted the ball through the uprights, which set off a wild on-field celebration.
Sanchez, who was raised about four hours away from Georgia Southern in Dallas, Georgia, wasn't thinking about missing the two field goals last season. He was thinking about his parents.
His father, Jose, has been unable to attend any games because he has been undergoing chemotherapy. He and Ethan's mother, Aly, attended the game.
"God works in such mysterious ways," he said. "This was the first game he's seen this season. That was such a blessing."
Rahne, ODU's head coach, said the slide was an unselfish play by Wilson, who could have been the first quarterback in school history to throw, catch and run for a touchdown in the same game.
"Taylor Heinicke did everything else but that," he said.
Wilson said the decision was easy.
"I thought about it as I was running, but I did what I was told," he said. "I trusted Ethan would make it. And he did."
ODU led 10-7 at the half and got the second half off to a promising start, driving deep into Georgia Southern territory. But then a holding penalty, one that the Monarchs protested, set ODU back. Then Sanchez, who had made seven consecutive field goals, missed just to the right on a 40-yarder.
Georgia Southern then knotted the score at 10-all on a 24-yard field goal from Michael Lantz. Safety Shawn Asbury forced the punt by breaking up a third-down pass in the end zone.
ODU's offense then kicked back into gear, driving 78 yards in seven plays and scoring on a trick play call by Decker that caught the Eagles off guard.
Wilson handed the ball to wide receiver Granger, who took a few steps to his right, then turned and passed the ball to Wilson, who was open at the 15. Wilson broke to his right and was tackled just as he plunged into the end zone.
ODU led, 17-10, with 25 seconds left in the third quarter.
ODU's defense, which surrendered 38 points in its last outing at Liberty, was strong from the start against Georgia Southern.
On its first five possessions, the Eagles were forced to punt twice, fumbled, had a punt blocked and fell a yard short when they went for it on fourth down.
ODU's offense also struggled, but gave the Monarchs a 3-0 lead courtesy of a blocked punt. Georgia Southern's Alex Smith attempted to punt, had it blocked by Markus Knight. Three plays later the Monarchs had lost four yards. But Sanchez, the sophomore from Dallas Georgia, kicked a 47-yard field goal with room to spare and the Monarchs led 3-0 two minutes into the second quarter.
Minutes later, on fourth and three at the ODU 36, the Eagles went for the first down, but their plans were spoiled by linebacker Jason Henderson, who stopped Khaleb Hood a yard short of the first down.
ODU's offense then got into gear, as the Monarchs marched 66 yards in eight plays, with Wilson throwing 12 yards to Javon Harvey for the touchdown.
Running back Kadarius Calloway carried four times for 29 yards to keep the driving moving. Sanchez's extra point made it 10-0 ODU, with 6:38 left in the half.
The Eagles finally got their offense in gear, driving 75 yards behind Brin, who completed five passes for 64 yards. Jalen White scored for the Eagles from seven yards to complete the first half scoring.
ODU has played nine one-score games and was coming off a 38-3 loss at Liberty.
"Our guys believed all week that this is a game we could win," Rahne said. "Did we play perfectly? No. We made some mistakes.
"But they kept playing hard and never quit. You can't ask for more than that."
