NORFOLK, Va. — Old Dominion won its first Sun Belt Conference football game Saturday night in memorable fashion. The Monarch defense forced two second-half turnovers that led to touchdowns, and ODU twice rallied from second-half deficits, to claim a 29-26 victory over Arkansas State before a boisterous crowd of 20,655 at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
It wasn't an artful game – ODU's offense was shut out in the first half – but in clutch situations, when the Monarchs needed big plays, players on both sides of the ball made them.
"This was obviously a great win," said Ricky Rahne, ODU's Thurmond Family Head Coach. "I thought we did some great things in the second half.
"The defense played well throughout and made some plays, obviously there at the end, to give us a chance to win it. But I thought the offense in the second half made the plays they needed to win the game."
Defensive end Deeve Harris, a transfer from Minnesota, returned an interception 16 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter that briefly gave ODU 21-19 lead.
Then late in the fourth, with Arkansas State leading, 26-21, safety Terry Jones forced a fumble recovered by defensive tackle Tyre Bibby that led to the game-winner.
The fumble recovery gave ODU a first down at the 29. On fourth down and 3 at the 23, ODU quarterback Hayden Wolff threw a pass intended for Javon Harvey, who was pulled down by Arkansas State defensive back Kenneth Harris. That drew a flag for pass interference.
That gave ODU a first down at the seven. Wolff then passed to tight end Zack Kuntz for the touchdown. ODU went for two and Obie Sanni, the 5-foot-9, 196-pound redshirt freshman from Aurora, Colorado broke a tackle to give the Monarchs a 29-26 lead with 6:33 left. ODU then needed two stops from its defense and got them.
On fourth down and two at the Arkansas State 40, a pass from quarterback James Blackman fell incomplete. Arkansas State regained possession in the final minute at its own two after a 38-yard punt by Ethan Duane but could not move the ball. On the game's final play, a desperation pass led to two laterals and then a fumble.
ODU (2-2 overall, 1-0 Sun Belt) mustered just 126 offensive yards in a first half in which the Monarchs only came close to scoring once, when freshman Ethan Sanchez missed a 48-yard field goal.
But the Monarch offense emerged from that nightmarish start with its batteries recharged. ODU began the second half by driving 78 yards in five plays as Kuntz (34 yards) and Ali Jennings III (33) each hauled in long passes. Jennings' catch was originally ruled a touchdown, but after review, the ball was placed at the one.
Keshawn Wicks, the redshirt freshman from Moncks Corner, South Carolina, scored on the next play.
Arkansas State retaliated quickly with Blackman finding wide receiver Jeff Foreman on a 49-yard touchdown pass, which gave the Red Wolves a 19-7 lead. ODU again quickly responded, with Wolff finding Jennings with a 77-yard touchdown pass, the longest play of the season.
ODU's defense, which has forced a ton of turnovers this season, then forced the first of two. With defensive end Marcus Haynes hanging onto him, Blackman threw a pass intercepted by Harris, who returned it 16 yards for a touchdown.
It was the second interception of his career and third career TD. A Sanchez PAT gave ODU a 21-19 lead. The lead was short-lived, as the Red Wolves drove 60 yards, with AJ Mayer scoring from 23 yards to with 12:10 left. ODU's defense then stepped up again forcing a fumble that led to the game-winner.
Linebacker Jason Henderson broke a school record with 21 tackles and linebacker Ryan Henry added 12. The Monarchs had seven sacks, each by a different player.
Arkansas State had 22 first downs to ODU's 12 and 397 offensive yards to ODU's 330. But ODU forced four turnovers and had none, and that proved to be critical. Wolff completed 19-of-32 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns.
Rahne said he can't really explain why the Monarchs were shut out in the first half and scored 29 points in the second half.
"Yeah, everyone asked me that," he said. "If I knew that, we wouldn't have a tale of two halves."
"I just told the guys that we have to have more belief. And I felt like I needed to have more passion in the second half. They need to see me excited, and they need to see me yelling and stuff. So maybe I have to do that more in practice, too."
Rahne smiled when asked about the significance of his team winning the first Sun Belt football game.
"You work just as hard for every single win, so they're all big," he said. "You want to start off the season on the right note. You want to start off conference play on the right note."
"That was a good football team we played tonight. They're probably better than their record last year (2-10) indicated and even better than their record this year (1-3, 0-1). This was a good victory. Obviously, we didn't play our best football in the first half. And I don't think we played our best football in the second half. But we did a lot of things that gave us a chance to win the game."