Aug. 21, 2010
NORFOLK, Va. -- On Saturday evening the ODU Football Monarchs returned to Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium for the second of four planned scrimmages this preseason. As the Monarchs had a good workout on situational football, the coaching staff got better looks at who could be possibly listed on the two-deep for the Monarchs' season opener against Jacksonville on Sept. 4th.
During the two-minute drill, the scenario was that the defense was up by two. During the drill, the offense was able to pick up a pair of victories.
Play opened up with a pass to Dorian Jackson (Colonial Heights, Va.) from Thomas DeMarco (Palm Desert, Calif.) pushing the squad downfield to the defense's 25-yard line. The defense held through the next three downs, which included a pass break-up from cornerback T.J. Cowart (Chesterfield, Va.), but the offense was able to win the drill after Drew Hareza's (McDonald, Pa.) field goal attempt sailed through the uprights.
In another scenario the coaching staff put the Monarchs in was with the offense starting at the 45 with 30 seconds on the clock and one timeout remaining. On the second play of the drive, a Prentice Gill (Los Angeles, Calif.) catch near the sidelines brought the offense down to the 11 with 20 seconds remaining. The offense ran the clock to burn time and then called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Hareza and the special teams unit appeared on the field kicking a field goal to win the set.
The next set of two-minute drills saw the No. 2 offense and defense take the field. Freshman wide receiver Larry Pinkard (Washington, D.C.) had a great catch where he bobbled the ball but managed to keep possession despite fellow classmate Paul Morant looking to break-up the play. Cornerback Fred Credle (Chesapeake, Va.) was the star on the next three plays. After nearly intercepting a long bomb down the middle of the field, he had a pass break-up, and then ended the drill with an interception.
The coaching staff also put the Monarchs through the coming out or backed up drill.
Working their way down from their own territory, the offense managed to flip the field thanks in part to a Mario Crawford (Detroit, Mich.) run to bring his team down to the defense's 37. However, the defense once again held their ground. The offense found itself pushed back eight yards on a sak from Hofstra transfers Deron Mayo (Hampton, Va.) and Ronnie Cameron (Westbury, N.Y.). Also getting into the mix was safety Alex Arain (Va. Beach, Va.) who found himself in the passing lane to halt the offense from advancing. At fourth down, the offense was forced to kick a field goal.
Another rep had the offense starting at its own 1-yard line. It took three attempts before the offense moved the chains, but the defense had other plans. Cameron posted a sack for a loss of five-yards and then repeated with another takedown, but this time in the endzone to give the defense a safety.
With the No. 2 offense and defense in the coming out/backed up drill next, the offense once again set up at their own 1-yard line. The defense recorded another sack in the endzone with this time Edmon McClam (Coward, S.C.) on the tackle for the safety.
On Sunday, the ODU Football Monarchs will rest before hitting the field for more preseason practice on Monday.
MONARCH MOMENTS:
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS:
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STUDENT TICKETS:
Student tickets for the September 4th game with Jacksonville will be made available at the Constant Center Box Office beginning on Monday, August 30th at 7 a.m. with line-up beginning at the box office at 6 a.m. NO camping out will be permitted. Students must present a valid ODU student ID. Other games will be made available ten (10) days prior kickoff at either the Constant Center Box Office or Webb Center.