Sept. 22, 2010
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Game Four
Saturday, September 25th - 1:00 p.m. (EST)
Kessler Field - West Long Branch, N.J.
Old Dominion Monarchs (1-2) vs.
Monmouth Hawks (0-2)
TV: None
Radio: ESPN RADIO - 94.1 FM, WGAI-560 AM
(Ted Alexander - Play-by-Play; Andy Mashaw - Color Analyst)
Audio:Monarch All-Access
Video:Courstey of GoMuHawks.com
Livestats: Courstey of GoMuHawks.com
Weekly Press Conference Video: Monarch All-Access (Subscription Required)
Breakfast With Bobby: Episode Four
STAY CONNECTED:
Follow ODU Football on TWITTER.
Become a FAN of ODU Athletics on FACEBOOK.
ABOUT MONMOUTH:
The Hawks have had two weeks to prepare for Saturday's contest with the Monarchs after suffering losses to #22 Colgate (29-30) and Maine (23-31).Monmouth has only started a season 0-3 just six times in school history.
Monmouth was one of two teams (Fordham being the other) that handed the Monarchs a loss in their inaugural season. The Hawks were ODU's only home loss in 2009.
Monmouth graduated David Sinsi, who had a pair of touchdown runs to go with his career-high 41 carries and season-high 216 yards. He ended the season as the NCAA's active career leader in scoring, rushing yards and carries per game.
Hawk quarterback Kyle Fraiser is averaging 172.5 yards per game having completed 30 of his 52 passes in 2010. In their last game, Frazier recorded a career-high in completion, attempts, and rushing yards against Maine. He accounted for 304 yards of total offense.
Monmouth punter Jack Daniels currently leads the nation in the category at 46.72 yards per punt.
ON THE ROAD:
The ODU Football Monarchs hit the road for the second time in 2010, heading to West Long Branch, New Jersey to face the Monmouth Hawks. In their first road outing of the year two weeks ago, the Monarchs walked away with a 44-13 victory at Campbell. Overall, ODU is 4-1 on the road in their young history. In their inaugural season, the Monarchs went 3-1 on the road with wins at Jacksonville (28-27), Savannah State (38-17), and VMI (42-35). The lone setback away from the friendly confines of Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium was a 34-29 loss at Fordham. Other road trips this season include a return date with North Carolina Central, as well as a jaunt over the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel to face Hampton.
COACH TO CURE MD:
For the third year in a row, college football coaches nationwide will join together in support of the Coach to Cure MD program, which will be held during games of Saturday, September 25, 2010. The rapidly growing annual effort has raised more than half a million dollars to battle Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. On September 25th, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) members across the nation, including both the ODU and Monmouth staffs will wear a Coach to Cure MD logo patch on the sidelines and college football fans will be asked to donate to research projects supported by Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, the largest nonprofit organization in the U.S. focused entirely on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Football fans can donate to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research by either going online to www.CoachtoCureMD.org or by texting the word CURE to 90999 (a $5 donation will automatically be added to your next phone bill). Last year, more than 5,200 college coaches at 351 different institutions participated in the Coach to Cure MD event.
BATTLE OF THE PUNTERS:
Monmouth currently sports the nation's leader in punting in Jack Daniels. Daniels leads the nation at 46.73. The Monarchs' Jonathan Plisco (Newport News, Va.) led the nation in punting last year at 44.84 per punt. He is currently averaging 50.0 yards, but does not compute into the NCAA rankings not having made the minimum 3.6 punts per game average through the first three games of the season. Of Plisco's nine punts in 2010, six have been 50 yards or more and three have registered inside the opponenet 20.
WE'RE NUMBER ONE:
The o-line has certainly done its job in protecting Thomas DeMarco so far as Old Dominion is ranked number one in the nation in sacks allowed having not allowed an opponent to touch DeMarco. The o-line was certainly a concern for the Monarchs with a myriad of injuries having plagued the line during preseason. Among the changes the coaching staff had to make during the preseason was moving tight end Matt Carrillo (La Miranda, Calif.) to right tackle.
JERSEY BOYS:
"In all due respect," this note isn't about ODU's trip up to New Jersey this weekend. This note is about the new Nike uniforms brought out for the William & Mary game last weekend. The Monarchs warmed up in their normal dark blue jersey with white numbers, but right before kick head coach Bobby Wilder had a surprise for his team. Entering the locker room for one last time before the game started, the Monarchs walked in to see new black Nike uniforms with dark blue numbers sitting in each of their lockers.
CRYSTAL BALL:
Last Saturday's game was a glimpse into the future with its contest against William & Mary, a school that will be featured prominently on ODU's schedule as they join the CAA in 2011. Last weekend's game gave ODU a taste of the toughest FCS league in the nation. The Tribe also mark the first ranked team ODU faced in its young history. At game time, William & Mary ranked 12th in the FCS Coach's Poll and 13th in the Sports Network Poll.
NEARING THE CENTURY MARK:
Quarterback Thomas DeMarco entered last Saturday's game with 962 rushing yards and creeped closer to the 1,000 career yardage mark with 34 yards on 13 carries against the Tribe. In 14 games as a Monarch, the redshirt junior Californian has totaled 996 rushing yards .
MEMORABLE CAREER MOMENT:
Kai Blanco gave the Monarchs a 6-0 edge over William & Mary with his first career touchdown reception. The 4-yard pass from DeMarco gave the Monarchs a lead over the #12/13 team in the FCS.
NUMBERS GAME:
With his 4-yard pass to Blanco for the first score of the game, DeMarco brought his career touchdown pass number to 28. Demarco also has 19 rushing touchdowns to his name, his last coming with a 1-yard jaunt over the endline for the final touchdown in the 44-13 victory at Campbell two weeks ago. He is currently ranked ninth in the nation in total offense at 299.0 yards a game.
BREAKING-UP IS HARD TO DO:
T.J. Cowart registered three pass break-ups, tying for the most in a game by a Monarch. Cowart has interrupted opponent quarterback throws seven times in his two years at Old Dominion.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PERFORMANCE AWARDS - PART TWO:
Punter Jonathan Plisco (Newport News, Va.) and defensive tackle Ronnie Cameron (Westbury, N.Y.) were honored as Players of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) following the Monarchs' contest with William & Mary. The two become the third and fourth Monarchs honored by the awards program this season. At least one Monarch has been honored by the CFPA each week this season.
Plisco was named the CFPA Punter of the Week after averaging 53.3 yards on six punts, including a long of 75. To date, Plisco is averaging 50.0 yards per punt.
Cameron was named the CFPA Defensive Lineman of the Week after leading the Monarchs with 10 tackles, including three tackles for loss. Among his three tackles for loss were 1.5 sacks that gave the Tribe 11 negative yards. To date, Cameron has totaled 19 tackles, five tackles for loss, and a pair of sacks along with two qb hurries.
12th MONARCH MOMENTS:
There may be 11 Monarchs on the field, but the 12th Monarch is in the stand. Thanks to all the noise of being "Loud and Proud" from the 12th Monarchs at Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium, the opposition was charged with 41 penalties last season and 15 so far in 2010.
2009 12th Monarch Stats:
Chowan: Seven Penalties
Virginia Union: Eight Penalties
Monmouth: Three Penalties
Presbyterian: Four Penalties
Campbell: Eight Penalties
Georgetown: Five Penalties
N.C. Central: Six Penalties
2010 12th Monarch Stats:
Jacksonville: Seven Penalties
William & Mary:Eight Penalties
OPENING WITH A BANG:
And no, we're not talking about the howitzer you hear being shot off before the Monarchs run onto Foreman Field. Old Dominion scored on opening drive in two of its games of the 2010 season. Last opening drive score was Marquel Thomas' TD reception at the 10:51 of the first quarter at Campbell made it the ninth time in the 13 game history of the program the Monarchs have done so.
LAST TIME VS. MONMOUTH
Monarchs Suffer Lone Home Defeat of 2009 With 31-29 Loss To Monmouth
NORFOLK, Va.-- The Old Dominion football team dropped its first game of the 2009 with a 31-28 setback to Monmouth back on September 26th at Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium's third sellout.
The loss was the Monarchs' first, as the squad fell to 3-1 on the year. Meanwhile, the Hawks, playing in their final non-conference contest, upped their mark to 2-2 overall.
Monmouth's David Sinisi, the nation's active leader in rushing touchdowns, had a pair of touchdown runs to go with his career-high 41 carries and season-high 216 yards. Sinisi and crew were also able to punch through on third down converting 11 of 16 attempts.
Old Dominion started the game off with bang. Within the first three minutes of the game, the Monarchs had a pair of touchdowns and the quick 14-0 lead.
Nick Mayers (Va. Beach, Va.) ran 55 yards on ODU's first drive of the game.Mayers started in place of the injured Marquell Thomas (Va. Beach, Va.), who missed his second straight contest with a knee injury. A minute later, Carlos Davis (Ft. Washington, Md.) then leaped over the end zone corner on Thomas DeMarco's (Palm Desert, Calif.) fifth touchdown pass of the year.
Sinisi drove in career touchdown number 56 for the Hawks' first score of the evening. Sinisi's eight-yard run brought the score to 14-7 with 9:34 remaining in the first quarter.
Monmouth scored again midway through the second quarter to send the game into the intermission tied at 14-14. With Old Dominion at the Hawks' 18-yard line on fourth and sixth, kicker Drew Hareza (McDonald, Pa.) came off the sideline to attempt a field goal. The snap was throw past Hareza's grip, but he was able to gain possesion of the ball. Under pressure from the Monmouth defense, he looked to get rid of the ball, but Hareza's pass found its way into the hands of Monmouth's Joe Valenti for an 11-yard interception return.
On the ensuing drive, Sinisi ran the ball on six of the Hawks' eight plays for 32 yards en-route to capturing his second touchdown run and career TD number 57 with 7:36 left in the opening half.
Monmouth took the lead at the 10:25 mark of the third quarter. Jake Delvento's 31-yard field goal gave the Hawks the 17-14 advantage.'
Two drives later, the Monarchs would only need three plays to regain the lead. DeMarco's nine-yard rush for his fifth touchdown run of the year capped the 49-yard drive. Starting at the the Hawks' 39, DeMarco started with a 27-yard pass to James Edwards (Va. Beach, Va.) followed by Mario Crawford (Detroit, Mich.) heading another 13 yards downfield to inside the Monmouth 10. DeMarco then crossed the end line on the third and final play of the drive that from start to finish too just 46 seconds.
Before the quarter would end though the Hawks would go ahead for good. With just a over a minute left in the third, the Monmouth offense tossed the ball over a pack of players for an Kyle Frazier in the endzone for 32-yard interception.
The Hawks opened the fourth quarter with the ball and Tyler George then upped the score to 31-21 for Monmouth with 10:10 remaining in the contest. Working their way in from thier own 12-yard line, the Hawks used nine plays over 88 yards with George catching an eight-yard pass from Sinisi for the 10-point edge.
The Monarchs simply did not sit back though and made it a three-point game with just under seven minutes left. Monmouth's Kenny Amsel fumbled a punt return as Marquis Johnson recovered at the Hawk's 15. On the next play, Desmond Williams took off for 15 yards and Hareza's PAT had the Monarchs trailing just 31-28.
Monmouth controled possession the rest of the way however as the Monarchs were unable to garner another scoring opportunity.
DeMarco finished the game with a then-season-high 215 yards completing 16 of his 25 passes. Frazier meanwhile connected on 14 of his 19 attempts for 138 yards for the Hawks.
Sinisi accounted for 216 of the Hawks 259 yards on the ground. Crawford led the Monarchs with nine carries and 64 yards.
Reid Evans (Hampton, Va.) led the Monarch receiving coprs with five receptions and 71 yards. Mayers, who had ODU's first touchdown of the night, had three catches for 81 yards. Giles led the Hawks with 47 yards on four catches.
Defensively, Devon Simmons (Newport News, Va.) and Mychael McJunkins (Kansas City, Kan.) each had nine tackles apiece for ODU.
MONARCH MOMENTS: - vs. Monmouth
THE LONGEST YARD:
Quarterback Thomas DeMarco captured over 200 passing yards in a game for the first time in his Monarch career, throwing for 215 yards. His 55-yard pass to Nick Mayers for the Monarchs first touchdown was his longest pass of the season.
BACK YOU GO:
Edmon McClam may not have blocked a kick that week, but the redshirt sophomore defensive lineman recorded a 15-yard sack for the Monarchs.
PLISCO'S PUNTS:
Punter Jonathan Plisco accumulated 305 yards on seven punts against the Hawks. He averaged 43.6 yards per punt with four of his seven reaching the inside of the Hawks' 20. His long of the night was a 60-yarder.
For more information on ODU Football see complete game notes