April 26, 2012
A Look Back: Week 9 - JMU
Story of the game: : In the revived Oyster Bowl, the Monarchs achieve their first victory against a top ten opponent, beating the #9 Dukes in a nail biter. JMU held the lead through the majority of the game, but were never able to break away. One of the most impressive plays of the season for the Monarchs came when Heinicke bobbled a fourth and one snap, avoided two sacks, and launched the ball up to the back of the endzone where Larry Pinkard managed to win the jump ball over two defenders for his second scoring catch of the game. That gave the Monarchs a 14-10 lead. JMU managed to add ten points before the half giving them a 20-14 lead. The ODU defense came out on fire in the second half, shutting out the Duke offense with huge plays from Craig Wilkins, Paul Morant, and Ronnie Cameron. In the second half, ODU's kicker Jarod Brown came up huge, connecting on attempts from 19, 40, and 25. The Special Teams came up big once again when they blocked JMU's game tying field goal attempt at the end of the game. Taylor Heinicke was named the Oyster Bowl's "Most Outstanding Player" going 22-35 for 236 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Monarchs improved to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the CAA. Heinicke also won CAA Rookie of the Week for his performance.
A Look Back With Larry Pinkard:
A Look Ahead: Week 9 - Delaware
Delaware enters 2012 season looking to build on their solid 2012 season where they went 7-4, barely missing out on the playoffs despite being the only team in the nation to knock off two top 10 opponents. Just two seasons ago the Blue Hens were playing in the national championship game/ They return a standout running back in sophomore Andrew Pierce who earned All-CAA honors the past two seasons. He led the CAA in carries, ranked second in touchdowns, and third in yards per game. They also return two-time second team All-CAA linebacker Paul Worrilow. Worrilow led the Blue Hens in total tackles (97), solo tackles (55), and tackles for loss (11). Delaware was one of only two teams to hand the Monarchs a conference loss last season and will be coming Norfolk for the first time playing in the Oyster Bowl.