BOONE, N.C. -- Old Dominion suffered its first loss of the season, falling at Appalachian State, 31-7, on Saturday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina.
Old Dominion (1-1) was led by Ray Lawry, who finished the game with 119 rushing yards and a touchdown. The 100-yard game was Lawry's second of the season and the 13th of his career.
Defensively, Anthony Wilson notched a career-high 11 tackles, including an ODU single game record three sacks, while Denzel Williams recorded his first career interception. Justice Davila totaled 10 tackles and Miles Fox added a career-high eight tackles.
Marcus Cox got the Mountaineers on the board first with a one yard touchdown run for a 7-0 App State lead.
ODU followed with a drive to the App 16, highlighted by a 42-yard run by Ray Lawry, but a fourth down pass from David Washington to Zach Pascal was knocked away at the last second.
The Mountaineers followed with an 84-yard drive culminated with a two yard run by Cox for a 14-0 lead.
Michael Rubinio added a 24-yard field goal for App to go up 17-0 early in the second quarter.
App State tried a field goal, and the Monarchs stuffed it and took over at their own eight. The Monarchs drove 92 yards in seven plays capped by a 27-yard touchdown run from Ray Lawry. Washington hit Pascal for a 26-yard pass for a key first down on the drive.
Cox added his third touchdown run of the first half with a 10 yard score with just over one minute remaining in the first half for a 24-7 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Monarch defense held App State to just seven points, a touchdown in the final minute, and less than 100 yards of total offense. ODU outgained the Mountaineers, 144-97, in the second half.
Game Notes: Denzel Williams recorded his first career interception in the second quarter … Ray Lawry rushed for the 29th touchdown of his career … Zach Pascal caught a pass in his 38th straight game … Ray Lawry rushed for over 100 yards for the 13th time in his career … Anthony Wilson recorded the first two sacks of his career on back-to-back plays in the third quarter … A week after setting a career high with six tackles against Hampton, Anthony Wilson set a new career-high with 11 stops … Sophomore Miles Fox set a new career-high with five tackles … TJ Ricks moved into third on the ODU all-time tackles charts with 233 career stops.
The Monarchs remain on the road next week, as they take on NC State on Saturday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m. in Raleigh. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.