By Harry Minium
Family is so important to Old Dominion football coach Ricky Rahne that he says what he'll remember most about his first victory as a head coach will be the 15 minutes he spent on the field with family and friends after Saturday's game.
His father and stepmother, mother, wife and two boys and numerous friends and neighbors were all there to watch Rahne's Monarchs blow out Hampton University, 47-7, Saturday night at S.B. Ballard Stadium. ODU (1-1) was a 19-point favorite but won by 40 points in a game that could have been far more lopsided had Rahne not gone to his bench early in the third quarter.
His oldest son, Ryder, who seems to have grown a foot since his dad was named head coach in December of 2019, ran and hugged him so hard that Rahne said, "I thought he was going to break my ribs."
"I love our fans and I love our donors, but being with my family was really special," Rahne said during his post-game press conference.
He got misty-eyed for a few seconds as he talked about his wife, Jennifer, whom he calls "the best person on the planet."
It was a special night not just for the Rahne family, but for the extended ODU clan. Because of the pandemic, the Monarchs had not played a home game in 651 days and had not won a game in 741 days, or more than two years.
Not only did ODU win, the Monarchs won convincingly.
They set a single game rushing record of 358 yards and a single-game defensive record by limiting Hampton to 187 yards. They had 408 offensive yards at halftime, before Rahne called off the dogs. Two Running backs, Jon-Luke Peaker (141) and Elijah Davis (109), rushed for more than 100 yards.
The Monarchs also got a stellar performance from quarterback D.J. Mack Jr., the Norview High graduate and transfer from Central Florida who did not play well last week in a 42-10 loss at Wake Forest.
Mack completed 11 of 22 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown and ran for 57 yards and three touchdowns before heading to the sidelines midway through the third quarter.
While the game did not sell out, the crowd was announced at 18,363, more than 5,000 students packed the east side and north end zone. It was the largest student turnout since ODU began playing football in 2009.
The game was preceded by ceremonies marking the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including parachutists landing with ODU and American flags, which added more feeling to what was already an emotional night. The crowd changed "USA, USA" as the last parachutist descended.
"It was such a special night for everyone at ODU," athletic director Wood Selig said. "It was a very emotional night for everyone who was there.
"And it was the first of many, many victories for Ricky Rahne at ODU."
When asked how he felt about claiming his first victory, Rahne seemed uncomfortable.
"I didn't take it that way," he said. "It was the first win for our staff and this football team and that's the thing that's important to me.
"I know I'm in charge of setting the tone and make some of the ultimate decisions, but to think one guy gets credit for the win seems asinine. I was happy because we won the game and there were a lot of people there that deserved to get the win.
"That's what was awesome. That's what is going to be special to me because I know how hard everyone on our staff, everyone in that room, I know how hard they worked."
Rahne, who is 41, came to ODU from Penn State 21 months ago and waited a long time for this game.
He admitted he's made some mistakes as a young coach.
He said he may have been too laid back last weekend when the Monarchs lost at Wake Forest. It was, after all, his first game as a head coach. He's just figuring out what kind of sideline demeanor he's comfortable with and what is best for his team.
"The thing I did better tonight is that I was myself a little bit more," he said. "I got after the refs a little bit more. I got after other people on our team a little bit more. I wasn't so stoic.
D.J. Mack Jr. had a sparkling home debut for ODU
"That's just kind of who I am. When I do that, when I'm fired up, I think our team is going to play that way. I thought they played with more fire, with more passion, and thought our coaches had more energy and more passion.
"What I do rubs off on them and I know that, and I need to continue to be that way.
"Last week, I was a little worried we'd be too amped up. So, I thought I needed to stay calm so that they would stay within themselves.
"Tonight, we were right on that edge. And we need to continue to be right on that edge."
He perhaps also needs to work on his dancing. After the game, the players insisted he dance in the locker room. When I asked quarterback Mack how he did, he smiled and said that he'll do better next time.
"We've got to give him the right music and he'll get it right," Mack said. "The more games we win, the more he will dance."
The players presented him with the game ball, and Rahne again appeared to choke up when he was talking about that to the media. He then made light of the raucous locker room scene.
"I grew up in the 90s, with Nirvana, and punk rock, so the only dance I know how to do is mosh," he said. And by that, he means head-banging in a mosh pit.
As poorly as he danced, he said of the locker room scene, "I'm never going to forget that as long as I live."
Neither will his players, especially those who played in 2019, when the Monarchs went 1-11. ODU had not won a game since August 31, 2019, when the Monarchs rallied to defeat Norfolk State, 24-21.
Defensive end Marcus Haynes, a redshirt junior, was among those players who suffered through the 2019 campaign.
"This was a very emotional night for me," he said. He got text messages from former coaches and teammates, including wide receiver Jonathan Duhart, who plays for Hamilton, Ontario in the Canadian Football League.
Mack also hadn't played in two years – he was injured in 2019 when he was at Central Florida before he transferred to ODU in January.
Isiah Paige signals first down
"I can feel what Marcus feels," Mack said. "Being able to see the joy in everyone's faces as we're jumping up and down to music was so great. It made us feel so good inside."
ODU will be a decided underdog at its next game, when the Monarchs travel to Liberty Saturday. The Flames (2-0) were 10-1 last season and were ranked 17th in the final Associated Press poll. Liberty claimed a 21-13 victory at Troy Saturday night.
The Flames were 29th among those receiving votes in last week's AP poll
Asked if the victory over Hampton gave him confidence in Rahne and his staff, Haynes said that confidence was there long ago.
"Our coach is a winner," he said, pausing for a few seconds and then repeating, "a winner."
"He doesn't know how to lose. We've got to go out and win for him."
And this team will win more games.
Prognosticators had ODU ranked among the very worst in the Football Bowl Subdivision during the preseason.
You don't beat a good FCS team by 40 points if you're among the worst. It remains to be seen how good the Monarchs can be, but this team will win more games.
It's also clear that Rahne has this program headed in the right direction, and that he will indeed celebrate many more victories with family.
Minium was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in his 39 years at The Virginian-Pilot and won 27 state and national writing awards. He covers ODU athletics for odusports.com Follow him on Twitter @Harry_MiniumODU, Instagram @hbminium1 or email hminium@odu.edu
Minium: Sharing his First Victory With Family Was a Moment Ricky Rahne Says He Won't Forget
