ODU Football Team Plays With Fire and Emotion and Defeats Arkansas State, 40-32, in Season Finale

By Harry Minium

JONESBORO, Arkansas. – There was no bowl game to play for, no championship was possible and there was no chance for a winning season. And Old Dominion’s starting quarterback was sidelined with an injury.

And yet the ODU football team traveled 1,000 miles for the final game of the season and played with a ton of emotion and determination and poise and fire Saturday afternoon. 

Led by true freshman quarterback Quinn Henicle, the Monarchs defeated Arkansas State, 40-32, at Centennial Bank Stadium to end a season filled with much frustration on a very satisfying note.

ODU (5-7 overall, 4-4 Sun Belt) lost six one-score games this season, including a 31-29 loss at South Carolina to start the season, and the last three games in a row.

But with starting quarterback Colton Joseph out with an injury, the Monarchs rallied around Henicle, the three-star recruit from Downingtown, Pennsylvania, who responded with a magnificent effort.

Henicle ran 92 yards on ODU’s first play from scrimmage – it was the longest run by an FBS quarterback this season – and finished with 206 yards rushing. He also completed 9 of 12 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns.

Aaron Young, the senior transfer tailback from Rutgers, finished with his fourth consecutive 100-plus yard game, running 23 times for 119 yards, a career-high.

ODU’s 406 yards rushing set a school record and were the 12th most by an FBS team this season.

Tight end Pat Conroy, the transfer from Merrimack finished off a sparkling season with four receptions for 90 yards, including his third 75-yard TD reception of his career and second of the season.

ODU won its final game of the season for the first time since 2016, and the Monarchs set the tone for a positive offseason and start to next season.

“These are terrific young men. They are great examples of what Old Dominion is all about,” said an emotional Ricky Rahne, ODU’s head coach, as his players celebrated in the background.

“People say that (playing hard) is to be expected. But ask other coaches around the country whether that’s to be expected and talk to them about how hard our kids play.

“I’m so proud of our guys. They do things the right way. They have a GPA over 3.0. They do things in the community. They are really good people.

“Obviously, it’s my responsibility to make sure that we win more games, but these kids are wonderful examples of what Old Dominion is all about.”

It is difficult to predict how good a team will be from one year to the next, given the transfer portal, but Young said this team will be better next season.

“We’ve lost a lot of guys to injuries and some guys left the team and the guys who played were mostly young players,” he said. “This team is very close. We love each other. I'm so glad that I came here. We're not in a bowl game but I enjoyed playing with these guys so much. I think tonight, you caught a glimpse of the future.”

ODU outgained the Red Wolves, 549-410.

ODU led, 40-29, at the end of the third quarter, and while the Monarchs did not score again, they deftly worked the clock, and the defense hung tough.

Arkansas State drove from its 17 to the ODU eight, eating up six minutes in the process, before the offense bogged down. The Red Wolves then called upon placekicker Clune Van Andel to kick a 26-yard field goal to trim the margin to 40-32.

The Red Wolves would not get another chance to score.

ODU took over with 6:03 left and squeezed every second off the clock to clinch the win.

Young rushed three yards for a first down 4:48 left and then, on third and seven, Henicle ran 12 yards for another first down with 2:26 left.

On third and one at the Arkansas State 34 with 1:34 left, Henicle dove head first for the last first down the Monarchs would need. He knelt down three times to end the game.

The game began well as the Monarchs took advantage of two turnovers to bolt to a quick, 14-0, lead.

Defensive back Will Jones II got things started with an interception of a Jaylen Raynor pass four minutes into the first quarter. Then Henicle sprinted around the right end, untouched, 92 yards for the touchdown.

Jones was the ODU hero again on the next drive. With Arkansas driving deep in ODU territory, Jones jarred the ball loose from Ja’Quez Cross and Monarch defensive back Patrick Smith-Young recovered.

The Monarchs then ran 11 run plays in a row, with Devin Roche gaining 43 yards. Young punched the ball over from the one to give the Monarchs a 14-0 lead with 5:43 left in the first quarter.

Young made it 21-7 on a 24-yard rush in the second quarter and Arkansas State trimmed the lead to 21-14 on Raynor’s 15-yard pass to Manny Stevenson Jr. just before halftime.

ODU opened the second half with a 75-yard TD drive which ended with Conroy’s 8-yard touchdown reception and gave the Monarchs a 27-14 lead (the extra point was no good).

And while the Monarch offense kept scoring, the Red Wolves kept scoring as well.

Henicle fired 75 yards to Conroy for a touchdown and four minutes later, ran for a one-yard TD that gave the Monarchs a 40-21 lead.

Then, with 22 seconds left in the third quarter, the Red Wolves marched 75 yards on 12 plays and scored on a Zak Wallace 10-yard run. Raynor then completed the two-point conversion pass to Corey Rucker Jr. and narrowed the ODU lead to 40-29 as the third quarter came to an end.

The Red Wolves would score only three more points.

Defensive end Kris Trinidad, a junior from Richmond who had six tackles and two sacks, said the victory will give ODU momentum next season.

“I love these guys,” he said. “Our staff does a great job of recruiting good people.

“We all work for each other. We were going to work hard this game regardless of the situation. The disadvantages that we experienced, that motivated us to fight for our brothers.

“You look across the depth chart, there is nothing but young guys on our football team. Yeah, some guys will leave. But we will make up for that.”

Rahne praised ODU’s fan base for its support – the Monarchs sold out three of their six home games – and he promised the future will be better.

“I just want to say thank you to all the people who came out and supported us all year,” he said. “No one understands more than me that we need to continue to build and win more football games and win a championship. We’re right there. We've been so close.

”We’re going to win a championship.”

Notes

Old Dominion rushed for a school record 406 yards, the first 400+ yard rushing game in ODU history. The previous record was 358 against Hampton in 2021 … Quinn Henicle’s 206 rushing yards was the first 200+ yard rushing game by an ODU quarterback since Thomas DeMarco rushed for 224 yards against North Carolina Central in 2009 …Quinn Henicle made his first career start at quarterback. He becomes the first ODU true freshman quarterback to make a start since Hayden Wolff in 2019, and the fourth overall, joining Taylor Heinicke (2011), Steven Williams (2017) and Hayden Wolff (2019) … Will Jones II intercepted his third pass of the season on Arkansas State’s first drive of the game … Henicle’s 92-yard touchdown run is the longest run in school history and longest run of the season by a quarterback in the country. It is tied for the second longest run of the year by any player … On A-State’s second drive of the game, Jones forced a fumble that was recovered by Patrick Smith-Youn … Henicle tossed his first career touchdown pass to Pat Conroy in the third quarter … Pat Conroy’s 75-yard touchdown grab was his second 75-yard touchdown of the year and third of his career … It was Conroy’s second multi-touchdown game of the season, his first came at Bowling Green … With Henicle and Aaron Young over 100 yards, it marks the first time in program history ODU had two 100 yard rushers in back-to-back games … Kris Trinidad had his first multi sack game of the season and moved into a tied for seventh in school history with 11 career sacks … ODU had six sacks, tied for the fifth most in a game in school history. Denzel Lowry, Ricardo Williams, Koa Naotala and Jeremy Mack all recorded sacks … Ricardo Williams recorded the first sack of his career.