NORFOLK, Va. – Quinn Henicle accounted for four touchdowns and the Old Dominion defense held Norfolk State to 220 total yards as the Monarchs defeated Norfolk State, 31-10 in the season opener at Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium on Saturday night.
Old Dominion wore camo jerseys on Saturday night to honor Lt. Col. Brandon Shah. The jerseys went on sale before the game and were sold out within an hour. All proceeds from the jersey sale go to the Lt. Col. Brandon Shah Leadership Foundation.
Old Dominion (1-0) led 17-0 until late in the second quarter and on its first drive of the third quarter Norfolk State (1-1) cut the lead to 17-10 on a 37-yard field goal by Marco Peery.
But the Monarchs responded with a 10 play, 76-yard drive capped by a Quinn Henicle to TJ Johnson 11-yard touchdown pass. ODU’s Javen Gibson sacked NSU quarterback Deljay Bailey on the ensuing possession, forcing a fumble that Jackson Forrest recovered at the NSU 12. Two plays later Henicle went in from two yards out to make the score 31-10.
Norfolk State drove 93 yards in 11 plays to open the game, but Jalyn Daniels fumbled at the one on a force by Zion Frink that was recovered in the end zone by Brandon Crutchfield. ODU took over at its own 20 and quickly drove the length of the field highlighted by a 38-yard completion from Henicle to JJ Harrell and Henicle finished the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run to put ODU on top 7-0.
The Monarchs got a three and out on NSU’s next possession. Devin Roche returned the punt 26 yards to the Spartans’ 45 to set up the Monarchs with good field position. On third and 19 Henicle hit Leon Haughton Jr. for 38 yards to set up an 11-yard touchdown pass from Henicle to TJ Johnson to put the Monarchs up 14-0.
ODU made the score 17-0 with a 37-yard field goal from Nathanial Eichner. Ja’Varien Salter started the drive with an 18-yard run and Henicle completed a 17-yard pass to Josh Rodriguez to set up the three points.
With two minutes remaining in the half, Henicle was intercepted by Josiah Davis at the ODU 20 and that set up a three-yard score from Deljay Bailey to put the Spartans on the board and cut the ODU lead to 17-7.
Henicle rushed for 68 yards and the two scores and completed 9-of-12 passes for 137 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception.
Devin Roche carried 13 times for 51 yards while Harrell caught three passes for 45 yards.
DeAndre Lynch recorded a career high 10 tackles, while Koa Naotala added nine tackles and two tackles for loss. Ja’Mez Drummer totaled eight tackles and two tackles for loss while Javen Gibson recorded five stops, 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss.
Notes: On Norfolk State’s first drive of the game, Zion Frink forced a Jalyn Daniels fumble at the one that was recovered in the end zone by Brandon Crutchfield. It was the second forced fumble of Frink’s career and the first career recovery for Crutchfield … Quinn Henicle has three career starts at quarterback, and has rushed for two touchdowns in all three starts … DeAndre Lynch registered a career high 10 tackles … The 21-point victory was the largest in the five games between ODU and NSU … ODU has now won seven-straight games, tied for the third longest streak in the country behind Indiana and Notre Dame. ODU is tied with Utah. The seven game winning streak is the longest in program history ... ODU announced late in the second quarter that former ODU quarterback Taylor Heinicke will have his jersey retired at halftime of the Thursday night game against Georgia Southern on Oct. 15.