NORFOLK, Va (WTKR) — With 2:02 left to play in the third quarter, Old Dominion was rolling on its home field. The Monarchs put up a pair of touchdowns out of halftime to grab a 21-6 lead over Coastal Carolina.
That's when Chanticleer quarterback Ethan Vasko, an Oscar Smith graduate, helped spark a run. A visitor in his hometown, Vasko unleashed a 75-yard touchdown run and threw a game-winning touchdown pass to Sam Pinckney, helping lead Coastal to a stunning 28-24 win over the Monarchs.
"I thought he executed their, they did a nice job giving him a chance to be successful," said ODU head coach Ricky Rahne. "He played well."
The silver and blue jumped out to an early lead after a LaMareon James fumble recovery turned into an Isiah Page touchdown catch. Leading 7-6 at halftime, quarterback Grant Wilson continued his impressive play with two more scoring throws in the third quarter, one to Kelby Williams and another to Dominic Dutton.
Dutton's touchdown made it 21-6, a lead they'd enjoy for just three plays before Vasko's 75-yard scoring scamper. With the score 21-13 in the fourth quarter, Maury product CJ Beasley found his way through ODU's defense for a 17-yard touchdown. Vasko followed it up with a two-point conversion to tie the game up.
"When things started to go the wrong way, we just did not respond the way we needed to," Rahne said.
Vasko finished the game with 350 total yards, 180 through the air and 170 on the ground, with two touchdowns.
Wilson threw for 172 yards with three touchdowns for ODU. Obie Sanni ran his way to a team-leading 75 yards on 14 carries.
“There were too many driver killers," Wilson said. "Too many unforced errors on our part, especially on my part. I missed some throws there at the end that would have helped us."
Monarch linebacker Jason Henderson matched his own school record with 22 total tackles in the game, going above 400 tackles in his career as well.
Old Dominion's last eight games have all been decided by single scores, a stretch the silver and blue has gone 4-4 in. Coming off a three-point loss at James Madison, emotions were still plenty raw after coming up short in a close contest again.
"This is even a better teaching point than last week because if you get hurt and you bounce back, you're not guaranteed to win just because you invested again," Rahne said. "You might get hurt again. That's where you have to put your foot down, put out your chest and say no more.'"
ODU (4-5) hits the road next Saturday, heading to Lynchburg with a matchup against unbeaten Liberty. The Flames (9-0) notched a 38-24 victory over the Monarchs last season.
