CONWAY, S.C. (WTKR) — For the second game in a row, Old Dominion had to try and find away to make a comeback on the road.
This time around, though, the Monarchs had a much bigger hole to dig out of and they ran out of time.
Behind a career day from Chesapeake native Ethan Vasko, Coastal Carolina held off ODU for a 45-37 win at Brook Stadium on Saturday night.
Colton Joseph would get the start for the Monarchs in place of the injured Grant Wilson and got off to a nice start. He passed for a pair of touchdowns, one to Bryce Duke and another on a 55-yard strike to Isiah Page to give the visitors a 17-7 lead with 4:26 left in the second quarter.
That's when the Chanticleers hit the gas pedal. Vasko found Cameron Wright for a 12-yard touchdown with 2:15 to play to make it 17-14. On the next ODU drive, Joseph fumbled the football on a hit which led to a scoop and score by Juan Powell to make it 21-17.
The home team wasn't done. Coming out of the locker rooms, Braydon Bennett would run in an eight yard touchdown to grow the lead to 28-17. After another Monarch fumble a few drives later, Coastal would turn it into points on another Bennett rush to get score to 35-17.
Ricky Rahne's group stopped the bleed on their next series, scoring on a Joseph 40-yard pass to Diante Vines on a seven play, 65 yard drive. They forced a CCU punt, then scored again on a two-yard run by Devin Roche to make it 35-30. ODU couldn't draw closer, however, as Vasko would toss a 37-yard score to Bennett on a screen play. A field goal late in the fourth quarter would expand the lead to 45-30.
Old Dominion would make it interesting after driving 75 yards a little more than two minutes, Joseph finishing the drive with a touchdown run to cut the deficit to 45-37. An onside kick try didn't go their way and Coastal knelt the game out.
Joseph threw for 262 yards and accounted for four touchdowns and three turnovers. Roche would lead the way on the ground with 86 yards on 12 carries, while Page posted eight catches for 81 yards along with four receptions for 73 yards for Vines.
Vasko tossed a career-high 367 yards and three touchdowns for the Chanticleers, going 19-for-27 in the game. Christian Washington posted 89 yards on eight carries on the ground, while Wright tallied 148 receiving yards.
ODU falls to 1-4 on the season, dropping its first Sun Belt game of the schedule. The silver and blue round out a three-game road swing with a trip to Georgia State next Saturday.
