NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- It was closer than many expected it to be, but Old Dominion football got back into the win column on Saturday to cap off a three-game homestand.
LaMareon James picked off Texas A&M-Commerce's two-point conversion attempt with 28 seconds left in the game to seal a 10-9 victory for the Monarchs at S.B. Ballard Stadium. The victory improved their record to 2-2 on the season.
"Obviously there are an abundance of things that we need to correct, but we won the game," head coach Ricky Rahne said after the victory. "We need to play better on offense. We need to play with more confidence."
Rahne was referring to the struggles that seemed to haunt that unit throughout the entire afternoon. After Grant Wilson threw his third interception early in the second quarter, the head coach made the switch at quarterback to Jack Shields. Seeing his first significant time, Shields completed 14 of his 20 pass attempts for 258 yards and a touchdown.
"I will continue to evaluate that," Rahne said of the quarterback position, committing to neither Wilson nor Shields moving forward. "I felt like the team needed a spark there. Jack has continued to prepare and practice well and so he earned the right to play in that game."
Neither quarterback seemed to be able to get comfortable. The Monarchs allowed eight sacks throughout the course of the afternoon, while committing five turnovers, three of them coming in the redzone. Rahne did not want to take anything away from the Lions' preparation or play, but he recognized plenty of things that need corrected going forward.
"Do I think that we did not execute? Do I think that we had some penalties that were mind-numbingly stupid? Some turnovers that were also not very intelligent? Yeah, of course."
"A win is a win," added the junior cornerback James. "As long as we get the win, nobody likes losing, so we're just going to capitalize off this win and correct the mistakes we've got to correct for the game next week."
Texas A&M-Commerce struck first win a field goal in the third quarter, but the silver and blue responded on the ensuing drive with a 40-yard touchdown strike from Shields to Dominic Dutton. The Monarchs would add a field goal in the fourth to extend their lead, but the Lions put together one final march. Josh Magana connected with Keith Miller for a two-yard score with 28 seconds remaining in the game, setting up the game-winning two-point try, which was spoiled by James.
Old Dominion gained 383 total yards in the game, but only 15 of those yards came via the run. Texas A&M-Commerce held the ball for more than 35 minutes.
Kelby Williams was a bright spot at receiver for ODU, pulling in eight catches for 197 yards. Jason Henderson finished the game with 17 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
The Monarchs return to Sun Belt play next Saturday when they travel to Marshall for a 3:30 PM kickoff.
