App State football traveled to Norfolk, Virginia to take on the Old Dominion Monarchs for another rivalry matchup. The Mountaineers lost a tough Homecoming game against Coastal Carolina and were looking to spoil ODU’s Homecoming game. The game however ended with a 24-21 ODU victory.
The Monarchs were stopped on their first drive of the game and were forced to punt the ball to the Black and Gold. App State had a strong first drive to start the game, which included a 31-yard pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback JJ Kohl to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Davion Dozier.
Soon after, the Mountaineers went for a field goal on 4th and 5 from ODU’s 42-yard line. Kohl’s pass to redshirt senior tight end Izayah Cummings was incomplete, but App State got a new set of downs after an ODU pass interference penalty.
However, the next play ended in an interception by Kohl giving ODU the ball back.
As ODU started their next possession, quarterback Colton Joseph threw a pass that was intercepted at their own 15-yard line. The play was called back as redshirt senior defensive back Myles Farmer was called for roughing the passer. This play was reviewed and upgraded to a targeting call. The next play, Joseph connected with running back Ke’Travion Hargrove on a 70-yard pass that led to a touchdown, giving ODU a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
App State continued moving the ball in the first quarter but could not come up with any points due to self-inflicted mistakes, one of which included a second-quarter interception by Kohl in the end zone.
During the first few minutes of the second quarter, App State’s defense was able to stop ODU from scoring another touchdown, which led to the Monarchs settling for a field goal. Kicker Riley Callaghan missed from 47 yards to keep the score 7-0.
As the first half drew to a close, the Mountaineer offense had just over two minutes to get down the field and get points on the board. During the drive, ODU was penalized for pass interference, and four plays later on 4th and 6, Kohl completed a 6-yard pass to junior wide receiver Jaden Barnes to continue moving the ball.
After two plays that led to 17 and 4-yard gains, Kohl found Barnes for a 16-yard touchdown to put App State on the board 10-7 with 30 seconds left in the second quarter. ODU went down the field and attempted a field goal, but the kicker missed his second kick of the game, and the score at halftime remained 10-7.
“We thought that we had a good rhythm after going down and scoring and we just felt like we could move the ball, throwing the football a little bit at that point,” head coach Dowell Loggains said in a postgame press conference.
App State received the ball at the start of the second half but could only generate three plays for 6 yards. The Mountaineers punted the ball back to ODU, and it was returned to the Mountaineers’ 49-yard line. The Monarch offense ran through the Mountaineer defense with quarterback scrambles and big yards gained from running back Trequan Jones. Due to a holding penalty, the Mountaineer defense needed to make a stop on 3rd and 13, but Joseph was able to find wide receiver Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding for a 16-yard touchdown reception.
With a 17-7 deficit, App State continued to struggle putting up points due to little production, not enough first downs and the inability to move the ball downfield. ODU, however, kept the momentum going with big plays. With just over three minutes left in the 3rd quarter, ODU continued to score more points. The Monarchs had a 7-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Joseph to wide receiver Ja’Cory Thomas, extending the lead to 24-7.
As the fourth quarter began, the Monarchs tried to solidify their lead with another touchdown, but Joseph’s pass was intercepted in the end zone by redshirt sophomore defensive back Zyeir Gamble. Loggains decided to bench Kohl for redshirt junior quarterback AJ Swann following too many mistakes made by the young quarterback.
With just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, Swann generated new momentum for the Mountaineers. With the help of two roughing the passer calls on ODU, he connected with redshirt junior tight end Kanen Hamlett on a 35-yard touchdown pass, cutting the lead down to 17.
“I was ecstatic about the effort on how they played. We didn’t give up, we kept playing hard. I don’t think anyone ever at any point believed that we couldn’t win that game,” Loggains said.
ODU attempted to run the clock out and later fumbled the ball, which was recovered by redshirt junior defensive back DJ Burks. After looking at the replay, the officials gave the ball back to ODU, claiming Burks’ foot was out of bounds when he touched the ball. The Mountaineers were able to hold the Monarchs to a field goal attempt, but the ODU kicker missed his third consecutive kick of the game, giving the Mountaineers hope of a comeback.
On the Mountaineers’ next possession, they made big play after big play. With just over a minute left, Swann found Dozier for a 34-yard touchdown reception, disintegrating ODU’s 17-point lead to just 3. App State attempted an onside kick, but ODU was able to recover the ball and survived App State’s comeback. App State finished the game with 374 total yards on 301 passing yards and 73 rushing yards while averaging 5.2 yards per play.
“A lot of things we need to clean up. A lot of self inflicted wounds and you know last week you give up 250 rushing yards this week it’s 150 and over 50% on third down. That’s not the winning formula we’ve got to be better,” Loggains said.
App State looks to get back on track when it hosts another rival, the Georgia Southern Eagles. Kickoff is slated for Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN2.
