Sunday, September 9, 2012

Storms end game early, but Old Dominion Monarchs roll over Hampton Pirates

HAMPTON, Virginia - The only thing that could stop Old Dominion’s football team Saturday night was a bolt of lightning. Looking every bit the part of the nation’s fifth-ranked Football Championship Subdivision team, ODU crushed Hampton University 45-7 in a game called because of weather with 9:23 to play.

Game officials halted the contest after lightning struck close to Armstrong Stadium around 9 p.m. Both teams were sent to their locker rooms and the stadium was cleared of fans.

Initially, the plan was to resume play an hour or so later. But Hampton officials approached ODU coach Bobby Wilder about 9:30 and asked, for the safety of the fans and players, if he would agree to call the game.

“I thought it was a good decision,” Wilder said.



Quarterback Taylor Heinicke completed 20 of 32 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed 11 times for 55 yards to lead the Monarchs, No. 5 in the FCS Coaches’ Poll.

It was its second offensive onslaught in as many games for ODU, which opened last Saturday with a 57-23 victory over Duquesne.

The Monarchs didn’t match the 723 offensive yards they amassed against the Dukes – they had 350 yards. But the lopsided nature of the game, and the thunderstorms, had as much to do with slowing down ODU’s offense as did the Pirates.

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