In the end, Norfolk State faced a killer foe: Itself

NORFOLK, Virginia -- Chris Walley never saw it coming. Neither did Norfolk State. The end of the Spartans' season was sealed on their first possession of the second half.  Trailing by 14, Norfolk State moved to the ODU 24. The Spartans found a mix of runs and passes that had been elusive. Walley, the quarterback, found his groove. The Monarchs helped out with a roughing-the-passer penalty.

Walley recognized Old Dominion's defense, and audibled accordingly. As he went up and down the line to deliver the call, center Michael Kay didn't realize the quarterback had moved. He snapped the ball while Walley's eyes were focused downfield.

The first-down snap rolled 22 yards into the backfield, where running back Randy Maynes fell on it. A blocked field goal followed, then an ODU touchdown and - after another half of football - the end of Norfolk State's best Division I season.

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Photos | Old Dominion takes on Norfolk State at Foreman Field


Several on ODU and NSU football teams are old friends

NORFOLK, VA -- Norfolk State and Old Dominion are meeting for the first time. Marcus Cooperwood and Reid Evans aren't.  After meeting at a high school all-star game five years ago, Norfolk State's Cooperwood, a cornerback from Bethel, and ODU's Evans, a receiver from Phoebus, met often at a small field in front of a church near Darling Stadium.

They ran routes against and have continued working out together ever since.
This year, they brought their teammates along. No. 10 ODU and No. 19 NSU, first-round opponents in the FCS playoffs, spent the summer in 7-on-7 competition, focused on improving each other and moving impromptu games between the two campuses.

"Obviously, we didn't see this happening," Cooperwood said of Saturday's game. "Me and Reid work out in the summer and do one-on-ones to fine-tune our games. We brought it up to our teams and both guys were good with it. There ain't no drama between us. It's all mutual love."

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Old Dominion Monarchs plunder Hampton Pirates

Hampton, VA - The Monarch special teams unit blocked two punts and rushed Pirate punter Jordan Stoval to start a drive on Hampton's own one-yard line all by halftime in ODU's 28-14 win in its 15-mile road trip to Hampton Saturday afternoon. The win ups ODU's overall mark to 5-3 overall and 6-1 all-time on the road. The Pirates meanwhile drop to 5-3 on the season.

Quarterback Thomas DeMarco (Palm Desert, Calif.) passed for 182 yards and ran for a pair of touchdowns, while Prentice Gill (Los Angles, Calif.) led the receiving corps with 67 yards, seven receptions, and a score.

ODU wins Round 1 of start-up rivalry with Hampton

Hampton's offense had just put together its first cohesive drive to pull within two scores with an entire fourth quarter to play, and Ricardo Silva's interception gave it the ball right back for what could be a game-changing possession. "I thought so," Silva said. "But it didn't happen."

Three straight incompletions forced the Pirates' ninth punt and personified their continuing offensive struggles in a 28-14 loss to Old Dominion in the first meeting of a home-and-away series between the nearby rivals on Saturday in front of 8,605 fans at Armstrong Stadium.

ODU victory will help it win recruiting battles

HAMPTON, VA - Old Dominion won a football game Saturday afternoon at Hampton University. But in addition to prevailing over its cross-the-water neighbors, the Monarchs also won a recruiting battle. That's one of the reasons Bobby Wilder characterized his team's 28-14 victory as "a very big win for our program." For now and the immediate future.

Winning the favor of impressionable, fickle high school athletes is how a successful football program is established and maintained. Now, when dealing with recruits from the Peninsula who are on the radar of both ODU and Hampton, the Monarchs should have a leg up.

Attendance: 8,605

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Hampton Pirates adds Old Dominion, Central Michigan to 2010 Football Schedule

Hampton University Pirates second year head football coach Donovan Rose faces new opponents Old Dominion and Central Michigan in 2010.

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University football team, under second-year head coach Donovan Rose, will play an exciting schedule of games next fall that will include four marquee home games and two new opponents. HU officials released the school’s 2010 football schedule on Saturday, noting that the school has entered into a two-year contract to play Old Dominion University of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and a one-year pact with Central Michigan University of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

“This will be a challenging and exciting schedule for Hampton,” said HU athletics director Lonza Hardy Jr. “Playing ODU fits in well with our goal of playing more NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams in our region. Our vision is to play more CAA teams as well as forging relationships with other conferences, such as the Ivy League, the Atlantic 10 and the Big South. Adding Central Michigan gives our team the chance to step into the Bowl Subdivision arena and showcase our program.”

The Pirates will open the season on Sept. 2, when they head to Mount Pleasant, Mich. to face Central Michigan. From there, Hampton will head to Washington, D.C. on Sept. 11 to take on Howard in its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game of the year. Hampton’s first home game of the season will come on Sept. 18, when the Pirates take on North Carolina A&T at Armstrong Stadium at 6 p.m. as part of Parents’ Weekend, Alumni Day and Military Appreciation Day.

The Pirates will have a bye on Sept. 25. After a trip to Dover, Del. on Oct. 2 to face Delaware State, the Pirates will head to Durham, N.C. for a non-conference game against North Carolina Central. The Pirates will then return to Armstrong Stadium for the annual Battle of the Bay Classic, held Oct. 16 against Norfolk State at 1 p.m. From there, the Pirates head to Orangeburg, S.C. on Oct. 23 to face defending MEAC champion South Carolina State.

The Pirates will close out October with its second annual Hall of Fame Game, which will be Oct. 30 against second-year program Old Dominion. Kick-off will be 2 p.m. at Armstrong Stadium. Hampton’s home schedule will conclude on Nov. 6, when the Pirates face Bethune-Cookman for homecoming at 1 p.m. Hampton will close out the season with a pair of road games -- Nov. 13 at Florida A&M and Nov. 20 at Morgan State.

“I think playing Central Michigan is a great opportunity for us to not only play a Bowl Subdivision team, but it also gives us added incentives to work out hard this spring,” said Rose. “It’ll also help us to see where we are as a program and to see how to measure ourselves. The guys and the staff are all excited. “Playing ODU will be great in that it’ll bring the whole community together,” added Rose. “ODU did a great job of getting its program started back last season. Playing teams like this outside the conference, in addition to our conference opponents, will hopefully help us in taking our program where we want it to be.”

Hampton finished last season at 5-6 overall and 3-5 in the MEAC and qualified for the I-AA/FCS play-offs five times in its history, including a three-year run in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Hampton University Pirates 2010 Schedule

9/2 at Central Michigan, Mt. Pleasant, MI
9/11 at Howard University, Washington, D.C.
9/18 North Carolina A&T, Hampton, VA
9/25 OPEN
10/2 at Delaware State, Dover, DE
10/9 at North Carolina Central, Durham, N.C.
10/16 Norfolk State, Hampton, VA
10/23 at South Carolina State, Orangeburg, S.C.
10/30 Old Dominion, Hampton, VA
11/6 Bethune-Cookman, Hampton, VA (Homecoming)
11/13 at Florida A&M, Tallahassee, FL
11/20 at Morgan State, Baltimore, MD
11/28 NCAA FCS Division I Playoffs

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Dawn of a rivalry? ODU and NSU talk football series

Old Dominion and Norfolk State are negotiating a long-term series between the schools' football teams, with ODU officials looking at 2013 as a starting point.

Norfolk State athletic director Marty Miller was even more proactive when reached Tuesday. "Why not 2012?" he asked. ODU would have its first class of fifth-year seniors in 2012.

The Monarchs, after nearly seven decades without football, are kick-starting a Division I-AA program that will begin play in 2009 and will join the Colonial Athletic Association in 2011. The school's first class of recruits arrives on campus this fall.

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You gotta love Marty Miller's attitude--stomp Old Dominion University in the turf before they get any momentum to becoming a winning program. Great question, why wait until 2013? NSU has two opportunities with Colonial Athletic Conference foes William and Mary, and now ODU, that should improve the MEAC's future strength of schedule profile. These local contests are great for college football and its good to see NSU take a proactive approach to getting these games on their schedule.

ODU first game will be against CIAA newcomer (in football only), Chowan University Hawks on September 5, 2009.

-beepbeep