The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Based on recent history, you knew the third matchup between the Old Dominion Monarchs and Eastern Michigan Eagles would come down to fourth quarter execution, setting the stage for a thrilling finish at the 2016 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl on Friday afternoon.

The Monarchs won their first bowl game in school history when they defeated the Eagles 24-20 at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium in the third edition of the game.

Senior quarterback David Washington was named the offensive MVP for completing 11 of 20 passes for 188 yards and three touchdowns.

Tied at 17-17 headed into the fourth quarter, Washington gave the Monarchs the go-ahead score when he connected with Jonathan Duhart for a five-yard touchdown pass on their opening possession.

His three touchdown passes on the afternoon were to three different receivers.

“Coach does a good job of putting us in situations preparing us for these moments and, even though they got back into the game, we just had to get back to our practice situations and things just started clicking like they were supposed to,” he said.

“I’ve been a part of this programme for years so I can’t tell you how much this means to be able to end my career here like this and getting it done with this group of guys. It feels like family.”

Junior running back Ray Lawry was the catalyst behind the Monarchs’ offence with 23 carries for 133 yards while their senior linebacker TJ Ricks was named the Defensive Player of the Game.

“If one guy does his job, everyone does their job, we always have the potential to come out with a win,” Ricks said. “It was my last collegiate game at ODU, it’s probably my favourite team and I was just overcome with emotion that we were able to realise this dream.”

The Monarchs ended the season 10-3 and on a six-game win streak after the pre-season poll had them pegged to finish sixth in Conference-USA.

“We’re excited and grateful for how we were treated and all the wonderful people we met. We made memories that will last a lifetime. You get caught up so many times in wins and losses that the life experiences can be lost on you, and I promise the Bahamas Bowl experience won’t be lost on us. I just wish we could stay for Junkanoo,” Monarchs head coach Bobby Wilder said.

“We just proved a lot to ourselves, and to people that had us ranked sixth in the conference in those summer meetings. This is the most memorable team I’ve ever been a part of. It’s a special group and I know no matter what my seniors do, wherever they hang their pads up they’ll always be back and a part of this family.

“It’s like we’re in second grade as a programme and there’s so much this programme can accomplish. If you believe in something you can do something special. Regardless of where they had us picked to finish in August we just won 10 games, our school’s first bowl game and that’s pretty cool.”

Old Dominion now has a 3-0 edge in the head-to-head matchup between Friday’s teams thus far. In 2014, they scored a 17-3 victory, followed by a 38-34 win last season.

The Monarchs took an early 3-0 lead on the opening drive and grabbed the momentum after they forced a turnover on downs from the Eagles offence.

Washington was intercepted by Eagles defensive back Vince Calhoun on the team’s second possession, but the Monarchs defence came up in response with a turnover of their own when Denzel Williams intercepted a Brogan Roback pass in the end zone.

The game saw its first touchdown in the second quarter when Washington escaped three defenders in the pocket and eventually found a wide open Vance Pascal for a 37-yard touchdown pass.

They took a 10-0 lead into the half, but the Eagles offence engineered a comeback led by Roback, who completed 26 of 46 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns.

The Eagles got into the red zone on a pass interference call and Roback was able to find Sergio Bailey II open in the corner for a touchdown at the 12:04 mark in the third quarter .

The Monarchs responded with a touchdown drive of their own, sparked by several big runs from Lawry and capped by Washington’s touchdown pass to Travis Fulgham.

Eastern Michigan answered that score with passes of 16 and 11 yards to Bailey and John Niupalau on the drive. Roback connected with Niupalau for a five-yard score to make the score 17-14 and they tacked on another field goal to tie the scores heading into the fourth quarter.The Monarchs would score the go ahead touchdown on their opening drive and the Eagles best opportunity to tie, stalled in the redzone late in the fourth quarter when they had to settle for a 19 yard field goal.

“It was just a matter of executing down the stretch. They had the trust in me, it’s not a matter of if we would be able to get going but just when,” Roback said. “This wasn’t a vacation for us. Our year-long goal wasn’t to go to a bowl game but to win it. It’s a tough pill to swallow; we came here for business and it’s a little tainted with the loss.”

The Eagles finished the season 7-7 and lost on their first bowl appearance since the 1987 California Bowl.

“It’s a special team we have and just being on this trip preparing to achieve this goal was a very special feeling,” Eagles coach Chris Creighton said. “We felt as though we were moving the ball, we had the interception and didn’t get the field goal off so you’re talking about potentially 10 points right there in the first half.

“We thought that we would be able to take it to the fourth quarter and wear them out but, unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”