NORFOLK, Va. — App State followed a pair of fourth-quarter stands with two touchdowns to keep its comeback hopes going, but Old Dominion recovered a late onside kick to close out a 24-21 home win Saturday.
AJ Swann directed two fourth-quarter drives and threw two touchdown passes, leading possessions that followed a
Zyeir Gamble interception near the end zone and a missed 39-yard field goal from the Monarchs.
Kanen Hamlett scored on a 35-yard touchdown reception after the takeaway, and
Davion Dozier hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass with 1:35 remaining, but the Mountaineers (4-4, 1-3 Sun Belt) had only one timeout left when ODU (5-3, 2-2) recovered the onside kick.
App State threw for 301 yards and three scores as a team, as Swann entered in relief with 11:23 remaining and completed 12 of 16 passes for 140 yards in his first action since Sept. 27. Making his fourth straight start,
JJ Kohl threw a touchdown pass to
Jaden Barnes late in the first half and finished with 138 yards through the air, while
Ian Ratliff completed a 23-yard pass to
Colton Phares on a fake punt.
Defensively, the Mountaineers limited ODU to 3.4 yards per carry for the game and allowed only 10 first-half points despite giving up a 70-yard touchdown on a short pass to an open running back just beyond the line of scrimmage. Gamble recorded a team-high 13 tackles to go with his interception, which was caused by
Rondo Porter's tip near the line, and Phares' two-way effort included 11 stops.
Receiving to open the third quarter, the Mountaineers trailed 10-7 at halftime despite facing adversity from every direction, but the first four drives for each team in the second half resulted in one App State first down and two ODU touchdowns.
The Monarchs nearly got a third touchdown in that stretch, reaching the App State 1 after making a fourth-down stop at the Mountaineers' 34, but Gamble came down with an interception after Porter tipped a third-and-goal pass. Swann, who had missed the previous three games while being sidelined by injury, absorbed two roughing-the-passer penalties before capping a 91-yard drive with his 35-yard touchdown pass to Hamlett.
That score cut App State's deficit to 24-14 with 9:26 remaining, and ODU chewed up nearly six minutes before
Kevin Abrams-Verwayne forced a red-zone fumble with 3:31 remaining.
DJ Burks made a sliding recovery near the sideline, but officials ruled that part of his lower body touched out of bounds during the sequence.
ODU missed a 39-yard field goal nine seconds later, and Swann completed seven of his nine pass attempts on a 79-yard touchdown drive, capped by Dozier scoring for the fourth straight game.
With App State playing three of its first four Sun Belt games on the road, the Mountaineers begin the second half of their league schedule with a Thursday night home game against Georgia Southern on Nov. 6.
The Mountaineers stayed within striking distance in the early going even though a long ODU touchdown immediately followed an App State takeaway wiped out by a flag and an ODU interception in the end zone immediately followed an App State touchdown wiped out by a flag.
After forcing an early punt, App State moved to the Monarchs' 27 on its first series, but an interception ended that march. The Mountaineers appeared to return the favor two plays later, with Gamble's deflection leading to a Burks interception on an across-the-body throw over the middle at the ODU 36, but a flag for roughing the passer and targeting on
Myles Farmer's hit of Colton Joseph negated the big play.
Farmer had been inserted into the starting lineup as part of a dime package with six defensive backs to employ against ODU's spread-wide scheme, and the Monarchs took advantage of Farmer's absence on the next play with a 70-yard touchdown that resulted from a short, over-the-top pass to an open running back in the middle of the field.
App State lost standout tight end
Izayah Cummings to a serious injury on the next series yet moved into ODU territory when Ratliff completed a 23-yard pass to Phares on a fourth-and-8 play from the Monarchs' 47. The Mountaineers were set to tie the game thanks to Kohl's 5-yard touchdown pass to
Dalton Stroman, but a flag for offensive interference (ruled a pick by another route runner) backed App State up 15 yards, and that third-and-20 pass was intercepted in the end zone.
Despite all those events, the Mountaineers trailed by only three points at halftime.
ODU missed a 47-yard field goal early in the second quarter before increasing its lead to 10-0 on a 33-yard field goal with 2:10 remaining in the second quarter. The Mountaineers responded with a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive, prolonged by Barnes' fourth-and-6 catch for 6 yards to the ODU 37 and ended by his 16-yard touchdown on a third-and-6 throw from Kohl.
The Monarchs moved into scoring range with time running down before halftime but missed a 50-yard field goal.
App State managed only 35 offensive yards and one first down on 16 third-quarter plays, punting from its 27, 36 and 24. ODU started its first third-quarter drive at the Mountaineers' 49, scoring eight plays later on a third-and-13 pass for a 16-yard touchdown, and the Monarchs followed App State's third punt of the half with a 61-yard drive highlighted by a 24-yard touchdown pass to move ahead 24-7.
