The 2009 Old Dominion Monarchs football team represented

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

during the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team compiled a 9–2 record, in the first season under the guidance of head coach

Bobby Wilder Robert S. Wilder (born August 1, 1964) is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach of the Old Dominion Monarchs football team. He was only the second coach all-time in the program's history and the first since footba ...

. The Monarchs competed as an independent. The team's home games were played at

Foreman Field S.B. Ballard Stadium, formerly Foreman Field, is a 21,944-seat multi-purpose stadium on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. It opened in 1936 with a football game between the University of Virginia and the College of Willi ...

Preseason notes

Season tickets for the Monarchs' inaugural 2009 season more than sold out and the school had to refund 1,065 orders.

Schedule

Coaches and support staff

Game summaries

Chowan

September 5, 2009 was a new start, and proved to be the perfect ending.

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

played its first football game in 69 years against a Division II school from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, the Chowan Hawks, in front of a sold-out 19,782 fans. Old Dominion won 36–21. The defensive line dominated Chowan's offensive line and ODU's defense forced 5 turnovers. ODU quarterback, Thomas DeMarco, hooked up with wide receiver Marquel Thomas for a 50-yard pass play that marked the first touchdown for ODU in 69 years. DeMarco ended the game going 11 for 20 for 123 yards, 6 of those completions were to Reid Evans, who finished the game with 93 yards receiving. Edmon McClam set a new FCS record with three blocked XP attempts in one game.

Virginia Union

On September 12, 2009 ODU hosted the Division II Virginia Union Panthers and won in front of another sellout crowd, 49–17. ODU's defense only gave up 237 yards of total offense, and gained 443 yards themselves. ODU forced 4 turnovers, and quickly jumped out to a 21–0 lead in the 2nd quarter due to an unexpected onside kick. By halftime ODU was winning 35–10 and quarterback Thomas DeMarco had already scored 4 touchdowns, 2 in the air and 2 on the ground. DeMarco finished with 198 yards passing and 39 yards rushing. Running back Mario Crawford led the game with 71 yards rushing and wide receiver Dorian Jackson led the game with 79 yards receiving.

Jacksonville

September 19, 2009 marked ODU's first road game. It was ODUs first

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

opponent, and was ODU's first come-from-behind win. ODU traveled to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

to face the

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

Dolphins. ODU won 28–27. Jacksonville was the first opponent that was supposed to be a challenge. Coming off two easy wins against smaller opponents, this was ODU's first test. Trailing 20–7 at halftime, ODU opened the 2nd half with a quick score by Mario Crawford and headed into the 4th quarter trailing 20–14. After trading touchdowns early in the 4th quarter, ODU received the ball with just over 1:30 left in the game. Thomas DeMarco quickly marched his team down the field and found Dorian Jackson for a 32-yard touchdown pass with only 45 seconds remaining in the game. Thomas DeMarco finished with 175 yards passing and 136 yards rushing. Reid Evans had 7 receptions for 86 yards, and the ODU defense forced 4 turnovers.

Monmouth

September 26, 2009 was the day of ODU's new football team's first loss. The loss came at the hands of the

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

Hawks, in front of another sold-out ODU crowd, 31–28. ODU did not have an answer for Monmouth's running back David Sinisi who ran the ball 41 times for 216 yards, and also threw a 24-yard touchdown pass on a halfback option play. Sinisi ran for 2 first-downs on Monmouth's final possession of the game when ODU was trying to force a punt, in hopes of possibly winning the game. Because of that Monmouth ended the game with possession. Thomas DeMarco passed for a season high 215 yards while running for 42 more. ODU only forced 2 turnovers while averaging 4.3 takeaways a game coming into this game. Time of possession was very lopsided, with ODU's TOP being 20:49 and Monmouth's being 39:11.

Fordham

On October 3, 2009 the Monarchs suffered the second loss of the 2009 season. The Monarchs traveled to

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

to face off against the

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)John Skelton John Skelton may refer to: *John Skelton (poet) (c.1460–1529), English poet. * John de Skelton, MP for Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency) *John Skelton (died 1439), MP for Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency) *John Skelton (American footb ...

. On the wet and muggy day, the Rams managed to outperform the Old Dominion Monarchs as Skelton threw for two touchdowns and 402 yards. Down 25–7 at halftime, the Monarchs took advantage of Fordham turnovers. Old Dominion quarterback Thomas DeMarco threw for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns. After a two-point conversion play and a Carlos Davis touchdown, the Monarchs took a 29–28 lead with just under 7 minutes left in the game. The Rams regained possession with very little time left and managed to score on the pursuing drive to lead 34–29. On Old Dominion's last possession, with under a minute left, Fordham's Bryson Wilson recovered a Thomas DeMarco fumble at midfield to seal the Fordham victory, 34–29.

Presbyterian

Campbell

Savannah State

ODU quarterback Thomas DeMarco threw for 198 yards (14-of-20 passing) and three touchdowns without an interception as the Monarchs defeated fellow FCS Independent Savannah State 38–17 in Savannah, Georgia. ODU improved to 6–2 while Savannah State (1–6) saw its losing streak extended to six games.

Georgetown

North Carolina Central

VMI

References

{{Old Dominion Monarchs football navbox

Old Dominion Monarchs football seasons

Old Dominion Monarchs football The Old Dominion Monarchs football program represents Old Dominion University in U.S. college football. The first iteration of the team created in 1930 was known as the William & Mary Norfolk Division Braves. Founded in 2009, the current Monarchs ...