Norfolk State announced a non-conference schedule that coach Robert Jones called “the toughest schedule I have ever had in my coaching career here at NSU.”

The Spartans will open at Echols Hall at 7 p.m. Nov. 4 against Penn State Wilkes-Barre. Some of their notable games are Nov. 9 at home against James Madison, Nov. 12 at William & Mary, Nov. 16 at Hampton and Nov. 20 at Stanford. They also will play at Baylor on Dec. 11 and Tennessee on New Year’s Eve.

Virginia announced that Oct. 5 will be the day for its annual, free Blue-White scrimmage at John Paul Jones Arena. The time is to be announced.

COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

NSU to open season at home vs. W&M

Norfolk State, which has won the last two MEAC titles, revealed its non-conference schedule. It will start with home games at Echols Hall Nov. 4 against William & Mary and Nov. 7 at Longwood.

Among the Spartans’ highest-profile road opponents will be Missouri (Nov. 10) and Alabama (Nov. 13) before a Nov. 16 “Battle of the Bay” at Hampton.

At the Puerto Rico Shootout in San Juan from Nov. 28-30, NSU will play, in order, Washington State, Wyoming and Green Bay.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

ODU safety wins Sun Belt award

Old Dominion safety Jahron Manning was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week.

In his home debut, Manning intercepted two passes and made 10 tackles (one for a loss) in a 20-14 loss to East Carolina. He was the first Monarch since Christian Byrum in 2014 to pick off two passes in a game, tying a school record.

NSU QB shares MEAC award

Norfolk State quarterback Jalen Daniels was named a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week. He was 14 of 21 for 210 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s 28-23 victory over Virginia State, as well as rushing for 31 yards and a TD on 11 carries.

Tribe stays at No. 13

William & Mary remained at No. 13 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 after a 40-21 loss at FBS Coastal Carolina.

Other ranked Coastal Athletic Association teams are No. 5 Villanova (2-0), No. 17 Albany (1-1) and No. 22 Elon (1-1). Richmond (0-2) dropped out of the top 25 after losing at home to Wofford.

W&M was also 13th in the coaches’ poll, while Villanova was fourth and Albany 15th.

Kickoff times set for Sept. 21

Kickoff times and networks were announced for some Sept. 21 games.

They included: James Madison at North Carolina at noon on ACC Network, N.C. State at Clemson at noon on ABC (WVEC in Hampton Roads), Virginia at Coastal Carolina at 2 p.m. on ESPN+, and Rutgers at Virginia Tech at 3:30 on ACC Network.

COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER

USA South honors Kempsville alum from Methodist

Methodist’s Cameron Lambert, a freshman from Virginia Beach’s Kempsville High, was named the USA South Athletic Rookie of the Week after scoring his first collegiate goal. It was a game-winner in the 67th minute of the Monarchs’ 2-1 victory over Hood.

COLLEGE WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Hickory graduate, W&M players take CAA awards

Elon senior Sydney Love, a senior from Hickory High, was named the CAA’s Offensive Player of the Week. She averaged 4.31 kills per set during the Phoenix’s 3-1 week, and she posted two double-doubles (24 kills and 11 digs against Gardner-Webb and 16 kills and 10 digs versus UNC Greensboro).

William & Mary junior middle blocker Olivia Esposito was named a CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Week after the Tribe to a 2-1 record in a tournament at Kaplan Arena. She shared the award with the College of Charleston’s Tynley Smeltzer.

For the week, Esposito recorded 29 blocks and 24 kills while hitting .444 in four matches. She leads the CAA with 36 blocks, while W&M is second in the country with 74.

COLLEGE MEN’S GOLF

Tribe fifth with 18 holes to go in Greensboro

With one round left in the Bryan National Collegiate tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina, William & Mary held fifth place among 10 teams.

The Tribe compiled a 293 in Sunday’s first round and a 290 Monday for a 583 total on Bryan Park’s Champion Course.

LOCAL TENNIS

Charity Tennis Classic at Kingsmill Tuesday

The annual women’s doubles Charity Tennis Classic, which has benefited organizations serving women and children around the Williamsburg area since 1994, is set for Tuesday at Kingsmill Tennis Club.

The higher-level 9.0 and lower-level 7.0 divisions will be contested.

When the Monarchs (0-2) are visited Saturday by Virginia Tech, they might have to dip into their depth chart.

Grant Wilson, a junior who has started ODU’s first two games, spent the seconds immediately following last week’s 20-14 loss to East Carolina doubled over in pain while appearing to hold his left wrist.

Wilson was hurt on the game’s final play, a scramble up the middle that cost ODU the final seconds.

Monarchs coach Ricky Rahne, who rarely discusses specific injuries, wouldn’t say Monday whether Wilson would be available.

“He’s going to continue to be evaluated,” Rahne said. “Whoever gives us the best chance to win the game is going to be the starter. That’s how it is at every single position we have.”

If Wilson can’t go, the job would likely fall to Colton Joseph, a redshirt freshman who is second on the depth chart but has never played a college snap.

Senior receiver Diante Vines, a transfer from Iowa who caught six passes for 64 yards against ECU, described Joseph as mobile and accurate.

“He likes to run around,” Vines said. “He’s a fast dude, a little Johnny Manziel-esque sometimes when he tries to run out of the pocket and throw a nice little ball. Colton’s a great quarterback. If he’s out there, I know he’ll handle business how it’s supposed to be.”

In 12 games last season, including 11 starts, Wilson passed for 2,149 yards and 17 touchdowns with eight interceptions. So far this season, he has completed 42 of 72 passes for 389 yards, two touchdowns and three picks.

Wilson could join All-American linebacker Jason Henderson, who did not play last week, on the shelf. Rahne said Henderson’s status had not changed.

Speaking generally, Rahne said it’s the responsibility of him and his staff to make sure players are ready before they return from an injury.

Rahne said he avoids discussing injuries because it can endanger players if opponents are aware of a sore spot.

“If you’ve ever been at the bottom of a football pile, you know why I was so guarded on injuries,” he said.

Vines said it doesn’t matter who starts behind center.

“I’m confident in all our quarterbacks,” he said. “Those guys put in the work all the time. We catch balls from them all the time, too, so I’m confident in how we’ll jell in the field. Whoever’s out there, I know he’ll be able to make some plays for us.”

David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.

The 1-2 Spartans are feeling good after the win but have quickly shifted focus to another rivalry game this weekend, with Hampton making the trip across the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel for the Battle of the Bay.

“You can’t wait till Saturday to be great,” Norfolk State coach Dawson Odums said Monday. “That’s our challenge this week. I always say to sustain winning, to duplicate winning, to repeat winning, is one of the hardest things in winning. And now can we take the next step in getting ready for Hampton this Saturday and doing those small things? I call it, do simple better. If we can do simple better, then we got a chance this week.”

Odums praised the Spartans’ defense during his weekly press conference Monday, specifically how Norfolk State has yet to allow a 100-yard rusher this season.

Through three games, the most rushing yards a single running back has accounted for against Norfolk State is 67. That number belongs to East Carolina running back London Montgomery, who did so on 14 carries for 4.8 yards per rush.

“Guys are really fitting and doing better, but we want to be dominant,” Odums said.

For context, last season Norfolk State allowed a 100-yard rusher in each of its first three games. The Spartans even allowed a 200-yard rusher in Virginia State’s Bailey Upton.

Norfolk State’s run defense has shown vast improvement early in 2024. In the first three games of 2023, Norfolk State allowed 830 combined rushing yards and 7.1 yards per carry.

So far this season, Norfolk State has allowed less than half that number.

The Spartans’ opponents have combined for 382 rushing yards this season, bringing the average yards per game down to 127.5 from 276.6 in the same amount of time last year.

“I think we’ve shown what we can do,” defensive back Ricky Harleston said. “We’ve always talked about what we were capable of, but actually doing it, I think that was big for us. I think we can take that into Hampton and (bring) that momentum.”

Odums said the improvements can be credited to a combination of scheme, personnel, and growth in communication and discipline.

“When you get 11 guys that do simple better, they got a chance to be successful,” Odums said. “We’re playing with better eyes; our eyes got to get better. Teams are going to always try to, especially on offense, manipulate your eyes. So eye discipline is critical to that — we’ve been pretty good with that. When we haven’t been, teams have made us pay for that. So just getting older and just having a good understanding of what we’re doing, guys have been in the system (for) two and three years. That allows us to have some continuity and some consistency.”

Harleston echoed the sentiment, saying the defensive improvements boil down to the players.

“Everybody on the field, they have a certain kind of passion,” Harleston said. “It’s like fire and we all want to win. We’re all hungry, we’re all flying to the football, and I think that’s big. From being here three years ago to now, we got dogs on the field all over.”

Norfolk State’s defense will face another tough test Saturday in Hampton running back Elijah Burris. The senior ran for 137 yards on 12 carries in the Battle of the Bay last year and is fresh off a 145-yard, two-touchdown performance against Virginia Union last week.

“He is a focal point,” Odums said of Burris. “He’s a very good football player, very talented. He has the ability to go the distance at any point in time, and they’ve been giving him the ball through the first two weeks. Just a dynamic football player that you definitely got to know where he’s at all times.”

Norfolk State also will have to look out for Hampton’s quarterbacks’ ability to factor into the run game. Both Chris Zellous and Malcolm Mays can run the ball efficiently and have done so already this season.

“Both of them can throw the ball, both of them can run the ball, and we’ve seen them in the past,” Odums said. “So I really think both of those guys are kind of ideal players. That’s one reason they probably play both, because as a coordinator, you don’t want to have two game plans. So the game plan doesn’t really change no matter which one is in the game.”

Michael Sauls, (757) 803-5774, michael.sauls@virginiamedia.com

Hampton University achieved its first victory of the season, defeating Delaware State 3-1 Sunday with a late flurry in Dover.

HU, under first-year coach Scot Vorwold, broke a 23-game winless streak Sunday, about three weeks after a scoreless draw against Howard ended the Pirates’ 20-match losing streak. Both of those streaks stretched to 2022.

Menchville High graduate Madisyn Strange gave HU a 1-0 lead 13 minutes into the game. Trinity Surowiec of DSU (0-7) tied the score in the 77th minute, with 13:06 remaining, but the Pirates had an answer.

Ellen Van Caenegem netted the tiebreaking goal with 8:46 to go, and Zaria Ascue all but ensure the victory by scoring with 4:28 remaining. The Pirates outshot the Hornets 29-7.

No. 5 CNU extends unbeaten streak to 71

Christopher Newport (3-0-1), ranked fifth in Division III, netted a trio of second-half goals in a 3-1 home victory over Ohio Northern (2-1). The victory extended the Captains’ unbeaten streak to 71 matches.

Goals by Hanna Heaton and Alex Dalakis put CNU ahead 2-0. The Polar Bears’ Jess Gast ended CNU’s season-opening shutout streak of more than 338 minutes, cutting the lead to 2-1 in the 69th minute, but the Captains’ Ellie Cox registered her first goal of the season just 54 seconds later.

Host Old Dominion (5-2) dominated Longwood 2-0. Rhea Kijowski scored in the 18th minute, and Katie Lutz knocked in a pass from Brooke Edwards in the 82nd. Erin Jones made three saves for a shutout.

Princeton (3-1) won 2-0 at William & Mary (4-3) despite being outshot 11-9, ending the Tribe’s four-match winning streak. Brooke Dawahare netted a shot from just outside the box in the 28th minute, and Pia Beaulieu made it 2-0 off a restart in the 84th.

No. 4 Virginia (7-0) blanked Howard 4-0 before 1,302 in Charlottesville, outshooting the Bison 33-0. Samar Guidry, Ella Carter, Kiki Maki and Allie Ross scored.

Northwestern (5-2) blanked Virginia Tech 1-0 in Evanston, Illinois, with a goal by Caterina Regazzoni in the 66th minute. The Hokies went to 5-2-1.

Texas-Dallas (1-1) won 2-1 at Virginia Wesleyan (0-2-1), frustrating a Marlins team that began the year ranked 12th in D-III. After goals by the Comets’ Chelsea Vilca in the third minute and VWU’s Emma Shuey in the sixth, UTD’s Kaley Robison broke the tie more than 82 minutes later by scoring with 1:35 remaining.

COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER

Hokies stay unbeaten with road victory

Virginia Tech (4-0-1) handled Furman 3-0 in Greenville, South Carolina.

Ethan Hackenberg scored in the 19th minute, Carter Hensley in the 76th and Olafur Floki Stephensen in the 78th. The Paladins fell to 2-2-1.

COLLEGE WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

ODU wins twice at Villanova tourney

Old Dominion (5-2) won its last two matches at Villanova’s tournament.

Saturday, the Monarchs edged Loyola Maryland 3-2 (26-24, 23-25, 18-25, 25-15, 15-10). Myah Conway and Elissa Maggi led ODU in kills with 14 apiece, while Ashlynn Belcher led the way in assists with 30.

Sunday, ODU beat Villanova 3-1 (16-25, 25-11, 26-24, 25-18) behind Conway’s 17 kills and six blocks, Maggi’s 13 kills and Belcher’s 39 assists and 11 digs.

COLLEGE FIELD HOCKEY

ODU downs W&M, stays unbeaten

Old Dominion (4-0) won 4-1 at William & Mary (0-4) as Tess Jedeloo scored twice and Sanci Molkenboer had a goal and an assist.
Pyper Friedman scored for the Tribe in the 50th minute, but ODU’s Sian Emslie provided a rebound goal in the 58th.

No. 3 Virginia (3-0) defeated No. 11 Liberty 2-1 in Lynchburg. After goals by UVA’s Suze Leemans in the 18th minute, and LU’s Josefina Tomasi in the 49th minute, Jans Croon scored the decisive goal off a defender’s stick on a penalty corner with 4:19 remaining, dropping the Flames to 2-1.

Christopher Newport (3-0), ranked seventh in D-III, won 4-1 at Haverford (2-1) in Pennsylvania on goals by Avery Mast, Maddison Steele, Emily Evans and Sierra Pratzner. Delaney Norr, Steele and sisters Courtney and Caroline Hughlett had assists.

Keno Woods, a Hampton Christian Academy 10th-grader, recently was a runner-up in kumite (free-fighting) at the nationals for the second consecutive year in the age 14-15, 70-kilogram (about 154-pound) class.

That finish earned him an invitational to Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the Pan American Championships. Woods earned a bronze medal there.

“He’s relentless, he trains all the time,” said Hobson, who has studios in Hampton and Yorktown. “He doesn’t just practice, he practices to get better. He has a strong competitive spirit and will to win.”

Hobson and Woods’ parents went to Brazil to provide support, with Hobson going to get his referee license.

Woods “has been training with me for eight or nine years and is a first-degree black belt,” Hobson said, noting that Woods’ goal is to be an Olympic or world champ.

Karate was removed from the Olympic sport list after the Tokyo Games three years ago and won’t be back until at least 2032 in Sydney, Australia. But if it returns, Woods might have a realistic chance.

Mid-Amateur connections: Area players have a presence in this year’s U.S. Golf Association Mid-Amateur championships.

Old Dominion women’s golf coach Mallory Kane is in the women’s tournament at Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton, Massachusetts, near Boston. It’s just getting underway.

On the men’s side, four-time state amateur champ Brinson Paolini, a Cox High and Duke player, and Western Branch High graduate Adam Horton will join Norfolk Academy grad Evan Beck, who was exempt because he was last year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up.

The men’s tourney is Sept. 21-26 at both Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot and Independence Golf Club in Midlothian.

Reminiscing: Older folks know what a big anniversary weekend this is for college football around the state.

It has been 25 years since 1999, when Michael Vick, Corey Moore, Shayne Graham and company led Virginia Tech to an undefeated season and the Sugar Bowl, that season’s national championship game. The Hokies briefly led in the fourth quarter before succumbing to  Florida State.

Meanwhile, it has been 20 years since William & Mary and James Madison enjoyed their finest football seasons to that point. Led by quarterback Lang Campbell, the 2004 Tribe won the Colonial Athletic Association and two playoff games in Division I-AA (now called the Football Championship Subdivision). JMU, though, recovered from a home loss to the Tribe to win four playoff contests away from home and the national title.

In the third of those four, the Dukes outlasted W&M in an unforgettable semifinal that, under temporary lighting, was the first night game at Zable Stadium. The experience convinced W&M to order permanent lights, enhancing Tribe football’s atmosphere, and the title set the stage for JMU’s three ESPN “GameDay” appearances, its rise to FBS and its first bowl game last season. Coach Mickey Matthews and that team are being honored in Harrisonburg this weekend.

What’s coming up

Monday: Kingsmill’s River Course is the site for the William & Mary Invitational women’s golf tournament, which will run through Tuesday.

Tuesday: In men’s soccer, there are a pair of all-757 matchups at 7 p.m. William & Mary visits Old Dominion, and Regent plays at Virginia Wesleyan.

Thursday: The W&M women’s soccer squad will face Hampton at noon in a Coastal Athletic Association match at Powhatan Field in Norfolk.

Friday: Duke’s field hockey team comes to ODU for a 5 p.m. contest.

Saturday: Christopher Newport’s men’s soccer team will play host to Rutgers-Camden at 2 p.m.

Matt Dzierski threw three touchdown passes in the first half, two of which were 8-yarders to Colin Hart, for the reigning New Jersey Athletic Conference champion Captains. In between, Dzierski connected with Trey Hayes for a 37-yard score. Dzierski threw for 278 yards on the day, and Hayes had four receptions for 112 yards.

In the second half, after Trine — predicted third in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association — scored a touchdown on its first possession, CNU’s Gunner White ran for 28- and 12-yard TDs, accounting for most of his 71 yards rushing. Eli Sherfield capped the scoring with an interception return for a TD, and Maxx Lawton was 6 for 6 on PAT tries.

It was an encouraging start for a CNU team whose home opener is at 5 p.m. next Saturday against Johns Hopkins, which was ranked eighth in the d3football.com preseason poll.

Apprentice 44, Southern Virginia 9: The Builders began their year by hammering the Knights in Newport News as Grant Swanger threw four touchdown passes, three to T.K. Petty. SVU had won their previous six meetings.

Khamari Moore opened the scoring with a 1-yard run, and Swanger threw 25- and 22-yard touchdown passes to Petty for a 21-0 lead with 8:25 left in the first half.

A safety and a touchdown on a trick pass play brought SVU to 21-9, and Apprentice’s Logan Eastman kicked a 25-yard field goal with 8 seconds in the first half.

Apprentice didn’t allow a point in the second half, which included Swanger TD passes to Petty and Jasiah Beacham and field goals of 23 and 26 yards by Eastman.

Liberty 30, New Mexico State 24: Quinton Cooley had 112 yards rushing and ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, CJ Bazile Jr. returned a fumble 22-yard for a TD, and the Flames (2-0, 1-0) rallied from a 17-3 deficit against the Aggies (0-2, 0-1) in Las Cruces to win a rematch of last season’s Conference USA championship game.

For a while, it seemed NMSU would gain payback from last season. Back-to-back penalties against Liberty set up a 2-yard scoring run by Parker Awad to make it 24-15 with 7:42 left in the game. But Cooley answered with a 27-yard TD run 2 1/2 minutes later, and after the Flames’ defense forced a punt, Cooley ripped off a 44-yard touchdown to cap a seven-play, 90-yard drive that gave Liberty its first lead of the game, 30-24 with 1:05 to play.

Awad finished 9-of-21 passing for 156 yards with two touchdowns for the Aggies.

James Madison 13, Gardner-Webb 6: The Dukes (2-0), favored by more than 30 points, struggled against the FCS Bulldogs (0-2) in Harrisonburg but prevailed. Nansemond-Suffolk Academy graduate George Pettaway had 84 yards on 10 carries for JMU, where he’s playing far more than he did as a freshman for North Carolina — the Dukes’ next opponent, Sept. 21 in Chapel Hill.

Tyler Purdy scored the game’s only touchdown in the third quarter, and the JMU defense held on fourth down in the red zone late in the fourth quarter.

After being shut out in the first half, the Dukes scored on their first two possessions of the third quarter to take a 10-3 lead.

After the teams traded field goals, Gardner-Webb went on a 15-play, 8 1/2-minute drive in the fourth quarter that ended with a turnover on downs with 2:37 remaining. JMU then ran out the clock with a pair of first downs.

Wofford 26, Richmond 19: The Terriers (2-0) upset the Spiders (0-2), who are ranked 14th in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, at Robins Stadium.

Amari Odom’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Davis with 10:09 left in the third quarter put Wofford ahead 16-12. Bridger Jones’ 41-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter gave the Terriers a 19-12 edge, and Ryan Ingram’s 3-yard touchdown run capped an eight-play, 70-yard drive for a 26-12 lead with 6:03 to go in the game.

Camden Coleman’s 3-yard TD run finished a 54-yard UR drive to pull to 26-19 with 3:48 to go, but Wofford held on.

Bucknell 35, VMI 28: Ralph Rucker IV threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns to lead Bucknell (1-1) over VMI (0-2) in Lexington.

Rucker’s two scoring passes to Josh Gary in the third quarter were the difference as the teams traded touchdowns in the other three quarters until the Keydets added a touchdown in the last minute.

Hunter Rice ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns for the Keydets.

East Tennessee State 61, UVA Wise 0: Jaylen King threw four touchdowns in Johnson City, Tennessee, for the FCS Buccaneers (1-1), who outgained the Division II Cavaliers 614-113 in total yards. Jake Corkren threw for 59 yards for Wise.

Mount Union 55, Ferrum 6: Noah Beaudrie ran for three touchdowns and threw for two as the visiting Purple Raiders, perennial powers ranked No. 5 by d3football.com, dominated after a slow start.

The Panthers, who are leaving Division III for Division II after this season, led 3-0 and only trailed 14-6 midway through the second quarter before Mount Union scored five touchdowns in the next 18 minutes.

Salisbury 48, Washington and Lee 26: The host Sea Gulls were 7 of 10 on third-down conversions and compiled 617 total yards, their most in a game since 2018. They ran for 348 and passed for 269.

Ronald Clark ran for 134 and two touchdowns on 13 carries, while Dario Belizaire tallied 138 yards with two touchdowns on just four carries.

For W&L, Apprentice’s next opponent, Ty Collins was 11 of 16 for 120 yards and three touchdowns, while Jacob Romero ran for 143 yards on 26 carries.

Delaware Valley 41, Hampden-Sydney 21: Louis Barrios IV threw three touchdown passes to Nahsir Morgan as the Aggies (1-0) beat the host Tigers (0-1), spoiling the coaching debut of H-SC’s Vince Luvara.

Hampden-Sydney’s Terry Hicks rushed for a game-high and career-high 107 yards.

Shenandoah 33, Methodist 14: Steven Hugney threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns, two to Borden Domenico, for the Hornets in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Domenico had 106 yards on eight receptions.

Averett 41, North Carolina Wesleyan 29: Ethan Ross was 15 of 20 for 222 yards and two touchdowns for the victorious Cougars in Danville.
Anthony Byrd led the Bishops with 192 yards and two touchdowns on 21 rushes.

Elizabeth City State 12, Chowan 9: The Vikings (1-1) beat the Hawks (0-1) in Murfreesboro, North Carolina. Jalen Razor scored Chowan’s touchdown, a 3-yard run in the third quarter.

Navy 38, Temple 11: Quarterback Blake Horvath tallied 234 total yards and four touchdowns for Navy (2-0, 1-0) in an American Athletic Conference opener in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Midshipmen’s defense recorded the game’s first points on a safety when Temple quarterback Forest Brock was tackled in the end zone for a 7-yard loss. Temple (0-2, 0-1) recorded its first touchdown of the year when Brock threw a 23-yard touchdown to Dante Wright to reduce the Owls’ deficit to 38-11 with 10 minutes left.

Army 24, Florida Atlantic 7: Bryson Daily threw for a surprise touchdown, but Army’s running game dominated during the Black Knights’ American Athletic Conference debut in West Point, New York.

Army all but iced the game with another trick play. A play after what would have been Daily’s second touchdown pass was dropped in the end zone on third-and-12, holder Matthew Rhodes scored on a 23-yard run around the left end on a fake field goal with 13:57 left in the fourth.

If that 15-play, 96-yard, 10 1/2-minute drive following an interception by Max DiDomenico didn’t salt the game away, DiDomenico’s stop of FAU quarterback Cam Fancher, a Marshall transfer, on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 8:44 left did. Army used 14 plays to run out the clock.

The Black Knights (2-0, 1-0), who began playing football in 1890, are in a conference for just the second time ever. They played in Conference USA from 1998-2004. The Owls fell to 0-2, 0-1.

Christian Washington rushed for two touchdowns and Coastal Carolina rolled to a 21-point lead on its way to a 40-21 win over W&M on Saturday night.

Both of Washington’s short touchdown runs came in the first half, and the Chanticleers went on to lead 21-0 in the second quarter and 27-7 at halftime. The Tribe, ranked 13th in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, beat Charlotte in 2022 but couldn’t pull off a similar victory against the Sun Belt’s Chanticleers.

Washington finished with 100 yards on 16 carries, and Kade Hensley converted four of his five field-goal attempts, including a career-tying 49-yarder for Coastal Carolina (2-0). Matthew McDoom returned a fumble 24 yards for a 30-point lead early in the second half.

Ethan Vasko, an Oscar Smith High graduate in his second year with Coastal Carolina, threw for 160 yards. He completed just 8 of 23 passes but rushed for 59 yards on six carries.

Darius Wilson threw for 165 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown to DreSean Kendrick, for the Tribe (1-1). Backup quarterback Tyler Hughes ran for a 6-yard TD in the final seconds, and Eric Bernstein kicked three PATs.

The Cavaliers (2-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) then came up with a huge takeaway, with Malcolm Greene jarring the ball loose from receiver Taylor Morin for a fumble that was recovered by a diving Antonio Clary with 1:24 left.

That proved to be the biggest stop for UVA, which held on as Wake Forest had one last desperate possession with no timeouts in the final minute. That drive never reached midfield and ended with a frantic set of laterals as time expired.

Anthony Colandrea threw for 357 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cavaliers, who trailed 30-17 entering the fourth quarter. His last scoring throw was a 24-yarder to Trell Harris on the left side of the end zone to bring Virginia within six with 10:37 left.

Then he directed a 12-play scoring drive that included two fourth-down conversions, the last being when he zipped a pass to Malachi Fields — who was locked up with a Wake Forest defender — to set up a first-and-goal. Brosterhous came on two plays later to punch the ball into the end zone.

Hank Bachmeier threw for 403 yards and a touchdown to lead the Demon Deacons (1-1, 0-1), with Donavon Greene hauling in 11 passes for 166 yards, including a 3-yard score in the third quarter.

The Demon Deacons rolled to 544 yards, but had some key drives stall with a chance to increase the lead. Donavon Greene had a chance to recover Morin’s late fumble, but he tried to pick the ball up and couldn’t control it as Clary went low to snatch the ball.

The takeaway

Virginia: The Cavaliers had won just three games in each of coach Tony Elliott’s first two seasons, but now have their first 2-0 start since Bronco Mendenhall’s final season in 2021, along with their first win in an ACC opener since 2020 and a big step toward bowl eligibility.

Wake Forest: Bachmeier played the entire game after sharing snaps with Michael Kern in the opener. Bachmeier was effective pushing the ball downfield to Greene, who looked fully recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him last year. But Virginia also got after Bachmeier for six sacks, while Morin’s late fumble ended what amounted to Wake’s last best chance.

Next

Virginia: The Cavaliers return home Saturday to host Maryland, a former longtime ACC member.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons face a stiff test by hosting sixth-ranked Mississippi on Saturday.

“Tug Boat” is kind of a nickname I’ve had for the past three years,” Tuten said. “So, I got a chain for it.”

The Virginia Tech running back lived up to that name Saturday at Lane Stadium.

The Hokies needed to find a way to move the football after a forgettable first half in its home opener against Marshall, and Tuten filled that need.

His touchdown sparked a super second half, where Virginia Tech scored TDs on its first three possessions on the way to a 31-14 win.

The post-halftime scoring barrage was a big contrast to a quiet first half.

Although Tuten was already on his way to a big game — he had 77 yards on 11 carries in the first half on the way to 120 yards on 22 carries for the day — the rest of the offense struggled. Ill-timed penalties and poor pass protection for quarterback Kyron Drones led to multiple three-and-out series and had the sellout home crowd frustrated.

“I thought we were sluggish with the execution,” Hokies coach Brent Pry said. “The guys were moving around and doing things, but we weren’t finishing the execution piece. One time it was a wideout, then it’d be the O-line. We just couldn’t get it going.”

A quick look at the stat sheet might have been all Virginia Tech’s coaches needed to see for halftime adjustments. Drones had completed just 9 of 16 passes to that point for 42 yards and had been sacked three times. The Hokies had also committed six penalties for 43 yards.

So when they took possession at the 50-yard line after forcing the Herd (1-1) to punt on its first possession, the focus was on the running game.

The Hokies (1-1) ran the ball on 11 of the 12 plays during the drive, with Tuten carrying it on seven of those snaps, including his 1-yard TD run that made the score 17-7.

Marshall, which is in its first season running an air-raid style offense under new coordinator Seth Doege, responded with a two-play touchdown drive that brought the Herd back to within a three-point deficit.

However, those were the last points Marshall would score and the Hokies were just getting started.

Drones came up with his biggest play of the game — a 49-yard throw to Stephen Gosnell, who made a spectacular diving pass to get the Hokies back in the red zone.

“It felt great to catch it,” said Gosnell, who managed to make it back for the start of the 2024 season despite undergoing knee surgery following last year’s Military Bowl. “When I hit the ground, it didn’t feel so great.”

That drive ended with Drones’ 3-yard TD run with 4:15 left in the third quarter to make the score 24-14. Drones then got his first touchdown pass of the game early in the fourth quarter when he connected on a 5-yard pass to Churchland High graduate Da’Quan Felton.

“To be honest, we had some moments in the first half and for various reasons we couldn’t run it consistently enough, but I thought the offensive staff did a nice job at halftime,” Pry said. “The players had great determination from the outset, I thought. It felt different. I thought there was some good energy.”

Despite the sellout crowd, and this being the weekend Virginia Tech honored its 1999 team that played in the national championship game, the Hokies did not have that energy right away.

Virginia Tech’s offense sputtered in the final minutes a week earlier in its overtime loss at Vanderbilt, and the struggles continued Saturday.

After turning the ball over on downs at the Marshall 33 on their first drive of the game, the Hokies struggled to move the ball throughout the rest of the half, going three-and-out three times and getting just one third-down conversion up to halftime.

Luckily for the offense, there was no such hangover for Virginia Tech’s defense or special teams.

Marshall, which had racked up 549 yards of offense in its season-opening win over Stony Brook, mirrored the Hokies in its struggles to move the football. The Herd also converted just one third down into a first down, and managed just 77 yards of offense in the first half. Quarterback Stone Earle completed just 13 of 36 attempts, with 12 of those incompletions the result of defenders breaking up the play.

“I think it was the mindset,” said cornerback Mansoor Delane. “I feel like (defensive coordinator Chris) Marve has a lot of trust, especially our DBs, so he says that’s one of our strengths. He put us in man coverage and let the D-line do what they do. … We played zone a little bit mixed in there, but when you play man, there’s no excuses. Win your one-on-one matchups, and it showed tonight on the pass breakups.”

The story was even brighter for special teams, which was the reason either team even scored points in the first 30 minutes.

Wide receiver Jaylin Lane fielded a punt in a crowd on the last play of the first quarter at the Hokies’ 42 and ducked and dashed through the middle of Marshall’s coverage team all the way to the end zone for Virginia Tech’s first touchdown.

“Hey, man, if you want to look at it like that …” Lane joked. “Nah, they were blocking their tails off, I could see it on both of my returns. I just knew we needed a play and a spark just a little bit.”

Later, a shanked kick by Herd punter Alec Clark gave the Hokies the ball on the Marshall 35.

Some hard running by Tuten and a couple of Drones completions moved the ball to the Marshall 2 in the middle of the second quarter, but penalties and sacks pushed the Hokies back and prompted them to settle for a 42-yard field goal by John Love.

Marshall’s points also came thanks to special-teams play. Ahmere Foster blocked a punt by Peter Moore, giving the Herd the ball on the Virginia Tech 5-yard line. That led to an Ethan Payne touchdown run two plays later.

Pry said he was just glad the first-half struggles did not hurt the Hokies this time around. But as the team prepares for a trip to Norfolk to face Old Dominion in a stadium where the Hokies are 0-2 at since 2018, the coach would prefer not to see his team start like this for a third consecutive time.

“Fortunately, we’ve got the film to look at and evaluate it,” he said. “We can make the corrections. I think we did some good things. I would say the biggest thorn in our side was third down. We’ve got to take a look at that.”

Burris carried 35 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns, quarterback Chris Zellous also rushed for two scores, and HU rallied past VUU 33-21.

The two teams have battled 84 times since the series began in 1906. Virginia Union holds a 42-40-3 margin in the series, but the Pirates won the last matchup 42-28 in 2021. This was only their third meeting since 1994, when Hampton left the Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association for the Division I MEAC.

Virginia Union is still in the CIAA, and Hampton is in the Coastal Athletic Association.

Hampton trailed 14-12 at halftime and 21-12 after the opening series of the third quarter, when Virginia Union went four plays and 78 yards to score a 57-yard touchdown on a pass from RJ Rosales to Reginald Vick Jr.

Hampton answered with 21 unanswered points.

Zellous and Burris both scored from 1 yard to help the Pirates take a 26-21 lead early in the fourth. Burris added a 21-yard scoring run with 3:32 for a two-possession lead.

Zellous completed 14 of 25 passes for 177 yards for Hampton (1-1), which was coming off a 30-28 loss at longtime rival Morgan State. Brennan Ridley caught a team-high six passes for 78 yards.

Byers, a Division II All-American, had 21 carries for 105 yards and two scores for Virginia Union.

The Panthers, 9-2 last year, were ranked fourth and 14th in various preseason polls this season. They lost in the D-II playoffs’ first round last year to Wingate.