LEXINGTON, Va. - Old Dominion's Thomas DeMarco threw for two touchdowns and ran three others, accounting for five of the Monarchs' six touchdowns on the day and leading ODU to a 42-35 win over VMI Saturday afternoon at Foster Stadium in Lexington, Va.

The two teams combined for nearly 1,000 total offensive yards on the day, as ODU had 496 yards while the Keydets piled up 444. DeMarco threw for 245 yards and two touchdowns for ODU, completing a game-high five passes to Reid Evans.  The 8,132 fans in attendance saw a contest in which VMI never led, but ODU never had more than a 14-point lead. Zach Collins ran for 103 yards on just five carries for VMI, as the senior had the longest TD run of his career, a 71-yard jaunt.

With the loss, VMI closes its season at 2-9, while Old Dominion ends its first season of FCS football with a 9-2 mark. The Monarchs' 9-2 record is the best first-year record for an FCS startup.

ODU opened the game with a rare maneuver, as freshman kicker Drew Hereza executed an onside kick to start the contest. Hereza himself recovered, but the Keydets forced a three-and-out. Once again, the Monarchs surprised the Keydets, as they lined up to go for it on fourth down.  However, quarterback DeMarco punted the ball off a direct snap, giving VMI its first possession of the day.

On that possession, Tim Maypray fumbled on a third-down run to give Old Dominion prime field position, and they took advantage with a 27-yard touchdown pass from DeMarco to Nick Mayers. The extra point was good to give the Monarchs a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.

Off the ensuing kickoff, VMI quickly answered. A 31-yard T.J. Talley run gave the Keydets an opening, and two first downs later, Gabe Itoka finished off the eight-play, 60-yard drive with a one-yard plunge. Jeff Sexton's extra point tied the score, 7-7.

After an exchange of punts, Old Dominion took advantage of a fair catch interference call and the resultant field position to go 56 yards in nine plays for the go-ahead score. DeMarco finished it off with a one-yard run, and the Monarchs led 14-7 at the 3:35 mark of the opening period.

The Keydets fired back again, as Howard Abegesah had a 46-yard rumble down to the ODU 13. One play later, Kyle Hughes found the endzone with a three-yard run to knot the score once again, 14-14.

ODU took over late in the quarter and started an 11-play, 75-yard drive to find paydirt once again. DeMarco found Evans three times on the drive, including for a four-yard touchdown to give the Monarchs the lead right back, 21-14. VMI scored again, thanks to Taj Harris' first career touchdown, a run from three yards out, but Old Dominion closed out the first half scoring with a two-yard run by DeMarco at the 7:15 mark and took the 28-21 lead to the locker room.

After going 1-for-4 to open the game, DeMarco was 8-of-9 passing to close out the half and was responsible for each of ODU's first-half touchdowns. A.J. Gross had 10 first-half tackles to pace VMI in the opening 30 minutes.

On the opening drive of the second half, ODU turned to a bit of trickery once again. James Edwards took a direct snap on a fake punt executed on 4th-and-10 and ran 45 yards around the left side, finding the endzone to put the Monarchs up two scores for the first time, 35-21. That two-score lead lasted just 21 seconds, as Collins went 71 yards on the first play of VMI's next drive to notch the longest touchdown run of his career. Sexton's point after cut the margin to 35-28, ODU.

On the Monarchs' next possession, Julian Bowers stripped DeMarco and Greg Walker fell on the fumble, but VMI could not find the tying score. Forced to kick a field goal, the Keydets came up empty when Sexton's 34-yard attempt hooked wide right, and ODU marched down the field once again. A 15-play, 80-yard drive put the Monarchs up by two scores once again, as DeMarco accounted for his fifth touchdown of the day with a 16-yard scamper. The run gave the visitors a 42-28 lead with 3:57 left in the third period.

VMI responded early in the fourth, as Cam Jones galloped 69 yards to set up a one-yard run by Hughes, cutting the deficit to 42-35 with 13:10 to play. The teams then combined to punt on three straight possessions, giving VMI the ball with 4:50 to play. The Keydets went down the field and made it to the ODU 32 as the clock came up on a minute, but a pass by Jones on fourth down was incomplete, giving ODU the ball, and the Monarchs ran out the clock for the win.

The Keydets were paced by Collins' 103 yards and Abegesah's 87, both of which came in their final career game. A.J. Gross recorded 12 tackles on the defensive side, while the Keydets came up just two yards shy of their season high in rushing, as they ran for 422 yards on the day.

Quotes - VMI Head Coach Sparky Woods
"Congratulations to Old Dominion, and their nine-win season which was very impressive. I thought today they beat us every way they could. Their quarterback is outstanding. He's tough and he plays to win. It was very impressive to watch him play.

"I was disappointed in how we started the game. It hurt us losing Howard Abegesah. We played with a lot of people hurt, but we played poorly. At the half, we came out and battled but the fake punt hurt us really bad. We had a fumble recovery and didn't come away with any points. We missed a field goal, and then they had the long drive."

"We played hard today and didn't win. I feel badly for our seniors. We seem to prepare hard, but we can't carry it from the practice field to the game field."

"It's been a tough season, and today's game was an example of what our season's been like."