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NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk State plays its final non-conference game of the season this week when it welcomes city rival Old Dominion University to Dick Price Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. It will be just the teams' second-ever meeting and first since they clashed in the first round of the FCS playoffs two years ago at ODU.
Tickets are still available. For a fan guide to the game, including ticket and parking info, click here.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
The Spartans dropped their second straight game last week, 27-17, to rival Hampton University in the Battle of the Bay. The defeat dropped NSU to 2-5 overall and 2-2 in the MEAC. The Spartans tied the game at 17-all on an 11-yard TD run by backup quarterback Omari Timmons early in the fourth quarter. But Hampton later kicked a go-ahead field goal, then picked off two Timmons' passes in the final stages of the game to hold off the Spartans.
Timmons rushed for the first two touchdowns of his career. He also passed for 150 yards after coming off the bench due to an injury to start Nico Flores in the second quarter. He was intercepted three times. The NSU offense was led by running back Rolandan Finch, who ran for a season-high 141 yards on 21 carries. Defensively, linebacker Marcell Coke led the way with a career-high 14 tackles, 2.5 for loss, one sack and one forced fumble.
Finch continues to lead the MEAC in rushing, with 590 yards (84.3 ypg). He has rushed for nearly 200 yards more than his closest competitor. Tight end Joseph Hawkins ranks in the top 10 in the conference in both receptions and receiving yards. Coke checks in at eighth in the MEAC in tackles (65, 9.3 per game). Deon King is first in tackles for loss (12.5) and second in sacks (7.5).
SCOUTING THE MONARCHS
Old Dominion, which is in the midst of transitioning from the Division I Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision and Conference USA, dropped a 35-24 contest at Pittsburgh of the ACC last Saturday. ODU fell to 0-3 on the year against FBS teams, but is 4-0 against FCS teams. ODU quarterback Taylor Heinicke passed for 312 yards and two TDs in defeat.
Heinicke has thrown for 2,400 yards and 16 touchdowns while completing nearly 72 percent of his passes this year. Last season, he won the Walter Payton Award, given annually to the top offensive player in the Division I FCS. Five different Monarchs have caught at least 25 passes this season, led by Larry Pinkard with 40. Blair Roberts has six TD catches, and running back Colby Goodwyn has a team-high seven rushing scores.
Safety Fellonte Misher has a team-high 60 tackles for the Monarchs, who are outscoring opponents 42-34 on average.
THE SERIES
• ODU leads the series with NSU 1-0 thanks to a 35-18 win over the Spartans in the first round of the Division I FCS playoffs at ODU's S.B. Ballard Stadium on Nov. 26, 2011.
• The teams are slated for another meeting at ODU on Sept. 12, 2015.
MEDIA COVERAGE
• Radio: NSU Sports Network, 1490 AM The Game/WNSB Hot 91.1 FM
(Play-by-Play: Ross Gordon; Color: Maguell Davis; Pre-Game: Gordon, Davis and Matt Michalec)
• Live Video: www.nsuspartans.com/showcase (Subscription required)
• Live Statistics: www.sidearmstats.com/nsu/football
• Audio Stream: www.nsuspartans.com (click "Live Audio" link under Inside Athletics tab)
• Twitter Updates: @NSUSpartans
QUICK HITS FROM HAMPTON
More news and notes from the loss to Hampton last week:
• NSU allowed a season-high 451 yards of total offense to the Pirates.
• RB Rolandan Finch posted his third 100-yard rushing game of the year with a season-high 141.
• LBs Marcell Coke (14) and Deon King (13) posted career highs in tackles for NSU.
• QB Omari Timmons ran for the first two touchdowns of his career. He also became the first Spartan to score more than one touchdown in game this year.
• NSU allowed a 100-yard receiver for the first time this year, with Hampton's Leon Shorter (111) and Twarn Mixson (105) both accomplishing the feat.
• The Spartan defense had its streak of games with an interception snapped at 10, though its streak of at least one takeaway reached 14 straight thanks to two fumble recoveries.
• NSU had a season-high five offensive plays of 20 yards or more (two passes, three runs).
THE DEUCE IS LOOSE
One of the bright spots for the NSU offense has been the play of Boston College transfer running back Rolandan Finch. After rushing for a season-high 141 yards against Hampton, Finch now leads the MEAC in rushing with 590 yards (84.3 ypg), 190 more than his closest competitor. He also topped the 100-yard mark against Savannah State (134) and Charleston Southern (108), and is the only MEAC player with more than one 100-yard rushing game this year.
Finch is playing this season as a graduate student at NSU. He spent four years at BC, including a redshirt year, and earned his bachelor's degree earlier this year. Finch played in 23 career games at BC and rushed for 1,280 yards. He led the Eagles with 705 rushing yards in 2011, which included a 243-yard game at Maryland - the third-highest rushing output in school history. Finch, the former Kentucky Gatorade High School Player of the Year, ran for 441 yards in five games last year at BC.
LAST SERIES MEETING
Then-freshman Taylor Heinicke passed for 270 yards and five touchdowns to lead ODU past NSU 35-18 in a Division I FCS playoff first-round game on Nov. 26, 2011, at S.B. Ballard Stadium. The Spartans took an early 7-0 lead when Chris Walley connected with Derrick Demps on a school-record 98-yard touchdown pass on the Spartans' first drive. But ODU scored the next 35 points on Heinicke's five TD passes, including two each to Prentice Gill and Nick Mayers. The Spartans outgained ODU 406-383, but committed two turnovers and 18 penalties. Walley passed for a career-high 363 yards for NSU.
ODU CONNECTIONS
Aside from being just 10 minutes from each other, there are other connections between NSU and ODU. The Spartans have two transfers on their roster who began their careers at ODU: redshirt sophomores Tyler Clark (QB) and Brad Bradley (DB). In addition, head coach Pete Adrian was the defensive coordinator at Rhode Island when ODU head coach Bobby Wilder was the signal-caller at URI's Yankee Conference rival, the University of Maine.
