Old Dominion Rallies Past UTEP, 31-21
Ray Lawry scored two touchdowns, part of a 21-0 Old Dominion run in the second half that carried the Monarchs past UTEP, 31-21, on Saturday night in the Sun Bowl.
The Miners (2-6, 1-4 C-USA) led 13-10 when Aaron Jones scored on a five-yard run with 6:24 remaining in the third quarter. Jay Mattox’s extra point attempt was blocked. After that, Old Dominion scored on three consecutive possessions to take a 31-13 advantage early in the fourth quarter. The three touchdown drives elapsed four minutes and 57 seconds and covered 216 yards.
The turning point came with Old Dominion leading 17-13 late in the third quarter. The Miners drove from their own 26 to the Monarch 32-yard line, but Ryan Metz’s pass to Eddie Sinegal on fourth and short fell incomplete.
“I thought we were in real good position there, driving down inside the red zone. We had the fourth and three and we thought we completed it,” UTEP coach Sean Kugler said. “They ruled it a drop on the field, which it was. The ball hit the ground. Then they had a big play after that and got ahead. It turned real quickly on us and we’ve got to respond better than that.”
Beforehand, it was a tight football game with Old Dominion (5-3, 2-1 C-USA) jumping out to a 10-0 lead, and UTEP scoring 13 consecutive points to surge ahead.
Jones rushed 25 times for 94 yards for the Miners. Metz completed 21-of-36 passes for 202 yards. Cole Freytag (seven catches, 84 yards) and Hayden Plinke (five catches, 53 yards) were UTEP’s top pass catchers. Each scored a touchdown.
The Miners will return to the Sun Bowl next Saturday (Nov. 5) to tackle non-conference foe Houston Baptist at 6 p.m
