Bowl games are often a time for backups to make their claim for more playing time the following year. And then there is what Old Dominion quarterback Quinn Henicle did in the Monarchs’ 24-10 win over USF in the Cure Bowl Wednesday night.
ODU’s Colton Joseph has already decided to enter the transfer portal, so he was sitting out the bowl game. Enter Henicle. The redshirt freshman was making his second career start. Going into the game, he had 57 passing yards and 102 yards rushing on the season, going into the bowl game.
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All he did Wednesday night was put up 234 total yards of offense and score two touchdowns, including a 51-yard run that put the game away in the fourth quarter.
Both teams had backups at quarterback. USF interim coach Kevin Patrick went with Gaston Moore in place of usual starter Byrum Brown, who was taking the time to decide if we would enter the portal next month. Since Brown has not made a final decision, he was on the sidelines working with the Bulls’ coaching staff. Moore had a decent enough game, going 20 of 28 passing for 236 yards and a touchdown. But he also had two drive-killing interceptions.
Early Scoring Struggles
USF kicker Nico Gramatica (yes, of that Gramatica kicking family) opened the scoring with a 29-yard field goal in the first quarter to cap an eight-play, 31-yard drive.
ODU responded with a 75-yard drive. On the 10th play of the drive, Henicle rushed up the middle from six yards out for the touchdown and the 7-3 ODU lead.
Moore put USF back up in the second quarter. He connected with Jeremiah Koger with a pass over the top of the coverage in the front of the end zone. The drive went 55 yards in only three plays, all of them passes by Moore.
Henicle had his chances in the first half. But on three occasions, he overthrew wide-open receivers. ODU lined up for a 37-yard field goal at the end of the first half. But holder Ian Brandt could handle the snap and was tackled for a four-yard loss. To add insult to injury, kicker Nathaniel Eichner was guilty of holding on the play, trying to protect his holder. So, the teams went into the locker room with USF clinging to a 10-7 lead. Neither team was making any inroads on the ground. ODU had 74 yards rushing at the half, and USF had 18. And the Bulls were one of seven on third down conversion, further stunting their offense.
ODU Takes Over
Old Dominion took the lead for good in the third quarter by outscoring USF 10-0. The Monarchs’ Jerome Carter had the first of his two interceptions on the night, giving Henicle and the offense the ball at the USF 25-yard line. On the third play of the drive, Trequan Jones burst through the middle for 22 yards and the touchdown for a 14-10 ODU lead.
USF was bumfuzzled. Gramatica missed his second field goal of the night, this one from 39 yards out.
ODU got a scare in the third quarter. Henicle was rolling to his right and got hammered by two Bulls’ defenders. He fumbled, and it was recovered by USF at their own 16-yard line. Henicle’s head slammed to the turf when he went down and he had to leave the game looking rather wobbly. But USF’s Deshawn Rocker was called for targeting, overturning the fumble.
Eichner capped the 73-yard drive with a 24-yard field goal for the 17-10 ODU lead.
USF Opportunities Missed
USF shot itself in the foot time and time again. Moore completed a pass to get the Bulls down to the ODU 14-yard line and was hit hard on the play. The USF coaching staff was hit with an unsportsmanlike penalty, as was offensive lineman Cole Skinner. The two penalties pushed USF back 30 yards. That was followed by a quarterback sack for a loss of another nine yards and a holding penalty for a loss of another 10 yards. A once-promising drive deep in ODU territory now had the Bulls at their own 38-yard line and eventually punting.
With five minutes left, USF was driving to potentially tie the game. But Moore was intercepted by Carter for the second time on the night. Old Dominion turned that into the final touchdown by Henicle for the 24-10 margin of victory.
Old Dominion finished the season at 10-3 and apparently has a quarterback for the future. USF finishes at 9-4 and will be doing a lot of reviewing and rebuilding when new head coach Brian Hartline takes over this week.
Main Image: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
