I got to shoot my second ODU football game in a row on Saturday. This time, I was prepared. I would be shooting my Nikon Z9 with the 400mm f/2.8G lens. And I would be using my Nikon Z8 with the amazing Nikon 135mm f/1.8 S Plena. This time it was against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Virginia Tech has had a rough time in Norfolk, losing each of the last two times they’ve played here. Virginia Tech has been notorious for getting their seasons off to slow starts under the current coaching regime, while ODU is struggling to find any semblance of an offense.
The Hokies jumped on the Monarchs early with Jaylin Lane catching a 25-yard touchdown pass from Kyron Drones right in front of me. I actually got some great shots of his touchdown catch in the endzone. The Hokies answered one more time in the 1st quarter and it looked like the rout was on. However, Virginia Tech’s offense went to sleep after this and their defense gave up two big plays to ODU in the 2nd quarter and we went into halftime with the Hokies leading 14-10.
Virginia Tech added two field goals in the 3rd quarter to extend their lead to 20-10 and they added 17 more unanswered points in the 4th quarter to take a 37-10 lead before giving up a late TD to ODU. Virginia Tech left Norfolk with a 37-17 win and improved to 2-1 while ODU fell to 0-3.
You can view my full gallery from this game here.