Norfolk State vs Old Dominion
A season opener shaped by football, community and remembrance
College football returned to Norfolk on September 5 as Old Dominion hosted crosstown opponent Norfolk State at S.B. Ballard Stadium. A crowd of 21,944 filled the stadium for the 6 p.m. kickoff, giving the season opener the energy of a city game rather than a typical early-season matchup. The tailgates on Kaufman Mall, the bands, the Black Hawk flyover and two local fan bases packed into the same stadium made the entire afternoon feel bigger than the final score.
The U.S. Army Golden Knights added one of the most memorable moments of the pregame ceremonies, parachuting into the stadium and landing on the field as the crowd watched from the stands.
The most important part of the evening came before the game settled into its rhythm. ODU wore special camouflage uniforms to honor Lt. Col. Brandon A. Shah, the ODU alumnus and professor of military science who gave his life protecting his students during the tragedy on campus in March. Every jersey carried LTC Shah across the back instead of a player’s name. The game-worn jerseys were made available for purchase to benefit the Lt. Col. Brandon Shah Leadership Foundation and sold out within an hour.
That tribute changed the visual character of the game for me as a photographer. The camouflage stood apart from ODU’s usual blue and white, but it was the shared name across every player’s shoulders that made the photographs mean something beyond one night of football. Army ROTC cadets, military imagery and the pregame flyover all connected the stadium atmosphere to Shah’s service and to his lasting place in the Monarch community. He helped strengthen the relationship between ODU and Army ROTC, even restoring ROTC’s rappelling tradition at the stadium and securing the cannon used at football games.
Once the game began, Norfolk State nearly landed the first big blow. The Spartans drove 93 yards on their opening possession, and Jalyn Daniels appeared headed for a touchdown before ODU’s Zion Frink forced a fumble at the one-yard line. Brandon Crutchfield recovered in the end zone for a touchback, turning a likely Norfolk State score into the play that shifted the opening quarter. ODU then drove 80 yards, with Quinn Henicle finishing the possession on a 13-yard touchdown run.
Henicle kept creating the night’s biggest offensive moments. On third-and-19, he found Leon Haughton Jr. for 38 yards, then connected with TJ Johnson for an 11-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead. Nathanial Eichner’s 37-yard field goal pushed the margin to 17 before Norfolk State took advantage of an interception and scored late in the half. A 37-yard Marco Peery field goal on the Spartans’ first possession after halftime made it 17-10 and briefly brought the visiting side of the stadium fully back into the game.
ODU answered with its best stretch of the night. Henicle led a 10-play, 76-yard drive and found Johnson again for an 11-yard score. On Norfolk State’s next possession, Javen Gibson sacked Deljay Bailey and forced a fumble that Jackson Forrest recovered at the Spartans’ 12. Two plays later, Henicle ran in from two yards out. In only a few minutes the Monarchs had turned a one-score game into a 31-10 lead, which became the final score. Henicle finished with two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns, while the ODU defense held Norfolk State to 220 total yards.
From the sideline, it felt like an evening with several layers: the anticipation of a new season, the familiarity of two Norfolk programs sharing the field, and a community still carrying the weight of what happened in March. There was plenty of color and motion to photograph, but the images of those LTC Shah jerseys are the ones that best tell the story of the night. The football mattered, and ODU opened the season with a convincing win, but the lasting memory was the way the Monarch community used its biggest stage to remember a man who served it with extraordinary courage.
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