NORFOLK Just when it looked like Old Dominion was going to cruise to an easy homecoming victory over North Carolina Central, the Eagles scored 28 unanswered points to tie it early in the fourth quarter and make things interesting. Turns out that was just the cue Thomas DeMarco needed to make things exciting.

NORFOLK The start-up season wound down with a homecoming victory, and suddenly it was time to drop the curtain on the first campaign at Foreman Field. "I felt running off the field that I didn't want it to end," said Bobby Wilder, the rookie coach whose rookie team finished 6-1 on its home turf. "It's difficult to let it go."

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Jay Harris took a few days off from his ESPN anchorman duties to check out his alma mater. Asked what he would tell his co-workers about Old Dominion football when he returns to Bristol, Conn., Harris couldn't help but bubble.

Old Dominion beat N.C. Central 42-28 in the final home ODU football game of the year.

For more details, return to PilotOnline.com later and read tomorrow's Virginian-Pilot.

NORFOLK Jason Fuller has a message for Old Dominion fans wondering why he's not being honored with a Senior Day sendoff this afternoon: Don't cry for me, Monarch nation. "If I'd have been the only guy out there at midfield, it would have been uniquely awkward to say the least," the 6-foot-5, 260-pounder said.

NORFOLK Donald Smith was thrust into a starting role for Old Dominion when cornerback Ricky Nichols broke a bone in his hand the week before the season opener. Smith delivered from the first snap. And while Nichols has returned to the starting lineup, Smith has still found a way to get on the field a lot, notching more plays than all but two teammates: safeties Devon Simmons and Craig Wilkins.

NORFOLK With news this weekend that Old Dominion officials and football coach Bobby Wilder are negotiating a new contract, a review of Wilder's existing contract reveals that this time frame was included in the deal.

NORFOLK When Bobby Wilder was hired away from Maine in 2007, Old Dominion got a football coach at a good price. In return, Wilder was afforded a great opportunity. "A fair deal," Wilder's agent calls it. "He was a long-time assistant; they were taking a risk," Dennis Cordell said the other day.

NORFOLK Maybe the approach of Halloween had something to do with what happened as Thomas DeMarco sat down this week for an interview. Old Dominion's sophomore quarterback was explaining that he doesn't check statistical sheets when a shadowy figure lurking at the doorway let out a ghoulish cry: "Mooooove the chains. Mooooove the chains." It was head coach Bobby Wilder.

NORFOLK Terry McPhillips and his father, Joe, will have a friendly wager on Saturday's game at Foreman Field between Old Dominion and Georgetown. Terry, ODU class of 1973, will be taking the Monarchs. Joe, Georgetown class of 1949, will take the Hoyas.