A few Suffolk natives on the ODU football team enjoyed a big win over Virginia Tech over the weekend.

The Old Dominion University football team shocked the world when the won against Virginia Tech in the non-conference but in-state game. To most folks’ surprise, they defeated Virginia Tech in a game where they were overwhelmingly considered the underdogs. At the time, Virginia Tech was ranked the 13th team in the country.

ODU has three Suffolk natives on its team. Demetrius Stitmon and Marvin Branch were both standouts at Nansemond River. Kane Miskel was a standout at King’s Fork. They were able to compete in and enjoy a big win for themselves and for the ODU program.

“All around, we played a heck of a game,” Stitmon said. “I had no doubt in my mind we were going to perform well against all the odds. We knew what we were up against, and we knew what it took to be successful.”

It could have been easy for a team like ODU that was 0-3 at the time to cave in. They could have been star struck and let Virginia Tech have their way, but that’s not how the team is mentally built. The Monarchs didn’t let the moment get too big for them.

“You have to be confident every time you step on the field,” Miskel said. “They do the same things that we do. They put their pants on the same way that we do.”

“It was just another game really,” Stitmon said. “I feel like our preparation, discipline and passion is what helped us for the win.”

The win gave ODU its first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference team. It was also the first win over a Power 5 conference school. This will allow the Suffolk natives and ODU team to be etched in the record books for a long time.

However, the Monarchs have quickly turned their focus to East Carolina University this week. There will be a familiar face there as well, as another Suffolk standout, Gerard Stringer, plays there now.