DOVER, Del. - Herbert Bynes connected to senior wide receiver Justin Brown late in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-12 to give the Pirates the go-ahead lead for a 17-14 victory over the Hornets of Delaware State on Saturday. With the win, the Pirates improve to 4-1 overall and they remain undefeated at 3-0 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play.

 

“When I caught the pass, all I was thinking about was getting the touchdown,” said Brown. Brown carried eight Hornets about 9 yards to secure the Pirates’ only touchdown of the day, which would later win them the game.

 

In the first half, it was all Pirates as Hampton scored six points in the first half, all off the efforts of Carlo Turavani, who hit 42- and 19-yard field goals to take the Pirates in at half with a nice cushion.

 

“I though that the defense did a tremendous job today in executing there assignments throughout the game,” said head coach Jerry Holmes. “There were a few times in the game that the defense could have given up after a turnover, but they keep at it and Delaware State didn’t get a score in the first half.”

 

The second half of play saw all of the action, as the Hornets came alive to score 14 points. It was the Vashon Winton show as he ran 51 yards for a touchdown and connected with Jahmel Bashir for a 6-yard touchdown. Hampton was not going to be outdone, as Turavani hit another field goal for 28 yards which made a game and career high three field goals on the day.

 

Bynes would end it all when he threw a 30-yard pass to Justin Brown on fourth down for the only Pirate touchdown on the day. With that conversion on fourth down, the Pirates remind 100 percent and are 5 for 5 on the year. Bynes would also connect with Ralph Steward on a two-point conversion to give Hampton a three-point cushion.

 

“The play of the offense was great today because they never give up,” said Holmes. “They didn’t score until the forth quarter, but they kept at it the entire game to make that one important score to give us the win.”

 

On the day, Hampton finished with 337 yards of total offense behind Bynes who threw for 257 yards and a touchdown. Brown led in receiving yards with 106 yards and a touchdown. Wakeem Goode led the defense with 10 total tackles with 2.5 tackles for a loss of 14 yards.

 

Winton led the Hornets with 93 yards rushing and 145 yards passing, as he threw and ran for a touchdown on the day. Avery Grant led the defense with 10 tackles on the day with 2.5 tackles for a loss of 19 yards on the day.

 

The Pirates will head back to Hampton, Va. and take a week off until they host the Spartans of Norfolk State in the Battle of the Bay on October 18, with a kick-off time set for 1 pm. The Hornets will travel to Dayton Beach, Fla. to face the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman on October 11 with a kick-off time of 4 pm.

 

For more information on Hampton University football, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.