Final Stats
HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University football team's four seniors had one thing in mind coming into Saturday's contest at Armstrong Stadium: Homecoming.
The Pirates had not won a Homecoming game since defeating Winston-Salem State 13-3 in 2006, but seniors
David Legree (Brooklyn, N.Y.),
Isaiah Thomas (Washington, D.C.),
Dyrri McCain (Norfolk, Va.) and
Micah Pellerin (New Orleans, La.)wanted to leave their final year with a win on Homecoming – which the Pirates would accomplish, though it took longer than expected with a 30-27 overtime win over North Carolina Central.
“This is a great feeling to finally win a homecoming game,” said Pirates head coach
Donovan Rose. “Central is a great team who is well-coached and they played a great game. Overall, this is a great win for the team and now we have to get back at it tomorrow.”
Hampton started the game by driving the ball into NCCU territory on its first two drives, but the first ended in a turnover on downs and the second ended in a blocked field goal.
The Eagles would get on the board first, when Oleg Parent kicked a 40-yard field goal with 20 second left in the first quarter. Hampton would answer the Eagles on a 6-yard run by running back
Antwon Chisholm (Belle Glade, Fla.)with 11:49 left in the second quarter to give the Pirates a 7-3 lead.
Hampton would score once more in the second quarter off of a 23-yard field goal by
Taurean Durham (Uniondale, N.Y.) to put the Pirates up 10-3, but the Eagles would manage to go 60 yards in under 1:46 to tie the game up at 10-10 at halftime.
The Pirates scored first in the second half, when Legree connected with McCain for a 34-yard touchdown pass to add six to the lead following a missed extra point. Idreis Augustus would get in from eight yards out to put the Eagles up 17-16 early in the fourth quarter.
Chisholm ran for his second score of the game from a yard out before freshman quarterback
Travis Champion (Moreno Valley, Calif.)connected with Chisholm on a two-point conversion to put Hampton up 24-17 with 6:47 remianing in the game.
The Eagles would not go away, though, as Michael Johnson connected with Jonathan Nicely from 36 yards out to cap a four-play, 51-yard drive to tie the game up at 24-24 with 1:54 left in the game.
The Pirates were unable to drive for points before time ran out on regulation.
The Eagles had the ball first in overtime, and the Pirates defense proved to be the difference, as they held the Eagles to just a 28-yard field goal. When the Pirates took their shot at scoring, they placed the ball in the hands of Chisholm; he got the Pirates in the endzone, but a holding penalty negated the play.
Hampton would finally get in the endzone on a 1-yard run by
Jeremiah Schwartz (Orlando, Fla.)to give the Pirates a 30-24 win over the Eagles.
Hampton finished the day with an impressive 450 yards of total offense, with 345 yards coming in the air and another 105 on the ground behind Chisholm. Legree led the Pirates offense with 298 yards passing and one touchdown pass. The defense was led by
Destin Route (Atlanta, Ga.), who finished with a game-high 10 tackles.
The Pirates will be back in action on Saturday, when they travel to Savannah, Ga. to face the Tigers of Savannah State at 2p.m. This will be just the Pirates' second trip to Savannah, Ga., with the last trip coming in 2004.
