Hampton 14, South Carolina State 10

October 22, 2005

Hampton, Va. – Hampton linebacker Rudolph Foye sacked South Carolina State quarterback Cleveland McCoy on 4th-and-2 at the Hampton 26-yard line late in the fourth quarter to preserve a 14-10 lead and help the No. 4 Pirates down the No. 19 Bulldogs on homecoming at Armstrong Stadium. With the win the Pirates remain the only undefeated team in both I-AA at 8-0 and in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) at 6-0, giving Hampton the inside track on the 2005 MEAC championship.

The Pirates found themselves in very unfamiliar territory early on, staring at a 10-0 deficit in the first quarter. Hampton had not trailed an opponent since falling behind 12-0 in the first quarter at Howard back on Sept. 10.

Led by running back DeShawn Baker, the Bulldogs (5-2, 3-1 MEAC) came out and scored on their first two drives of the ball game behind an overpowering ground game. On their first possession the Bulldogs drove 81 yards, 40 coming from Baker, before Jonathan Woods ran for an 8-yard score off left tackle to give the SCSU a 7-0 lead with 9:13 to play in the first.

Hampton went three and out on the ensuing possession and the Bulldogs pushed their lead to 10 on a 29-yard field goal by Stephen Grantham with 3:09 remaining.

With the Hampton offense stuck in neutral for most of the first two quarters, Pirate coach Joe Taylor inserted backup quarterback Antwan Smith who promptly took the team full speed ahead. With 4:16 to go before the half, Smith walked under center for his first play from scrimmage. He dropped back to pass and hit Marquay McDaniel in the seam of the Bulldog secondary for a 52-yard touchdown to bring the Pirates to within three.

Hampton got the ball back with 2:27 on the clock and looked to either tie the game at 10 with a field goal or take the lead with a touchdown before the half. Smith connected with Onrea Jones (4 rec, 46 yds) for gains of 19 and 12 yards, before finding McDaniel on a crossing route for a 9-yard score and a 14-10 Hampton lead.

Neither team would score for the remainder of the game, but the second half was far from uneventful.

Forced to punt on their first possession in the second half, the Bulldogs called a fake on 4th-and-9 from their own 18-yard line. However, punter Coby Brandyburg was tripped up short of the first down by Hampton’s Kyle Whitehurst to give the Pirates the ball at the 20.

South Carolina State’s Terrance Bennett (11 tackles) recorded two tackles for loss, and David Broome added another to force the Pirates to settle for a 40-yard field goal attempt by Andrew Paterini. The kick sailed wide left and the Bulldogs were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

The remainder of the third quarter consisted of great defensive play on both sides of the ball. The Bulldogs recovered two fumbles and Justin Durant intercepted McCoy for Hampton’s only forced turnover of the game, but neither team could capitalize and the score remained 14-10 going into the final quarter.

After exchanging possessions early in the quarter the Pirates were forced to punt and Cameron Muro, who had four punts of better than 50 yards on the day, pinned SCSU back at their own 5-yard line with a 48-yard kick. Trailing by four the Bulldogs had 7:17 to put together a game-winning drive.

DeShawn Baker (22 att, 106 yds) reeled off runs of 19 and 15 yards respectively to move the Bulldogs out from under the shadow of their own goal post. However, the Hampton defense held its ground and the Bulldogs were looking at 4th-and-5 from their own 49. Yet South Carolina State did not need to run a play as the Pirates were penalized for having too many men on the field giving the Bulldogs a first down.

Another penalty on Hampton’s Michael West for pass interference moved the ball to the Hampton 45-yard line. Following three consecutive runs by Jonathan Woods the Bulldogs were again faced with a 4th-and-4. South Carolina State answered the call as McCoy connected with Chris Burgess who held on to the ball and picked up five yards despite a jarring hit from Hampton cornerback Travarous Bain. Three plays later and with 1:31 to play in the game, the Bulldogs came to the line following a timeout needing two yards to extend their drive and keep their chances alive. However, Rudolph Foye came from McCoy’s blind side and recorded his second sack of the game to seal the win for Hampton.

Antwan Smith finished the game with 131 yards passing and two touchdowns on seven completions for the Pirates, while Alonzo Coleman turned in his third straight 100-yard game with 101 on 19 carries. Defensively Hampton was led by Justin Durant and Kensley Dougan who recorded 15 and 12 tackles respectively.

The Pirates are off next week and will return to action on Nov. 5 when they travel to Daytona Beach to take on the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman College. The Bulldogs host Delaware State next Saturday, Oct. 29.