Winston-Salem State 35, Hampton 30

November 1, 2008

HAMPTON, Va. – It may have been Homecoming for the Pirates of Hampton University, yet Virginia native Kermit Blount felt right at home back in the Commonwealth as he led the Winston-Salem State University Rams to a 35-30 victory over HU on Saturday en route to tying legendary coach and Athletic Director, Bill Hayes as the winningest coach in WSSU history with a school-record 89 victories.

The Rams (2-6, 0-0 MEAC) handed the Pirates their second consecutive loss and relegated Hampton to 5-3 overall (4-1 MEAC) as WSSU used a complete effort on both sides of the ball to spoil the HU Homecoming for the 14,877 fans in attendance at Armstrong Stadium.

The Pirates struck first in the contest as a Carlo Turavani 32-yard field goal broke a scoreless tie less than three minutes into the first quarter of play as Hampton jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

Undaunted, the Rams responded with back-to-back scores as Roderick Fluellen powered over right guard for a 16-yard score to move WSSU ahead 7-3, and David Irizarry turned in one of the most spectacular plays in WSSU history to move the Rams in front 14-3 midway through the first quarter.

With HU attempting a 50-yard field goal, Irizarry lined up deep in his own endzone for a possible missed kick return.

Following an HU kick that was three yards short of its intended target Irizarry fielded the kick seven yards deep in the endzone. After a pause that seemed like an eternity, a respite that was long enough for Irizarry and nearly 15,000 fans to contemplate his next course of action, the senior defensive back acted on instinct.

In what could have been the most ill-advised decision of his career, Irizarry sprinted from his own endzone in an attempt to make a spectacular play out of a sure touchback as he took the missed kick 107 yards for the longest play in WSSU history and handed the Rams an 11-point advantage in the process.

“David turned a bonehead play into a spectacular one” WSSU head coach Kermit Blount added postgame. “Conventional wisdom says that you just kneel on it [and take a touchback] but he decided to take the ball out of the endzone, and while it may not have been the best decision in the football sense, it worked out for us today” Blount summised.

The Rams would tally another pair of scores before the half came to a close as WSSU used a power running game to pound the MEAC’s third-ranked run defense into submission as Wisnton-Salem State headed to the locker room with a comfortable 28-10 lead.

Following a second-half-opening scoring drive, the Rams held what seemed to be an insurmountable 25-point cushion with less than one half of football remaining to play.

However, the Pirates, playing in front of a raucous home crowd, mounted what was nearly a comeback for the ages as they scored 20 unanswered points in an attempt to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

With the game’s fate in the balance, Irizarry again came up big as he intercepted a Herbert Bynes pass that sealed the Rams’ victory, WSSU’s second win of the season, a win that moved WSSU 16th-year head coach Kermit Blount into the record books.

The win improves the Rams to 2-6 overall while Hampton falls to 5-3 overall with the loss. WSSU returns to action on Nov. 8 as they play their second of three straight road games when they travel to Dover, Del. to face defending MEAC Champion Delaware State University.