Hampton 44, NC A&T 7

September 20, 2008

HAMPTON, Va. – Pirates senior wide receiver Jeremy Gilchrist broke his own single-season record Saturday night in Hampton University’s 44-7 win over North Carolina A&T. Last season, Gilchrist had a punt return for 86 yards against Florida A&M, which was a new record for the Pirates. On Saturday night, he had an 88-yard touchdown.

With the win, the Pirates improve to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 in MEAC play headed into a bye week, while the Aggies fall to 2-2 on the year and 0-2 in MEAC play.

“I though that we played a much better game tonight, as all there phases came together,” said head coach Jerry Holmes. “Jeremy did a great job tonight, just as (Kevin) Teel did against Howard last week, and the play of the special team elevated the play of everyone else.”

For the first time this season, the Pirates got on the board in the first quarter and they scored first. Hampton scored on its opening drive off a 1-yard run by Jerry Cummings (Starke, Fla.), which capped a seven-play, 65-yard drive. Following that score, the Aggies would get their lone score off a 3-yard pass by Carlton Fears to Chaz Dawson to finish a 14-play, 80-yard drive.

That would be all for the Aggies on the night, as it was all Pirates the reminder of the night. Hampton scored three touchdowns in the second quarter alone, with two coming from Gilchrist (Virginia Beach, Va.) off punt returns. The first was a 56-yard return followed by another for the record 88 yards.

“I thought that no one would ever give me a chance to run one back because they didn’t really kick it to me against Jackson State and they didn’t against Southern Illinois either,” said Gilchrist. “I just followed my blocks because they did an excellent job of creating a seal for me and I did what I am supposed to do, which is run the ball.

“On the last TD run all I was thinking about was oxygen because I was tired and out of breath.”

Justin Brown (Dover, N.J.) would see his usual action, as he caught an 18-yard pass for a touchdown. One of the bigger highlights was Tennessee transfer LaMarcus Coker (Nashville, Tenn.) getting his first touchdown in a Pirate uniform, as he had a 18-yard run for a touchdown and Gerard Griffin (Charlotte, N.C.) had a 35-yard touchdown to seal the deal for the Pirates.

The Pirates defense was the talk of the stands, as they held the Aggies to just 197 yards of total offense and 87 yards rushing. Hampton was led by Michael Swett (Nashville, Tenn.), who had 12 tackles and 2.5 tackles for a loss of 16 yards, 1.5 sacks, an interception and three quarterback hurries for the Pirates.

Hampton’s defense had 10 tackles for a loss of 39 yards on the night.

The Pirates finished the night with 424 yards of total offense, with 271 rushing yards and 153 passing yards. The biggest stat of all for the Pirates was the fact that they did not turn the ball over at all against the Aggies.

The Pirates will have a bye next week as they rest up for a trip up Highway 13 to face the Hornets of Delaware State, the defending MEAC champions. Hampton will face Delaware State on Saturday, Oct. 4 with a 1 p.m. kick-off time.