Hampton 35, Norfolk State 17

October 18, 2007

HAMPTON, Va. – Michael Swett and Herbert Bynes earned the offensive and defensive player of the game honors after the Pirates defeated the Spartans 35-17 in the Battle of the Bay Classic.

Swett finished the game with 12 tackles and Bynes finished with 264 yards passing while throwing three touchdowns in the victory.

The Pirates improved to 5-1 overall and they remain unbeaten in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference at 4-0 after a 35-17 victory over the Spartans on Saturday, who fell to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the MEAC.

It was senior wide receiver Jeremy Gilchrist (Virginia Beach, Va.) who did what he does best, as he returned a punt for 60 yards to get the Pirates on the board in the first quarter and started on the right track for the game.

"It really don't know why they continue to kick to him because of his great talent, but I just hope that they keep on kicking to him… but it is just strange to me as to why other schools do it," said Pirates head coach Jerry Holmes.

In the first quarter, Gilchrist scored a touchdown on a 60-yard punt return putting the first points of the afternoon on the board. In the following quarter, Damon McDaniel (Virginia Beach, Va.) would then follow with a touchdown of his own off a 70-yard pass by Herbert Bynes (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), putting the Pirates up 14-0. Another pass for 23 yards would end Hampton’s scoring drive for the first half, as Kyle Lloyd (Stafford, Va.) added another touchdown.

The Spartans were not going to be outdone, as they got on the board off a 17-yard pass from Dennis Brown to Dario Walker as they headed into the half with the score 21-7 in favor of the Pirates.

Norfolk State came out in the second half looking like a new team, as they drove down the field as Brown connected with Jamar Johnson on a 45-yard pass to put the Spartans within a touchdown of the Pirates in the third quarter. Hampton would answer back as Bynes threw his third touchdown of the day connecting with running back LaMarcus Coker (Nashville, Tenn.) on a 70-yard touchdown pass to put the Pirates back up by two touchdowns.

Hampton would allow Norfolk State to score but once more on a 28-yard field goal before the Pirates take control for good. The Pirates would go on to score once more off a 6-yard run by sophomore Dennis Mathis (Hampton, Va.), which gave the Pirates the 35-17 count for the victory.

"Coming into the game today we wanted to work on all of the phases of the game, because it is all about taking small steps to get better each night," said Holmes. "I think that we did a great job on both sides of the ball because we were able to get the ball moving on the run, as well as the pass, so I feel that we did a great job today."

Hampton finished the game with 379 yards of total offense and 115 yards rushing. The Pirates defense held the Spartans to only 75 yards rushing. Leading the way for Hampton was Bynes, who had 264 yards passing with three touchdowns with a 80-yarder being the longest of the day. Mathis led the Pirates in rushing with 58 yards, while Coker led in reception yards with 93 and a touchdown on the day. On the defensive front, the Pirates were led by Michael Swett (Nashville, Tenn.), who finished the day with 16 total tackles and Chris Baker (Windsor, Conn.), who finished the day with eight total tackles but also had 2.0 sacks for a loss of 17 yards and 2.5 tackles of a total of 18 yards loss for Hampton.

Norfolk State was led by Brown, the quarterback, who finished the game with 189 yards passing with two touchdowns and Terrell Whitehead, who had 11 tackles for the Spartans on the day.

The Pirates gear back up to head down to Orangeburg, S.C. to face the Bulldogs of South Carolina State on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 2 p.m., while the Spartans will host the Rattler of Florida A&M University.