Hampton Pirates Drop Season Finale to Howard in Two Overtimes

HAMPTON, Virginia – The Hampton University football team had a wild back-and-forth affair with rival Howard on Saturday afternoon at Armstrong Stadium, but the Pirates ultimately fell to the Bison 42-39 in double overtime.

The Pirates ended the season 4-8 overall and 4-4 in conference play.

Howard struck first in the opening overtime possession, when Greg McGhee connected with Brandon Flanagan from two yards out, before the Pirates tied the score at 36-36 on a 5-yard scoring run from redshirt-freshman fullback Marcus Hampton (Williamstown, N.J.).

Freshman kicker Anthony Prevost (Chesterfield, Va.) put Hampton on the board to open the second overtime with a 29-yard field goal, but the Bison (6-6, 4-4 MEAC) took the win on the following possession after Anthony Philyaw scored from four yards out.

Howard jumped out to a 10-0 lead to open the game, starting with a 3-yard scoring run from Philyaw at the 8:03 mark to put the Bison up 7-0 – before John Fleck kicked a 33-yard field goal with 1:13 left in the quarter.

The Pirates answered early in the second quarter, capping off an 8-play, 65-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Bryan Bailey (Woodruff, S.C.) to senior Antwon Chisholm (Belle Glade, Fla.) with 13:54 left in the half, cutting Howard's lead to 10-7.

But Howard ended the half with 16 unanswered points, and the Bison went into the locker room with a 26-7 lead after Fleck nailed a 29-yard field goal as the clock expired. Philyaw added two more rushing touchdowns in the second quarter – from two and nine yards out, respectively.

The third quarter belonged to the Pirates, as they put together two scoring drives. Bailey found sophomore receiver Rayshad Riddick (Portsmouth, Va.) from 20 yards out at the 8:08 mark of the third quarter, capping off a 7-play, 80-yard drive and cutting Howard's lead to 26-14.

Hampton cut the lead to 26-21 with 1:43 left in the third quarter, when Bailey connected with redshirt-freshman receiver Twarn Mixson (Charlotte, N.C.) for a 56-yard score.

Bailey gave the Pirates a 29-21 lead with 10:29 left in regulation, scoring on an 18-yard run to cap off a 4-play, 55-yard drive, before Hampton successfully pulled off the two-point conversion.

But Howard forced overtime after Fleck hit a 20-yard field goal with 3:20 left in regulation.

Bailey was 14-for-22 in the air on Saturday, totaling 185 yards and tossing for a career-best three touchdowns. He hit five different receivers, led by Chisholm – who caught five passes for 68 yards and a score.

Junior Jorrian Washington (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the way on the ground with 68 yards on 13 carries – an average of 5.2 per carry.

Senior linebacker Delbert Tyler (Monroeville, Pa.) led the Pirates defense with 17 total tackles (including 10 solo efforts), while sophomore linebacker Joshua Thorne (Oxon Hill, Md.) had 14 tackles (10 solo). In all, five Pirates amassed double-digit tackles on Saturday.

Junior Khambrel McGee (Miami, Fla.) and senior Justin Blake (Piscataway, N.J.) each had an interception.

Howard amassed 556 yards of total offense, including 291 on the ground.

For more information on Hampton University football, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.


COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION