SAVANNAH, Georgia – Another masterful defensive performance, along with four touchdowns from quarterback David Watford, gave the Hampton University football team a 42-3 win over Savannah State on Saturday at Ted A. Wright Stadium.The Pirates finished the season at 6-5 and 5-3 in MEAC play, clinching their first winning season since 2011.
Watford completed 17 of 30 passes for the Pirates, racking up 263 yards and four scores. He wound up one shy of his season high in touchdown passes (Kentucky State), and Watford wound up with 21 touchdown passes on the season, second-most in program history.
Christopher Dukes rushed for a team-high 84 yards on 16 carries.
Twarn Mixson hauled in nine receptions for 172 yards – both career highs – and a touchdown. SeQuan Gooding had two touchdown receptions, catching five passes for 75 yards.
Rayshad Riddick also had a touchdown reception.
The Pirates racked up 389 yards of total offense, while the defense held Savannah State to just 173 yards and forced three turnovers. It marked the third time this season that Hampton's defense has held a team to less than 200 yards of total offense.
Tyrone Ward led a balanced attack on defense with seven tackles, while Joshua Thorne finished with six tackles. Thorne finished with 301 career tackles, fifth-most in program history.
Hampton struck first with 3:14 left in the first quarter, when Watford threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Mixson to cap off a 3-play, 54-yard drive. Watford followed that with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Gooding with 11:00 left in the second quarter to give the Pirates a 14-0 lead.
Hampton took that lead into the half.
The defense got in on the act in the third quarter, when Brendan Cole returned an interception 32 yards to give Hampton a 21-0 lead with 2:09 left.
Two of the three interceptions Savannah State threw came in the third quarter.
John Barron put the Tigers (1-8, 1-6 MEAC) on the board with a 28-yard field goal with 14:20 left in the fourth quarter. Savannah State had gotten prime field position on a fumble recovery, but the Tigers only went one yard in four plays before the field goal.
Gooding's second touchdown reception of the game came with 5:03 left, when he caught a 30-yard pass from Watford, capping a 4-play, 28-yard drive and giving the Pirates a 28-3 lead.
Hampton needed just four plays to go 56 yards on its next drive, taking a 35-3 lead with 2:23 left after Watford hit Riddick from 10 yards out.
The last score came with six seconds left, when Riddick ran a punt back 72 yards to put Hampton up 42-3. It was Hampton's first punt return for a touchdown since Jeremy Gilchrest ran one back against North Carolina A&T in 2008.
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
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