Dover (Oct. 4, 2008) - Hampton dealt a blow to Delaware State's bid for a second-consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title with a 17-14 victory over the Hornets before a Parents' Day crowd of 5,218 at Alumni Stadium. The Pirates won their third-straight game to improve to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the MEAC. Delaware State dropped its third in a row to fall to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in league play.
The loss also snapped Delaware State's nine-game winning streak in MEAC contests, and 10-game home win streak against conference foes. The defeat was DSU's first to a MEAC opponent since a 20-17 setback to Howard in the final game of the 2006 season, and the first at home to a league opponent since a 29-14 setback to Hampton on September 30, 2006.
"Once again, our failure to execute was a major factor in the loss," said Delaware State Head Coach Al Lavan, who fell to 25-8 in MEAC contests. "We probably had more opportunities to make big plays on offense than in the previous two games, but came up short."
Hampton scored the game-winning touchdown on a 30-yard pass from Herbert Bynes to Justin Brown with 3:13 left in the fourth quarter. Brown caught the pass at the Delaware State 10, then broke several attempted tackles before diving into endzone. Following the touchdown, Byrnes completed a two-point pass to Ralph Steward to give the Pirates a 17-14 lead.
"Our defense played pretty well today, but poor tackling on our part was key on the touchdown play," Lavan said.
On the ensuing possession, Delaware State drove 48 yards to the 34, but the drive ended on a fourth down incompletion with 21 seconds left.
"It's disappointing that we did not execute better," said Delaware State senior quarterback Vashon Winton. "On the fourth down incompletion, I rolled out and looked for Derrick McNeil in the middle of the field, but the execution was a little off."
Hampton scored first when Carlo Turavani kicked a 42-yard field goal with 12:07 left in the first quarter.
The Pirates drove 78 yards to the Delaware State two-yard line, but had to settle for a 19-yard Turavani field goal to open up a 6-0 lead with 14:12 left in the second quarter. The 11-play drive was highlighted by a 41-yard pass from Bynes to Jeremy Gilchrist to the Delaware State 23.
Hampton took the 6-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Delaware State's offense came alive on the opening drive of the third quarter. Winton capped off a five-play, 64-yard drive with a career-best 51-yard touchdown run to give Hornets a 7-6 lead with 11:57 left in the third quarter. Winton has a team-high six rushing touchdowns this season, and 21 for his career.
Hampton regained the lead on its next possession. Turavani capped off the seven-play, 22-yard drive with a 28-yard field goal, his career-best third of the game, to give the Pirates a 9-7 lead with 7:43 left in the third quarter.
The Hornets pulled ahead again early in the fourth quarter. Winton capped off a seven-play, 49-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Jahmel Bashir to give Delaware State a 14-9 lead with 13:39 left in the fourth quarter. It was the first touchdown reception of Bashir's career, while Winton moved into second place on the Hornets' career list with his 32nd TD pass.
Hampton racked up 337 yards in the game. Byrnes completed 16-of-26 passes for 257 yards and a touchdown, while Brown led Hampton with seven catches for 106 yards and a score. LaMarcus Coker rushed for a team-high 69 yards for the Pirates.
The Pirates were averaging 32.5 points and 379.8 yards-per-game entering the contest.
"I thought the defense played well for much of the game, but Hampton came up with a few big plays, especially on third down ," said Delaware State linebacker Kevin Conner, who had eight tackles (four solo) and two fumble recoveries. "It's always tough to lose a conference game, but we can't hang our heads. There's still a lot of football left to play."
Winton connected on 15-of-26 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown for Delaware State. Winton also threw two interceptions, but led all players with a career-high 93 yards rushing on 15 carries in the game. Eddie Brown and Larrone Moore led the Hornets with four catches each, although McNeil had a team-high 55 receiving yards on two receptions.
Delaware State returns to action next Saturday (Oct. 11) against Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Florida. Hampton is idle next weekend, and will return to the field on Oct. 18 at home against Norfolk State.
