Dayton Beach, Fla – The Pirates of Hampton University (5-4; 4-3 MEAC) took on the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University (3-6; 1-5 MEAC) in the Sunshine State. The Pirates were in search of a win after losing their last three contests and a win is what they found.

 

The Pirates scored 14 points in less than 20 seconds in the final 45 seconds of the contest. With 44 seconds left in the ball game, quarterback TJ Mitchell connected with wide receiver Jeremy Gilchrist on a 10-yard out route to tie the game up at 24 all. Less then 10 seconds later, Henti Baird would return a 30-yard catch for a touchdown to give the Pirates the go-ahead score in their 31-24 victory.  

 

The story of the day was quarterback Herbert Bynes, in his first start of his college career. Bynes threw for an amazing 114 yards in the first half alone for the Pirates as his team accumulated 158 yards of total offence on just 42 plays with 10 first downs. Jerry Cummings scored for the Pirates on a one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, which capped a 16-play 85-yard drive for the Pirates that took up 7:29 off the clock. Although the Pirates got on the board first on a 20-yard field goal by Carlo Turavani, the “Cats” would get on the board with a safety after a bad snap on a punt. Hampton went into the half with a 10-2 lead over the Wildcats.

 

In the second half, Bethune found ways of getting on the scoreboard scoring 15 points in the third quarter alone. No matter what tricks the Wildcats tried, they could not keep the Pirates out of the end zone. Hampton scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Van Morgan would score on a two-yard run which capped a 6-play 53 yard drive for the Pirates. Mitchell threw for 124 yards and a touchdown in the second half at the quarter back position to help lift Hampton to a victory.

 

The Pirates accumulated a total of 238 yards passing with 97 yards rushing for a total of 335 yards of total offense. Hampton’s defense held the Wildcats to 308 yards of total offense on the night. The defense showed up to play in the end for the Pirates as they scored the go-ahead win. The defense was led by Charles Robinson, who had eight total tackles (5 solo, 3 asst.) with a sack for a loss of six yards, and Wakeem Goode was second with six total tackles (4 solo, 2 asst.) in the Pirates’ victory.

 

The Pirates will finish out their MEAC season on next Saturday at home as they host the Rattlers of Florida A&M University. The Rattlers are coming off a 24-21 victory over the Aggies of North Carolina A&T. Game time is set for 1 pm and for more information contact the Hampton Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5811 or go to www.hamptonpirates.com for updates.