TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Pirates sophomore quarterback Herbert Bynes set a new school record after throwing for over 400 yards against the Rattlers of Florida A&M on Saturday. Bynes (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) has thrown for 2,670 yards on the year, and also recorded his second 400-yard passing game of the season.

 

“Herbert did a great job for us today by throwing over 400 yards, but you take away those seven sacks and who knows what could have happened. But he is young and all he can do is continue to get better as a quarterback,” said Pirates head coach Jerry Holmes.

 

The Rattlers and the Pirates went head-to-head at Bragg Stadium on the campus of Florida A&M with ESPN’s GameDay present. The game that everyone was waiting for was worth the wait, as it was an all-out war between the two teams. There was a lot of emotion being displayed as the Pirates faced off against former head coach Joe Taylor. The Rattlers came out on top by a score of 45-24 and with the win, FAMU improves to 8-3 overall and they now stand at 4-3 in MEAC play, while the Pirates fall to 5-5 on the season and 4-3 in conference play.

 

“Coach Taylor will be a friend for life, no matter what happens and it was great to play against him today and you have to expect him to do well because that is what he is knew for … winning and that is what he does best,” said Holmes. “We went up early on them, but then whenever you allow their quarterback to run in those touchdowns, it is tough … but Pulley is a great quarterback.”

 

The Pirates defense would be the talk for most of the first half, as they held the Rattlers to just 56 yards of total offense in the first half alone and they refused to allow FAMU to get on the scoreboard by blocking two field goal attempts. Hampton would strike first by getting on the board first on a 7-yard pass from Bynes to receiver Justin Brown (Dover, N.J.). The Pirates would then rely on kicker Carlo Turavani (Ontario, Canada) to nail a 40-yard field goal to put Hampton ahead by 10 as they wrapped up the first quarter.

 

Shortly into the second quarter, the Rattlers came to life by scoring 21 points in the second quarter alone and all off the legs of quarterback Curtis Pulley, who ran in for three of FAMU’s touchdowns in the second quarter. Pulley ran in for 11-, 14- and 30-yard touchdowns in the second quarter to put the Rattlers ahead 21-10 at the half.

 

In the second half, the Pirates tried to play catch up, but it seemed to be too little too late as the Pirates were only able to score 14 points in the second half, while the Rattlers rallied to score 24 points. Bynes would throw two more touchdown passes in the second, one to Dennis Mathis (Hampton, Va.) for 15 yards and then on with no time left to Jeremy Gilchrist (Virginia Beach, Va.) for two yards to end the game. Phillip Sylvester scored twice for FAMU, while Isaac West caught a 49-yard pass from Pulley and kicker Trevor Scott hit a 43-yard field goal to seal the deal for the Rattlers.

 

Hampton finished the game with 387 yards of total offense and 401 yards passing on the day. Florida A&M finished the game with 416 yards of total offense and 249 yards rushing on the day. The Pirates were led by Bynes, who had his second 400-yard passing game. He threw three touchdowns on the day while connecting on 29 passes. On the defensive side of the ball, it was Chris Baker (Windosn, Conn.) leading the way for the Pirates with 11 total tackles with a half of sack and 1.5 tackles for a loss of 8 yards on the day.

 

The Rattler were led by Pulley, who led FAMU in rushing and passing yards with 132 rushing with three touchdowns and 159 passing with a touchdown on the day. Alvis Graham was the guy on defense, as he had 7 total tackles with 4.0 sacks for a loss of 39 yards and 4.5 tackles for a loss of 40 yards on the day.

 

“The players still have to play and the coaches still have to coach. We all still have jobs to do and we will do them. We have to take what we can from this game and get ready for Morgan State and try to finish the season on a winning note,” said Holmes.

 

The Pirates will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 22, as they go to Hughes Stadium on the campus of Morgan State for the first time since 2002, with a kick off time of 1 p.m.

 

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.