Final Stats
HAMPTON, Va. – With 1:54 remaining in the game, the Pirates got the ball on Morgan State's 42-yard line for what would be the final drive of the game on Saturday at Armstrong Stadium. On this final drive, the Pirates committed three penalties and lost a total of 51 yards, which ended in a 44-yard field goal attempt by freshman Jordan Stovall that came up short, giving the Bears a 16-13 win on Senior Day.
That final drive for the Pirates went just 15 yards in 15 plays.
“It was a real crazy game, but I can't understand it. Real crucial penalties again were a problem for us and at the worst possible time,” said Pirates head coach
Donovan Rose.
The Pirates closed out the regular season with a 5-6 mark, marking the first time since 1996, when the Pirates joined the MEAC, that they finished below .500. The Pirates were 10-2 and went on to the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs the following season.
The Bears of Morgan State closed out the 2009 season with a 6-5 overall mark and a 4-4 mark in MEAC play.
The game was a defensive battle, as neither team wanted to allow the other to score, but the Bears would get on the board first when Domanick West rushed in from two yards out for the first score of the day and to put the Bears up 7-0. The Bears would get on the board once more when Kemar Scarlett hit a 43-yard field goal with 34 seconds left to head into the half with a 10-0 lead over Hampton. The Pirates missed two key field goals in the first half.
In the second half, the Pirates came out ready to play, as they scored 13 quick points to take the lead at 13-10 late into the fourth quarter. Quarterback David Legree got Hampton on the board in the third quarter with a 90-yard touchdown pass to Isiah Thomas; that was the Pirates' longest offensive play from scrimmage on the season.
Darius Mullen gave Hampton the lead with 13:04 left in the game, when he grabbed a pass from Legree and ran it 15 yards for the score. Stovall's PAT missed to keep the Bears within a field goal.
The play that changed the entire game for the Pirates was on 4th-and-6 for the Bears with the ball on the Pirates' 14-yard line. Defensive line Kendrick Ellis got called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that gave the Bears a first down that they turned into the game-winning touchdown, a 1-yard run from West with 5:16 to play.
Hampton finished the game with 484 yards of total offense and 363 yards passing on the day. Herbert Bynes threw for 233 yards on 13-for-20 passing on the day. Thomas caught four balls for 122 yards and a score. Ricardo Silva led the Pirates on defense with 11 tackles, while Michael Swett and Micah Pellerin each recorded a sack.
Pirates star running back LaMarcus Coker rushed for 58 yards, which was more than enough to put him over the 1,000-yard rushing mark to finish the season 1,027 yards on 197 carries. Coker was the first Pirate to reach this mark since 2006, when Alonzo Coleman ran for 1,052 yards.
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.
