FInal Stats

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Pirates defense forced two fumbles and a turnover on downs in the final period of the game on Saturday, but the offense could not convert as Bethune-Cookman squeaked out a 27-24 win at Municipal Stadium.

 

Hampton (4-5, 2-4 MEAC) scored 24 points in the first half alone in what looked to be a shoot-out that turned into a defensive battle towards the end of the game. Hampton's defense was led by Julio Sanchez, who finished the game with nine tackles total, and they were able to hold the Wildcats to just 72 yards rushing on the day and 189 yards of total offense on just 64 plays.

 

The Pirates were led offensively by LaMarcus Coker, who rushed for 119 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown; it was his sixth 100-yard rushing game this season. In the end, it seemed as if the Pirates could not get things moving the way they wanted to on the offensive side of the ball.

 

In the first half, it seemed to be the Pirates' special teams who were not quite ready to play, as they gave up two touchdowns. The first came when the Wildcats got on the board first off of a 76-yard punt retun by Michael Williams to put Bethune-Cookman up 6-0 after the missed extra point. Hampton's offense was not going to be outdone, as they capped a 6-play, 52-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by Coker.

 

Bethune-Cookman would get the ball back on the punt when the ball hit Micah Pellerin and the Wildcats recovered the ball deep in Pirates territory and would later turn that into their second score of the game to go up 13-7 late in the first.

 

The Pirates would get things moving more efficiently in the second quarter, as they scored 17 total points. The first was an 8-yard pass from quarterback David Legree to PJ Hicks to put Hampton up 14-13; not long after that, Legree would find Isiah Thomas from 14 yards out for their second score of the quarter. Hampton's final score of the game come as time ran out for the Pirates at the half when freshman kicker Jordan Stovall nailed a 35-yard field goal to head into the half with the score 24-20 in favor of the Pirates.

 

The only other score of the game came in the third quarter, when Jonathan Moment scored his third rushing touchdown of the game on a 19-yard run with 10:09 reminding in the quarter for the Cats to go up 27-24.

 

Hampton would get three other attempts to score after the Wildcats' final score, with two of them missed field goals from 41 yards out and 20 yards out, which hit the right upright.

 

The Pirates will now head back home and re-group as they get ready to play host to the Rattlers of Florida A&M University on Saturday at 1 p.m. For more information on Hampton University football, call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.