FInal Stats

HAMPTON, Va. – The Pirates of Hampton University closed out the 2011 football season it great style, beating the Bears of Morgan State at Armstrong Stadium on Saturday. With the victory, the Pirates closed out the season with a 7-4 overall record and a 5-3 mark in conference play.
 
“It was a good game for us all around, despite the penalties,” said head coach Donovan Rose. “Everyone came ready to play and we wanted to send the seniors out with a win and we finished the season with a 7-4 mark.
 
“It's not the way we wanted to finish it, but we will take it.”
 
The Bears fell to 5-6 on the year and closed with a 4-4 record in MEAC play.
 
The Pirates got off a seemingly slow start, punting on their first possession, but they turned around and scored on their second possession, when quarterback Bradford Hudson connected with Isaiah Thomas from 10 yards out to put Hampton up 7-0.
 
Hampton's defense also came ready to play in the first half, holding Morgan State to just a 33-yard field goal by Ervin Gonzalez to make the score 7-3 after two quarters.
 
The Pirates came out in the second half firing on all cylinders behind freshman quarterback Travis Champion, who threw for 192 yards and three touchdowns in the second half alone.
 
Hampton took the opening drive of the second half 63 yards in six plays, scoring when Champion hit Thomas for the latter's second touchdown of the game from 25 yards out to give Hampton a 14-3 lead.
 
Champion also threw a 33-yard strike to Javaris Brown and a 27-yard bullet to Reginald Hicks in the third and fourth quarters as Hampton scored 35 points in the second half.
 
Senior Dyrri McCain also got into the scoring column when he broke three tackles to run 36 yards for a touchdown. The Bears battled back by scoring 15 points of their own in the fourth quarter.
 
The Bears' first touchdown came from Jourdan Brooks, who rushed from two yards out and Lamont Bryant caught a pass from Seth Higgins to cut Hampton's lead to 21-11 at the point in the game. Morgan State's final score came when Higgins ran in from three yards out.
 
Hampton got the final touchdown of the game, when Antwon Chisholm ran in from six yards out.
 
The Pirates finished the game with 405 yards of total offense, with 251 coming in the air. Chisholm led the running attack with 71 total yards, and as a team, Hampton rushed for 154 yards.
 
Morgan State finished the day with 311 yards of offense.
 
DeVonte Hawkins was the man for Hampton on defense, as he finished with a game-high 24 tackles. Hawkins also had one sack and 4.5 tackles for a loss of 12 yards.
 
“This was an up-and-down season for us, and we are a young team with a lot of potential,” Rose said. “We have to start now getting ready for next season.”
 
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.