HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University football team picked up its second win of the season on Saturday at a soggy Armstrong Stadium, as the Pirates celebrated Homecoming and sent its seniors out in style with a 21-13 win over Savannah State.

The Pirates are now 2-5 overall and 2-3 in MEAC play this season, while the Tigers fell to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in the conference.

Hampton has never lost to Savannah State in five all-time meetings.

After Savannah State intercepted the Pirates on the first play from scrimmage, the Tigers lost five yards in four plays before Preston McCarthy missed a 38-yard field goal attempt. The Pirates then went three-and-out after getting the ball back, setting up the Tigers' first score of the day.

The Tigers went 61 yards in eight plays before McCarthy hit a 28-yard field goal to put Savannah State up 3-0 with 9:27 left in the first quarter.

The two teams would remain scoreless for the rest of the first quarter, and the Pirates struck with less than five minutes left in the second quarter, capping off a four-play, 23-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown run from senior Antonio McCloude (Belle Glade, Fla.) with 4:08 left in the half.

Senior Taurean Durham (Uniondale, N.Y.) hit the PAT gave the Pirates a 7-3 lead.

Hampton held Savannah State to just five plays on the ensuing possession, before the Pirates got the ball back and needed just three plays before senior Jeremiah Schwartz (Orlando, Fla.) ran 61 yards for the touchdown with 1:21 left in the half to put Hampton up 14-3.

The Pirates' special teams keyed up Hampton's third score of the afternoon, forcing a Savannah State fumble on a punt attempt that McCloude recovered at the Tigers' 1-yard line. Schwartz punched the ball into the endzone on the following play to put Hampton up 21-3 with 3:43 left in the third quarter.

The Tigers answered on the next possession, going 73 yards in seven plays before Juhwan Arnold-Smith found the endzone from one yard out with 1:03 left in the third quarter.

Savannah State later took advantage of a Hampton miscue in the fourth quarter, recovering a fumble after punting the ball away. Four plays later, the Tigers clawed to within eight, 21-13, after a 29-yard field goal by McCarthy with 9:25 left to play.

The Tigers forced a three-and-out on the next possession, and once Savannah State got the ball back, the Tigers marched into the Pirates' red zone, getting as far as the Hampton 5-yard line. But on a 4th-and-goal play, Matthew Davis (Chesapeake, Va.) and Charles Benning (Mobile, Ala.) sacked Tigers quarterback Antonio Bostick to force the turnover on downs.

From there, the Pirates ran out the final 4:21 to clinch the win.

Hampton had 230 rushing yards for the game, while holding the Tigers to just 33 yards on the ground. Savannah State had 251 yards in the air, compared to just 39 passing yards for the Pirates.

Schwartz had his fourth straight 100-yard rushing game – and his fifth of the season – rushing for 188 yards on 33 carries with two touchdowns. The senior, who came into the game second in the MEAC in rushing, averaged 5.7 yards per carry.

The Pirates only threw the ball 12 times for the game.

Bostick went 17-for-41 for 251 yards for the Tigers, but the Pirates defense sacked him five times. Miles Grooms (Richmond, Va.) led the Pirates with two sacks.

Junior Delbert Tyler (Monroeville, Pa.) had a team-high 11 tackles for the Pirates, while senior Lyndell Gibson (Virginia Beach, Va.) added 10 tackles – including a team-high 3.0 for a loss of 14 yards.

The Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they head to Washington, D.C. to take on rival Howard in the Battle of the Real HU at 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.