HAMPTON, Va. (Aug. 30, 2025) … In a close hard-fought, gritty contest, Jackson State (1-0) scored the game's final 14 points in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 28-14 victory over Hampton (0-1) in the season opener for both teams in Jackson, Miss.   

Hampton took a quick lead when Pirate coach Trenton Boykin elected to gamble. On their first possession, Hampton faced a fourth-and-one from its own 34-yard line. The Pirates elected to go for it and faked a run up the middle but quarterback Isaiah Freeman scampered around end for 63 yards to the three-yard line. On the next play, Ja'Quan Snipes staked the Pirates to a 7-0 lead with 12:37 left in the opening quarter.

The Tigers tied the score benefitting from Pirate miscues. A roughing the kicker penalty gave Jackson State the ball at the 38-yard line and the Tigers were unable to move the ball and punted. But the Pirates fumbled the punt with Jackson State recovering at the Hampton 19-yard line. Emari Matthews capped a three-play, 19-yard drive with a two-yard TD run with 7:48 to go in the first quarter to knot the score 7-7.

Jackson State's Donerio Davenport scored from six-yards out to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead on a seven-play, 67-yard drive with 14:35 to go before halftime. Neither team was able to find the endzone the remainder of the half with Jackson State taking a 14-7 lead to the locker room.

The Pirates outgained the Tigers 187-153 yards in the first 30 minutes. Freeman started at quarterback for the Pirates but gave way to Braden Davis in the second quarter. Freeman rushed for 73 yards in the first quarter, while Davis completed 11 of 12 passes in the first half for 84 yards. Freeman returned in the second half to lead the Pirate offense. Miscues were Hampton's undoing as the Pirates were guilty of four fumbles --- including a pair on punt returns --- and a roughing the punter penalty which led to a Tiger touchdown.

Neither team was able to mount a scoring drive in the third quarter and the score remained 14-7 in favor of Jackson State after 45 minutes.

In the first drive for either team since the first quarter, the Pirates drove to the Tiger four-yard line early in the fourth quarter. The Pirates ran it up the middle on a fourth-and-one play, failing to make the first down. Jackson State was unable to move the ball and the Pirates took over at midfield with 11:34 to go in the contest. Hampton drove 54 yards culminating in a 30-yard TD strike from Freeman to Marshawn Ferguson to tie the contest 14-14 with 10:44 to go.

It didn't take long for Jackson State to answer. On the ensuing drive, the Tigers drove the length of the field with Matthews scoring his second touchdown of the day on a three-yard run with 5:32 left to put the Tigers back in the lead, 21-14.

An interception by Kamauri Rogers ended a Pirate drive inside the Tiger 40-yard line with 4:13 remaining. On the very next play Ahmad Miller dashed 65 yards for a score. The extra point boosted the Jackson State lead to 28-14 with 4:00 left.

The win extended the defending SWAC and Celebration Bowl champion Jackson State's winning streak to 11.

The Pirates return to action on Sept. 6 when Hampton entertains Elizabeth City State at 6:00 p.m. Hampton will honor the Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025 inductees at halftime. Yvette Lewis (track & field), Jerome Mathis (football, track & field), Roger deSantis Guedes (tennis), Kellie Wells Brinkley (track & field), Dr. James Griffin (track, football, basketball coach, educator), Cordell Jerome Taylor (football) and Patricia Cage-Bibbs (women's basketball coach) will be inducted into the Hampton University Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 5. In addition, longtime department of athletics administrator John "Buster" Jackson will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award and the 1985 Hampton football team, which earned the Black College National Championship after winning the CIAA title and advancing to the NCAA Division II Playoffs, was named the Team of Distinction.