ELON, N.C. (Sept. 27, 2025) … Trailing at halftime, Hampton (1-4, 0-2) battled back to take the lead in the third quarter only to see the Elon (3-2, 1-0) storm back to post a 41-20 victory over the Pirates before an audience of 11,150 in Rhodes Stadium.

Hampton shuffled its starting line-up inserting quarterback Braden Davis into the starting line-up with Jah'Kei Chavis and Gracen Goldsmith sharing the running back duties. Elon outgained the Pirates 457-373 while the Pirates were penalized 13 times for 97 yards and suffered three turnovers.

On its second possession of the game Elon's TJ Thomas broke loose for a 23-yard touchdown run to put Elon ahead 7-0 with 10:12 to go in the opening quarter. Hampton later answered with a 44-yard field goal by Brett Starling capping a 55-yard, nine-play drive. The big play in the drive was a 35-yard pass from Davis to Marshawn Ferguson Jr. Starling booted another field goal, this one from 44 yards out, to make it 7-6 late in the first quarter.

Elon quarterback Landen Clark connected with a open Isaiah Furhman on an 81-yard TD pass to boost the Pheonix lead to 14-6. Elon struck again when Luke Barnes booted a 27-yard field goal with 11:13 to go in the second quarter giving Elon a 17-6 lead.

Hampton received the ball to start the second half and made the most of its opportunity. A 75-yard TD run by Chavis just 13 seconds into the second half closed the gap to 17-13 after Starling's PAT. The opportunistic Pirates recovered an Elon fumble at the Phoenix 26-yard line. After a pair of Pirates penalties, Davis connected with Tae'Shaun Johnson on a 44-yard pass for the score. Starling's extra point put the Pirates ahead 20-17 --- Hampton's first lead of the game --- with 11:57 to go in the third quarter.

Elon scored the game's final 24 points to put the game out of reach. Clark put the Phoenix back on top 24-20 on a six-yard TD run. Barnes then connected on a 33-yard field goal with 11:44 to go to make it 27-0. Midway through the final quarter, Elon went ahead 34-20 when Barnes ran it in from one-yard to finish a seven play, 66-yard drive. Jimmy Williams II dashed 45 yards to the Hampton 14-yard line and then scored from 14 yards out to make the final score 41-20.

The Pirates host Norfolk State on Oct. 4 at 4:00 p.m. at Armstrong Stadium as Hampton celebrates Greek Day/Black-Owned Business Day.