Saturday, October 17
Fairfield, Conn.
12:00 PM
Hampton University
at
Sacred Heart
Photo by: Katie Gilmore
Pirates Play Sacred Heart In First-Ever Meeting
10.15.26 | Football
HAMPTON, Va. (Oct. 15, 2026) … After a bye week, the Pirates take on the newest member of the Coastal Athletic Association, Sacred Heart, in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
In its last game, Hampton faced rival Howard for the 101st time in the series that dates back to 1908. It is the oldest Division I HBCU rivalry in the nation. The Bison topped the Pirates 27-13 in D.C.
Hampton head man, Van Malone, is in his first season with the Pirates. Sacred Heart head coach Mark Nofri is in his 15th season at the helm of the Pioneers. Malone came to Hampton after serving as assistant head coach at Kansas State for seven seasons.
The game will be played at Sacred Heart's Sikorsky Credit Union Field. The venue has a seating capacity of 3,334, smallest in the CAA.
From 2013-21, former major league player and manager Bobby Valentine served as director of athletics at Sacred Heart.
It will mark just the second time Hampton has played a football game in the Nutmeg State. On Nov. 28, 1998, the Pirates lost at Connecticut 42-34 in the NCAA Playoffs in Storrs, Conn.
Texas native Van Malone, in his first year at Hampton, admitted that this will be his first-ever trip to the state of Connecticut.
On Oct. 24, Hampton will host Monmouth for Homecoming.
Venerable Armstrong Stadium was closed to replace the aging artificial turf and track surrounding the playing field. In the interim, Hampton played its home games at the City of Hampton's Darling Stadium. The Pirates return to the home turf for Homecoming.
Scouting the Pioneers
The Pioneers (2-4, 2-2 CAA) with CAA wins over are New Hampshire (20-13), Maine (24-16) before a 28-7 non-league loss at the hands of Stonehill.
Sacred Heart boasts a balanced offense with 180.7 yards through the air and 170.0 on the ground. It is seventh in the CAA in total offense (350.7 ypg).
Junior quarterback Poochie Snyder is completing 69 percent of his passes with nine TDs and two picks. He is the team's second-leading rusher with 47.8 ypg. Junior Chuck Webb leads the team with 53.5 ypg rushing. Senior Jason Palmieri (28 catches for 284 yards) and junior Dean Hangey (27 receptions for 280 yards.).
Defensively, junior linebacker Myles Hamilton leads the Pioneers with 39 tackles including 7,5 tackles for loss. Junior safety Kymari Latney has 29 stops while senior linebacker Luke Hackett has 25 total tackles on the season.
Scouting the Pirates
Having lost starting quarterback Jalen Woods and breakout running back Amari Pryear to injury, first-year Pirates coach Van Malone has had to revamp the offensive backfield.
Woods started the first three games before an injury in the opening minutes of the Norfolk State game. Tre'Von Taylor replaced Woods and freshman Xavier Brookins came off the bench and performed well at Howard competing 13-of-22 passes for 191 yds and a touchdown. Pryear's 214 rushing yards in three-plus games still leads the team.
Hampton led the CAA in rushing three straight years. But the 2026 Pirates are averaging 241.8 yards through the air.
The Pirates come into the Sacred Heart game having lost 14 consecutive CAA contests. The last conference win was on Oct. 26, 2024 when the Pirates topped Elon 41-21 win for Homecoming.
In its last game, Hampton faced rival Howard for the 101st time in the series that dates back to 1908. It is the oldest Division I HBCU rivalry in the nation. The Bison topped the Pirates 27-13 in D.C.
Hampton head man, Van Malone, is in his first season with the Pirates. Sacred Heart head coach Mark Nofri is in his 15th season at the helm of the Pioneers. Malone came to Hampton after serving as assistant head coach at Kansas State for seven seasons.
The game will be played at Sacred Heart's Sikorsky Credit Union Field. The venue has a seating capacity of 3,334, smallest in the CAA.
From 2013-21, former major league player and manager Bobby Valentine served as director of athletics at Sacred Heart.
It will mark just the second time Hampton has played a football game in the Nutmeg State. On Nov. 28, 1998, the Pirates lost at Connecticut 42-34 in the NCAA Playoffs in Storrs, Conn.
Texas native Van Malone, in his first year at Hampton, admitted that this will be his first-ever trip to the state of Connecticut.
On Oct. 24, Hampton will host Monmouth for Homecoming.
Venerable Armstrong Stadium was closed to replace the aging artificial turf and track surrounding the playing field. In the interim, Hampton played its home games at the City of Hampton's Darling Stadium. The Pirates return to the home turf for Homecoming.
Scouting the Pioneers
The Pioneers (2-4, 2-2 CAA) with CAA wins over are New Hampshire (20-13), Maine (24-16) before a 28-7 non-league loss at the hands of Stonehill.
Sacred Heart boasts a balanced offense with 180.7 yards through the air and 170.0 on the ground. It is seventh in the CAA in total offense (350.7 ypg).
Junior quarterback Poochie Snyder is completing 69 percent of his passes with nine TDs and two picks. He is the team's second-leading rusher with 47.8 ypg. Junior Chuck Webb leads the team with 53.5 ypg rushing. Senior Jason Palmieri (28 catches for 284 yards) and junior Dean Hangey (27 receptions for 280 yards.).
Defensively, junior linebacker Myles Hamilton leads the Pioneers with 39 tackles including 7,5 tackles for loss. Junior safety Kymari Latney has 29 stops while senior linebacker Luke Hackett has 25 total tackles on the season.
Scouting the Pirates
Having lost starting quarterback Jalen Woods and breakout running back Amari Pryear to injury, first-year Pirates coach Van Malone has had to revamp the offensive backfield.
Woods started the first three games before an injury in the opening minutes of the Norfolk State game. Tre'Von Taylor replaced Woods and freshman Xavier Brookins came off the bench and performed well at Howard competing 13-of-22 passes for 191 yds and a touchdown. Pryear's 214 rushing yards in three-plus games still leads the team.
Hampton led the CAA in rushing three straight years. But the 2026 Pirates are averaging 241.8 yards through the air.
The Pirates come into the Sacred Heart game having lost 14 consecutive CAA contests. The last conference win was on Oct. 26, 2024 when the Pirates topped Elon 41-21 win for Homecoming.
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