Howard Tops Hampton In Battle Of The Real HU

Saturday, October 3

Washington, D.C.

3:00 PM

Hampton University

1-5 , 0-2

Howard

2-3 , 0-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Howard	7	10	3	7	27
Hampton	3	7	0	3	13

Photo by: Katie Gilmore

10.3.26 | Football

Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 3, 2026) … Howard University (2-3) beat Hampton University (1-5) in the 101st Battle of the Real HU before an audience of 15,389 under cloudy skies at Washington, D.C.'s Audi Field.

Hampton struck first in the longest Division I HBCU rivalry in the nation. Brett Starlng booted a 28-yard field goal with 9:39 to go in the opening period capping a 12-play, 64-yard drive to put the Pirates up 3-0.

Hampton was unable to mount a drive in its second possession and a 28-yard punt gave Howard the ball at the Bison 48-yard line. The Bison drove 52-yards scoring on a two-yard run by Travis Kerney and the PAT put the Bison up 7-3 with 1:10 left in the opening quarter.

In the second period, Eden James ran it untouched around end to register Howard's second touchdown.

Xavier Brookins, Hampton's third string quarterback at the start of the season, was called upon to give the Pirates a spark. He answered the call with a 32-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Nare Means to close the gap to 14-10. The drive covered 83 yards in eight plays.

"Brookins had worked hard in practice and made a lot of progress," said Hampton coach Van Malone. "He gave us the spark we needed to get back into the game. He is a young quarterback but has some great days ahead of him"

Howard closed out the first half scoring with a 28-yard field goal by Matt Conord to take a 17-10 lead to the locker room. Brookins finished the half with 4-of-5 passing for 70 yards and a touchdown.

Conord booted a 39-yard field goal for the Bison, the only points tallied in the third quarter.

Starling connected on another field goal for the Pirates, this one a 39-yarder, as Hampton closed to 20-13. But a 52-yard pass from Ja'Shawn Scroggins to Billy Roberson with 9:59 left in the game closed out the scoring.

Hampton amassed 277 yards on the day while Howard had 387. Brookins finished 13-of-22 through the air with 193 yards and a TD. Noah Colon hauled in seven passes for 73 yards. Cam Sturdifen and Cole Smith each recorded eight tackles for the Pirates.

The victory was the second in a row for the Bison after the Pirates had won eight consecutive contests. Hampton leads the overall series 55-45-1.

The Pirates have a bye week on Oct. 10 before returning to action on Oct. 17 at Sacred Heart.