Saturday, August 29
Hampton, Va.
6:02 PM
Hampton University
1-0 , 0-0
45
vs
0
Virginia University of Lynchburg
0-1 , 0-0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia-Lynchburg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hampton | 7 | 10 | 21 | 7 | 45 |
Photo by: Katie Gilmore
Pirates Open Season With Shutout Of Dragons
8.29.26 | Football
HAMPTON, Va. (August 29, 2026) … The Coach Van Malone Era at Hampton University (1-0) got off to a rousing start as the Pirates whitewashed visiting Virginia University-Lynchburg (0-1) 45-0 before an enthusiastic crowd of 5,173 at Darling Stadium.
The shutout was the first in 88 games for the Pirates dating back to September 16, 2017 when Hampton downed Livingtone 59-0. The victory also snapped a six-game losing streak for the home team.
Hampton amassed 476 yards total offense while the stingy Pirate defense yielded just 220 yards. The Dragons averaged just 1.7 yards per carry on the night and the Pirates forced three turnovers.
Coach Malone attended the post-game press conference clutching the game ball symbolic of his first victory as a head coach. "We have a lot to work on but we battled tonight and played hard," Malone said. "I'm proud of our overall effort. We had too many penalties (13 for 135 yards) but made some big plays on defense."
The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Pirates. After returning the opening kickoff to midfield, Hampton lost a fumble. But Hampton's opportunistic defense kept the Dragons at bay and Hampton's offense took control moving 28 yards in eight plays capped by Gracen Goldsmith's five-yard dash with 3:14 left in the opening quarter for the first score of the 2026 season. The Pirates struck again, this time midway through the second quarter, when Dedrick Borden hauled in a 13-yard pass from Jalen Woods to up the lead to 14-0.
The Dragons threatened moving to the three-yard line before the stout Pirate defense forced a fumble which was recovered by Temond Marcus to snuff out Virginia University-Lynchburg's only scoring threat of the night. Hampton native Brett Starling booted a 42-yard field goal as time ran out to give the Pirates a 17-0 lead at intermission.
Three third quarter Pirate touchdowns boosted the Pirates to a 38-0 advantage. Amari Pryear came off the bench to rush for 101 yards on four third quarter totes to spark the offense. Pryear finished the night with a game-high 132 yards on eight totes.
On defense, Caden Rice intercepted a pass and returned it 32 yards for the first points of the third quarter. Midway through the period, Woods tossed a 25-yard a to Chaz Portis hauled in a 25-yard pass midway through the third period. Woods tossed his third TD pass of the night, this one for 16 yards to Jalen Walker as the Pirates moved 94 yards in just six plays to advance the lead to 38-0.
With 10:13 left in the game, Ja'Sean Lindsey capped the game's scoring with a one-yard run covering 76 yards in 15 plays to give the Pirates a 45-0 victory.
The unrelenting defense recorded nine tackles for loss and broke up four passes while never allowing the Virginia University-Lynchburg offense to gain any rhythm.
The Pirates travel to College Park, Md. next Saturday to take on Maryland of the Big 10 in Hampton's first-ever game against a Power 4 opponent.
The shutout was the first in 88 games for the Pirates dating back to September 16, 2017 when Hampton downed Livingtone 59-0. The victory also snapped a six-game losing streak for the home team.
Hampton amassed 476 yards total offense while the stingy Pirate defense yielded just 220 yards. The Dragons averaged just 1.7 yards per carry on the night and the Pirates forced three turnovers.
Coach Malone attended the post-game press conference clutching the game ball symbolic of his first victory as a head coach. "We have a lot to work on but we battled tonight and played hard," Malone said. "I'm proud of our overall effort. We had too many penalties (13 for 135 yards) but made some big plays on defense."
The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Pirates. After returning the opening kickoff to midfield, Hampton lost a fumble. But Hampton's opportunistic defense kept the Dragons at bay and Hampton's offense took control moving 28 yards in eight plays capped by Gracen Goldsmith's five-yard dash with 3:14 left in the opening quarter for the first score of the 2026 season. The Pirates struck again, this time midway through the second quarter, when Dedrick Borden hauled in a 13-yard pass from Jalen Woods to up the lead to 14-0.
The Dragons threatened moving to the three-yard line before the stout Pirate defense forced a fumble which was recovered by Temond Marcus to snuff out Virginia University-Lynchburg's only scoring threat of the night. Hampton native Brett Starling booted a 42-yard field goal as time ran out to give the Pirates a 17-0 lead at intermission.
Three third quarter Pirate touchdowns boosted the Pirates to a 38-0 advantage. Amari Pryear came off the bench to rush for 101 yards on four third quarter totes to spark the offense. Pryear finished the night with a game-high 132 yards on eight totes.
On defense, Caden Rice intercepted a pass and returned it 32 yards for the first points of the third quarter. Midway through the period, Woods tossed a 25-yard a to Chaz Portis hauled in a 25-yard pass midway through the third period. Woods tossed his third TD pass of the night, this one for 16 yards to Jalen Walker as the Pirates moved 94 yards in just six plays to advance the lead to 38-0.
With 10:13 left in the game, Ja'Sean Lindsey capped the game's scoring with a one-yard run covering 76 yards in 15 plays to give the Pirates a 45-0 victory.
The unrelenting defense recorded nine tackles for loss and broke up four passes while never allowing the Virginia University-Lynchburg offense to gain any rhythm.
The Pirates travel to College Park, Md. next Saturday to take on Maryland of the Big 10 in Hampton's first-ever game against a Power 4 opponent.
Players Mentioned
TE
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
S
/ Football
K
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ FootballTeam Stats
VUL
HAM
Total Yards
220
476
Pass Yards
166
213
Rushing Yards
54
263
Penalty Yards
60
135
1st Downs
12
22
3rd Downs
6
8
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
30:31
29:23
1st Quarter
VUL 0, HAM 7
HAM - Goldsmith,Gracen 5 yd run (Starling,Brett kick), 8 plays, 28 yards, TOP 04:17
2nd Quarter
VUL 0, HAM 14
HAM - Borden,Dedrick 13 yd pass from Woods,Jalen (Starling,Brett kick) 4 plays, 41 yards, TOP 01:50
VUL 0, HAM 17
HAM - Starling,Brett 42 yd field goal 8 plays, 31 yards, TOP 01:12
3rd Quarter
VUL 0, HAM 24
HAM - Rice,Caden 32 yd interception (Starling,Brett kick)
VUL 0, HAM 31
HAM - Portis,Chaz 25 yd pass from Woods,Jalen (Starling,Brett kick) 7 plays, 25 yards, TOP 02:45
VUL 0, HAM 38
HAM - Walker,Jalen 16 yd pass from Woods,Jalen (Starling,Brett kick) 6 plays, 94 yards, TOP 01:43
4th Quarter
VUL 0, HAM 45
HAM - Lindsey,JaSean 1 yd run (Starling,Brett kick), 15 plays, 76 yards, TOP 06:37
Game Leaders
CMP
15
TD
3
YDS
191
INT
1
CMP
2
TD
0
YDS
22
INT
0
Sunday, August 30
Wednesday, August 26
Monday, December 15
Wednesday, November 19
