HAMPTON, Va. (HamptonPirates.com) – The Hampton University football team scored the last 23 points of the game and pulled away for a 30-9 win over N.C. A&T at Armstrong Stadium on Saturday afternoon in a Big South Conference contest.
Hampton jumped on the board off the first possession of the game going 69 yards in nine plays with Jett Duffey connecting with Jadakis Bonds on a 30-yard scoring strike at the 11:03 mark for a 7-0 lead.
The Pirates defense picked off Jalen Fowler at the one-yard line as the Aggies drove to the Pirate nine on their first possession. The next play saw Hampton get stopped for a safety as the Aggies cut the deficit to 7-2.
On the ensuing possession, N.C. A&T struck quickly as Fowler found Jamison Warren who tight-roped the sideline for a 74-yard scoring pass to give the Aggies a 9-7 lead with 4:04 left in the first.
Hampton put together a pair of field goals in the second quarter behind Axel Perez who hit a 31-yarder at the 9:26 mark to put the Pirates up 10-9. He then hit a season-high 43-yard field goal with 78 seconds left in the half as Hampton went into the locker room up 13-9.
The Aggies pinned Hampton for its first possession of the third quarter on the one, but Hampton marched 99 yards in five plays with the final 72 being on a Duffey to Romon Copeland touchdown burst. The extra-point put Hampton ahead 20-9 with 6:59 left in the third.
Hampton's defense came to set up the final two scores as DeAndre Faulk forced a fumble as the Aggies drove down to the Hampton 28. The Pirates responded with a 72-yard, 10-play drive as Elijah Burris finished it with a 31-yard run through the middle to go up 27-9 with 14:04 left in the game. Stanley Garner stepped in front of a Fowler pass on the next possession at the Aggies 31 to set up the offense. N.C. A&T held Hampton to a 42-yard field goal from Perez which put the Pirates up 30-9 with 11:15 remaining.
Hampton's defense recorded five sacks as JehDon Jenkins had a pair of those. The defense forced two interceptions and a fumble as they held the Aggies to 91 yards on the ground. The five sacks were the most in a game since November 2018 when Hampton had seven as Mississippi Valley State.
Duffey threw for 285 yards going 17-of-28, while Burris had 86 yards on 16 carries. Copeland topped the receivers with three catches for 112 yards, while KeyRon Catlett had five for 41 yards and Bonds added four for 82.
Hampton (3-4, 1-2) now visits Robert Morris for a noon kick on October 30.
