HAMPTON, Va. (WTKR) — Whatever spark Hampton needed on Saturday night, it found it in the third quarter against Virginia Union.
Trailing the Panthers 21-12, the Pirates found its groove and never looked back. Trent Boykin's group scored the final 21 points of the game to notch a 33-21 victory.
Chris Zellous helped get the home team out to a 7-0 lead on their second drive of the game with a 12-yard touchdown run. After that, though, Hampton's offense found trouble finishing off scoring drives. The Pirates would have to settle for a pair of field goals in the second quarter while VU would score two touchdowns in the frame to take a 14-12 lead into halftime.
Out of the locker rooms, Virginia Union hit on an explosive play when RJ Rosales found Reginald Vick Jr. for a 57-yard touchdown pass to give the visitors a nine-point lead.
Two drives later, Hampton got its break when Jordan White picked off Mark Wright in Panther territory. Zellous would get right to work, finishing off an eight play drive with a one-yard touchdown rush on fourth and goal.
On their next series, the Pirates would get more methodical. They'd go on a 15 play, 93-yard drive that wrapped up with Elijah Burris plunging in from the one-yard line to give Hampton a 26-21 lead. Burris would help put the game on ice on the drive, scooting into the endzone on a 22-yard scoring scamper to make it 33-21.
The HU defense would get one more stop before letting the offense finish the game out.
Zellous would pass for 177 yards and rush for two scores, while Burris carried the ball 35 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
It's the first victory of Boykin's tenure as interim head coach, improving their record to 1-1. Up next for the Pirates is the annual rivalry matchup with Norfolk State, where Hampton looks to get some redemption after falling the game last year at Armstrong Stadium.
