The Battle of the Bay
The Pirates (3-2, 1-1 MEAC) got back in the win column this past Saturday with a 28-23 home win over Princeton, while the Spartans (5-1, 3-0 MEAC) won their fourth straight game this past Saturday with a 38-21 win at Delaware State to remain atop the MEAC standings.
Thanks in large part to its offensive performances at ODU (42 points) and Bethune-Cookman (31 points), Hampton, guided by first-year offensive coordinator Willie Snead III, is second in the MEAC in both scoring offense (29.0 points per game) and total offense (396.8 yards per game).
For the season, senior quarterback David Legree (Brooklyn, N.Y.) is completing 63.9 percent of his passes (101-for-158) for 1,154 yards and seven touchdowns. Legree, who threw for a career-high 302 yards against Princeton, is second in the MEAC in passing, averaging 230.8 yards per game, while also sitting 10th in the MEAC with 49.0 rushing yards per contest.
Sophomore running back Antwon Chisholm (Belle Glade, Fla.), the reigning MEAC Rookie of the Year, had his third career 100-yard rushing game against Alabama A&M, carrying the ball 25 times for 141 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. He also rushed for 93 yards on 18 carries in a 23-17 win over Florida A&M.
Chisholm is averaging 4 6 yards per carry, and is currently third in the MEAC in rushing with an average of 72.2 rushing yards per game.
Sophomore linebacker Delbert Tyler (Monroeville, Pa.) is currently second in the MEAC in tackles with 54, averaging 10.8 per game, while junior linebacker Lyndell Gibson (Virginia Beach, Va.), a Virginia Tech transfer, is fifth in the conference with 49 tackles, an average of 9.8 per game. Junior defensive back Justin Blake (Piscataway, N.J.) is sixth in the MEAC with 47 tackles, 9.4 per contest.
Sophomore defensive end Robert Copeland (Hampton, Va.) leads the MEAC in forced fumbles with two. He also has one recorded fumble, which places him tied for ninth in the conference.
The Pirates are 23-24-1 all-time against the Spartans and have won seven of the last nine meetings – including a 7-6 decision at Armstrong Stadium last season. The two teams first met in 1963, with Norfolk State winning 42-0; in fact, the Spartans won the first five meetings against Hampton and 11 of the first 12. Since moving up to Division I in 1995, the Pirates are 12-4 against Norfolk State. The Spartans won the last meeting between the two teams at Dick Price Stadium, a 46-6 decision in 2009.
Hampton holds a 12-11-1 lead in the series as the road team.
The Pirates are 187-155-6 all-time against schools currently competing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) following a 23-17 win over Florida A&M on Sept. 8 and a 35-31 loss at Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 22. Hampton is 9-8 against Bethune-Cookman; 23-13 against Delaware State; 8-12 against Florida A&M; 47-39-1 against Howard; 22-35-2 against Morgan State; 23-24-1 against Norfolk State; 25-15-2 against North Carolina A&T; 16-5 against MEAC newcomer North Carolina Central; 3-0 against MEAC newcomer Savannah State; and 11-6 against South Carolina State.
This is only the Pirates’ 16th year as a member of the MEAC, as they initially became a member back in 1995. Since joining the MEAC, the Pirates have won the conference championship five times, including three straight in 2004, 2005 and 2006
The Pirates, who are 1-1 so far this season in conference play, went 5-3 in the MEAC last season.
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