NORFOLK, Va. — Don Carey (Norfolk, Va.) blocked Carlo Turavani's potential game-tying extra point with 27 seconds left, and Turavani missed a potential game-winning 49-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to give Norfolk State its first win over Hampton since 2001, 20-19, before 27,756 fans at the State Farm Battle of the Bay on Saturday afternoon at Dick Price Stadium.

The win keeps the Spartans (5-1, 4-0 MEAC) tied for first place in the MEAC with Delaware State (5-1, 4-0), and assures NSU of its best-ever MEAC record. The Spartans' previous high for MEAC wins in a season was three (3-5) in 2001. The triumph over 18th-ranked Hampton (4-2, 3-2) is also the Spartans' first-ever over a ranked Division I Football Championship Subdivision (I-AA) squad. NSU entered the game 0-18 against ranked teams.

With his team trailing 20-13, Hampton (4-2, 3-2) quarterback T.J. Mitchell scrambled for a 16-yard TD run with 27 seconds left to cut the deficit to 20-19. But Carey, one of NSU's starting cornerbacks, knifed through the middle of the Hampton line and blocked the extra point.

The Pirates had one last gasp when James Butts recovered Jahmal Blanchard's on-side kick. HU moved to the NSU 32 on a 24-yard pass from Mitchell to Justin Brown. After two incomplete passes by Mitchell, Turavani lined up for a 49-yard field goal. He missed wide right, sending the second-largest crowd in Price Stadium history into a frenzy.

Daryl Jones (Richmond, Va.) ran 28 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns to earn MVP honors for the Spartans. Jeremy Gilchrist caught eight passes for 73 yards and a touchdown to take MVP honors for Hampton.

The Pirates struck first with Gilchrist scoring on a 10-yard pass from Mitchell with 7:28 left in the first quarter. HU's Kendall Langford (team-high 11 tackles, 2.5 for losses) blocked a 31-yard field goal attempt by Justin Castellat (Virginia Beach, Va.) early in the second quarter, but the Pirates were backed up in their own end. Mitchell, under a heavy rush from NSU lineman Dennis Marsh (Greensboro, N.C.), was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, giving the Spartans a safety with 13:51 left in the first half.

NSU then took the free kick and marched 72 yards in eight plays, with Castellat capping the drive with a 22-yard field goal to bring NSU within 7-5 with 10:46 left in the second quarter.

The Pirates stretched their lead to five, 10-5, heading into the half on a 43-yard field goal by Turavani.
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As they have all season, the Spartans rallied with a strong third quarter. Jones capped NSU's first possession of the second half with a 1-yard run to give the Spartans' their first lead. Casey Hansen (Norco, Calif.) found Jeremy Wicker (Quantico, Va.) for the two-point conversion pass to make it 13-10 with 12:38 left in the third quarter.

Jones' second 1-yard plunge put NSU ahead 20-10 with 10:24 left in the game, capping a 12-play drive.

Hampton rallied with its special teams. After Jones' second TD, Derrick McPhearson returned a short NSU squib kick 48 yards to the NSU 20-yard line. The NSU defense held again, forcing Hampton to settle for Turavani's 31-yard field goal with 8:27 left.

Hampton succeeded in keeping the NSU offense backed up in its own end for most of the final quarter. After a 28-yard punt by Brian Jackson (Virginia Beach, Va.) was downed at the NSU 41 with 1:46 left, Mitchell led the Pirates on a seven-play drive. He capped it with a 16-yard scramble through the middle of the defense.

But Carey's heroics, and Turavani's miss at the end, helped the Spartans' secure their fifth straight home win and exact some revenge. Hampton had won the previous five games between the teams by an average of 37 points.

“This team has done everything we ask of them,” NSU head coach Pete Adrian said. “We won the fourth quarter today as we have most of the season. Our special teams had some miscues that could have cost us the game, but our players didn't hang their heads. They just said, 'Let's go to work.”

“This team is starting to play to its potential,” said NSU linebacker Maguell Davis, who led the Spartans with 11 total tackles. “Our defense communicated very well and that's why we had success today.”

Hampton's ground game could muster only 82 yards on 34 carries. Mitchell passed for 277 yards, but needed 48 attempts (and 23 completions) to do it. The Spartan defense put constant pressure on Mitchell, sacking him twice and hurrying him 13 times.

Hansen completed 17-of-33 passes for 233 yards for the Spartans. Jamar Johnson (Norfolk, Va.) snagged a career-high six passes for 86 yards.

NSU doesn't have much time to enjoy its victory. The Spartans travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to face a dangerous Florida A&M squad at 7 p.m. on Thursday.