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HAMPTON, Va. — Host Hampton University scored on three plays covering at least 60 yards apiece and the Pirates held off a game Norfolk State rally in the second half for a 35-17 win on Saturday afternoon at Armstrong Stadium in the 46th Battle of the Bay.
Herbert Bynes passed for 264 yards and three touchdowns, two covering 70 and 80 yards, and Jeremy Gilchrist scored on a 60-yard punt return in the first quarter for the Pirates (5-1, 4-0 MEAC). Dennis Brown (Miami, Fla.) passed for a season-high 189 yards and two touchdowns for the Spartans (2-5, 1-3), who dropped their fourth straight contest.
The teams traded punts to start the game, but Hampton broke on top with Gilchrist's punt return for a score with 32 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Pirates' offense got untracked early in the second quarter, scoring on their first two possessions. Damon McDaniel got behind the NSU defense for a 70-yard TD reception from Bynes with 12:56 left in the first half, and Kyle Lloyd did likewise for a 23-yard TD catch less than five minutes later to make it 21-0.
NSU answered with a nine-play, 55-yard drive. Brown capped it with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Dario Walker (Ettrick, Va.) with 3:30 left before the half. The extra point by Justin Castellat (Virginia Beach, Va.) brought NSU within 21-7 going into the intermission.
The Spartans cut their deficit in half with a 63-yard scoring march on the first possession of the third quarter. Brown hit Jamar Johnson (Norfolk, Va.) for a 45-yard TD pass up the right sideline, cutting the lead to 21-14.
But the Pirates regained some breathing room at 28-14 with an 80-yard screen pass for a score from Bynes to LaMarcus Coker with 7:15 left in the third quarter.
Still, the Spartans wouldn't quit. Castellat hit a 28-yard field goal with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter. NSU then put together a 13-play, 83-yard drive, mixing the run and pass, to get to the Pirates' 14 early in the fourth quarter. But Brown's pass for Sherron Childress (Hampton, Va.) was intercepted in the end zone by Rasoul Wilson with 10:13 left in the game.
HU running back Dennis Mathis capped the scoring with a 6-yard TD run with 1:05 remaining.
The Pirates outgained NSU 379-264, with nearly one-half of that yardage coming on Bynes' TD throws.
Childress had a career-high five catches for 63 yards for NSU. DeAngelo Branche (Norfolk, Va.) had a game-high 66 yards rushing.
Three NSU defenders reached double digits in tackles, led by safety Terrell Whitehead (Virginia Beach, Va.), who tied his career-high with 11 stops. Fellow safety Josh Anderson (Chesapeake, Va.) added 10, one for a loss, and linebacker Mike Alphonse (Miramar, Fla.) had 10 tackles, a career-high 3.5 for loss, and one sack.
Linebacker Michael Swett had 16 tackles to lead Hampton, and defensive end Chris Baker had two of the Pirates' six sacks.
After a four-game road stretch, the Spartans celebrate homecoming next week against Florida A&M. Kick-off is at 1 p.m. at Dick Price Stadium.
