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HAMPTON, Va. – Antwon Chisholm scored on a 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and Hampton made it stand for a 7-6 win over Norfolk State in the 48th annual Battle of the Bay on Saturday afternoon at Armstrong Stadium.
On a cool, windy afternoon, the game was dominated by the two teams' rushing attacks and defenses. Spartan senior DeAngelo Branche (Norfolk, Va.) led all players with 132 rushing yards and sophomore Takeem Hedgeman (Charlottesville, Va.) added a career-high 56 yards, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Spartans (2-4, 1-3 MEAC) from dropping their third straight.
Hampton (5-1, 4-0) got on the board first on Chisholm's 7-yard touchdown run with 2:07 left in the first half. It capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive.
NSU drew within 7-6 on a 1-yard run by Branche with 9:35 remaining in the third quarter, but Ryan Estep (Chesapeake, Va.) missed the extra point wide to the right. The drive took eight plays and 77 yards, all on the ground.
But neither team scored again. The Spartans had the ball twice more in Pirate territory, but could not convert. NSU drove 42 yards to the Hampton 37 late in the third quarter, but Chris Walley (Tallahassee, Fla.) lofted a deep pass for Kelvin Lewis (Woodbridge, Va.) that was intercepted by Ricardo Silva at the Hampton 5.
The Spartan defense kept the team in it with two key stops. After the interception, Hampton drove 65 yards in 14 plays to the Spartans 30. But the center of the NSU defense, aided by linebacker Onyemechi Anyaugo (Sterling, Va.), stuffed quarterback David Legree shy of a first down on a QB sneak, giving the Spartan offense the ball back.
The teams traded punts, and HU tried to put the game away. But the NSU defense held again, and Pirate kicker Rodrigo Hernandez missed a 40-yard field goal with 1:07 left in the game.
Without a timeout, the Spartans got three consecutive first downs on their final drive as Walley hit Victor Hairston (Martinsville, Va.) for two completions of 12 yards apiece, and Jeremy Wicker (Quantico, Va.) once for 15 yards to reach the Pirates' 37. After spiking the ball to stop the clock, Walley threw incomplete on second and third down. On 4th-and-10, Hampton's Matt Davis and Brandon Peguese tackled Walley for a 2-yard gain to thwart the Spartans' final chance.
Hampton outgained NSU 282-258 in total offense. The Spartans grounded out 207 rushing yards, their second-best effort of the year, but only completed 7 of 22 passes for 51 yards.
Branche was named NSU's Battle of the Bay MVP. This marked the third time in four games against the Pirates that Branche has topped the 100-yard mark. It was also the senior's third 100-yard game of the season.
Chisholm had 98 yards on 17 rushes to lead the Pirates.
Senior linebacker Anthony Taylor (Virginia Beach, Va.) paced the Spartan defense with nine tackles before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent knee injury. Hasan Craig (Rocky Mountain, Va.) recovered a fumble to end one Hampton drive inside the red zone in the first half.
Darius Johnson had 10 tackles for Hampton to earn the Pirates' MVP award.
After being on the road for three straight games, the Spartans host Florida A&M for their 2010 homecoming next Saturday at 2 p.m. at Dick Price Stadium.
