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NORFOLK, Va. — Bryan Bailey passed for 263 yards and a touchdown, and Denzel Heath's late interception helped seal visiting Hampton's 27-17 win over Norfolk State in the State Farm Battle of the Bay on Saturday afternoon at Dick Price Stadium
The win was the second in a row for the Pirates (2-5, 2-1 MEAC), while NSU (2-5, 2-2) dropped its second straight.
NSU tied the game at 17-all on an 11-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Omari Timmons, his second of the day, with 14:40 left in the game. Anthony Prevost had the answer, giving Hampton the lead for good at 20-17 with a 40-yard field goal with 7:19 left. On the game's next possession, NSU was driving near midfield when Timmons' pass intended for Joseph Hawkins was picked off by Heath, who returned it all the way to the NSU 13. Three plays later, Jorrian Washington scored on a 2-yard TD run to put the game out of NSU's reach.
Prevost got the scoring started for the Pirates with a 27-yard field goal, capping the Pirates' 10-play, 51-yard drive to open the game. The score stayed that way until early in the second quarter, when Timmons scrambled for a 16-yard TD run. The point-after gave the Spartans a 7-3 lead with 11:42 left in the first half, culminating a nine-play, 58-yard drive.
Fullback Morris Brailsford gave Hampton the lead back with a 1-yard TD plunge just 3:19 before halftime to cap an 11-play, 70-yard drive.
The Spartans had two more possessions before the intermission that reached Hampton territory, but both ended in turnovers. On the first, Timmons was dropped for a 1-yard loss on 4th-and-1 from the Pirates' 18, turning the ball over to HU on downs. NSU forced a three-and-out from the Hampton offense, and a short punt gave the Spartans good field position at the HU 38 with 35 seconds left before the half. But Timmons' deep pass into the end zone was picked off by Khambrel McGee.
NSU kept moving the ball well after the half and tied the game on its first drive of the third quarter. Rolandan Finch accounted for 48 rushing yards on a 10-play, 74-yard march that Cameron Marouf capped with a 28-yard field goal with 9:37 remaining in the quarter.
Hampton retook the lead on Bailey's 32-yard TD pass to Twarn Mixson with 5:11 remaining in the third. Bailey, Hampton's Battle of the Bay MVP, completed a 29-yard pass to Leon Shorter on the drive's first play before hitting Mixson for the score.
Timmons rallied NSU though, hitting DeAndre Sangster for a 38-yard completion down to the Pirates' 11 on the first play of the fourth. On the next play, he faked a handoff and darted through the middle of the defense for his second TD of the day.
The Spartans appeared to seize momentum on the next Hampton possession. On 4th-and-1 from the Pirates' 36 yard-line, Hampton tried a fake punt, but punter Christian Faber-Kinney's pass was knocked away by NSU's Natturner Harris, giving the Spartans excellent field position. But NSU went three-and-out on the ensuing drive and opted to punt.
NSU came up with another big special teams play, downing Dalton Fraser's punt at the Pirates' 1. But Bailey gave Hampton some breathing room with a 29-yard completion to Shorter on 3rd-and-7. Prevost eventually capped the drive with his 40-yard field goal with 7:19 left.
Washington ran for 119 yards and a score for the Pirates. Shorter (4-111) and Mixson (4-105) both topped 100 yards receiving for HU.
Finch rushed for a season-high 141 yards on 21 carries to earn NSU's Battle of the Bay MVP honor. Timmons, who entered the game early in the second quarter after an injury to starter Nico Flores, rushed for 29 yards and his first two career TDs. Timmons also completed 11-of-21 passes for 150 yards. Hawkins had a team-high five receptions.
Marcell Coke had a career-high 14 tackles, 2.5 for loss, and forced a fumble for the Spartans. Deon King added a career-high 13 tackles, one for loss, and Brent Singleton and Noel Clarke both recovered fumbles.
Delbert Tyler had 13 stops for the Pirates. Joshua Thorne had nine tackles, three for loss, and two sacks.
The Spartans continue their three-game home swing with their final non-conference game of the year next Saturday when they host Old Dominion at 1 p.m.
