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NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk State (0-3, 0-0 MEAC) plays its home opener and begins its MEAC schedule by hosting rival Hampton University (2-1, 1-0 MEAC) in the Battle of the Bay this Saturday. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. at Dick Price Stadium.

The game also marks Latrell Scott's first home game as NSU head coach. The teams are meeting for the 53rd time in their history, with NSU holding a 26-25-1 edge. 

RADIO
WGH Star 1310 AM is in its second season as the flagship network for NSU football and basketball games. Ross Gordon will handle the play-by-play duties, with Terrell Ducre' serving as the color analyst. The game can also be heard online at www.star1310.com.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
NSU saw its record drop to 0-3 after last week's 45-7 loss at Marshall of Conference USA. The defeat capped the Spartans' non-conference schedule, which included three road games against Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. The Spartans are the only Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team to face three FBS foes this year.

The Spartans got on the board first as quarterback Greg Hankerson Jr. led a seven-play, 75-yard drive on the game's first possession. Running back Gerard Johnson, who caught a 40-yard pass from Hankerson earlier on the drive, scored on a 14-yard TD pass from Hankerson for the game's first points. After that, Marshall controlled the game, scoring the last 45 points of the matchup. Chase Litton threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns for the Herd, and Devon Johnson rushed for 122 yards and one score.

Hankerson was limited to 95 passing yards. Still, the junior signal-caller ranks third in the MEAC in both passing yards (457, 152.3 per game) and total offense (534 yards, 178 per game). He has thrown three touchdowns and just one interception this year. Johnson had his best game of the year last week at Marshall, totaling 99 all-purpose yards (65 receiving, 34 rushing) and his first touchdown as a Spartan.

Defensively, linebacker Deon King, a preseason FCS All-American, continues to lead the MEAC and the nation in tackles. The senior inside linebacker has 54 tackles through three games, including
consecutive 21-tackle efforts against ODU and Marshall. Senior cornerback D'Metrius Williams is tied for the MEAC-lead in pass breakups, with four. He had two last week at Marshall.
    
SCOUTING THE PIRATES
Hampton improved to 2-1 and won its MEAC opener last Friday, beating Howard 37-19 in the Nation's Football Classic at RFK Stadium. Pirates quarterback David Watford, a University of Virginia transfer, passed for 279 yards and one touchdown in addition to running for 58 yards and two more scores. Hampton amassed 460 yards of total offense.

The Pirates opened the season with a 35-20 win over Kentucky State before losing to Richmond 31-28 two weeks ago.

Hampton leads the MEAC in scoring (33.3 points per game) and total offense (407.3 yards per game). Watford has been the primary reason – his 853 passing yards and nine touchdowns not only lead all MEAC quarterbacks, but also rank in the top 10 among FCS players. His favorite target, Twarn Mixson, leads all MEAC receivers in receptions (18), yards (357) and touchdowns (five).

The Pirate defense is led by defensive end Miles Grooms, who has 2.5 sacks, and linebacker Keith McAfee, who has 5.0 tackles for loss.

THE SERIES
• This will be the 53rd meeting all-time between old rivals NSU and Hampton. The teams have met every year since 1963. 
• Historically, the series has been very competitive. The Spartans hold a slim 26-25-1 edge after winning last year's meeting, 21-13, in Hampton. That victory was NSU's first at Hampton since 1996. 
• The teams have split their last eight meetings. The road team has won the last two games.

HOME OPENERS
At game No. 4, this year's home opener with Hampton marks the latest NSU has ever had a home opener in Dick Price Stadium history. For the first 13 years of the stadium's existence (1997-2009) and again from 2011-12, NSU opened at home against Virginia State in the Labor Day Classic to kick off the season. NSU played at Rutgers to open 2010 and at Maine to open 2014, but played its first home game in week 2 in each of those years. The Spartans also hosted Maine to open 2013.

NSU is 12-12 in its last 24 home openers.

This year also marks the first time NSU has ever played Hampton for its first conference game of the year (CIAA or MEAC).

Interestingly enough, the Labor Day Classic returns next season, with Elizabeth City State coming to Dick Price Stadium to open the Spartans' 2016 campaign.

KING IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Senior linebacker Deon King has excelled over the last two seasons as a two-time All-MEAC performer, yet often was overlooked by some due to the presence of three-time FCS All-America linebacker Lynden Trail. With Trail now departed, the spotlight belongs to King. 
• King leads the MEAC and all FCS players with 54 tackles through three games (18.0 per game). 
• King has recorded 21 tackles in each of the last two games. He is the first Spartan to top 20 in back-to-back games since Kevin Talley in 2004. Talley holds the FCS record for tackles in a season, with 195 in 2003; and is co-holder of the FCS single-game tackle record with 30 against Savannah State in 2004.
• King was named a preseason second-team FCS All-America by STATS and is on the Preseason STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year watch list.     
• King ranked second in the MEAC and 22nd in the nation with 18 tackles for loss last year, and was fourth in the MEAC in total tackles, with 106. 
• He earned first-team All-MEAC honors following the 2014 season, and second-team All-MEAC honors in 2013.