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The Hampton Pirates fell on their face late in their final home game of the year as the William & Mary Tribe walked away with a 31-10 victory. Despite the frigid temperatures, fans filled Armstrong Stadium to celebrate both Senior Day and Veterans Day Weekend. The game, albeit low scoring, was competitive for the first three quarters before a slew of Pirate mistakes helped the Tribe blow the doors off the game.
William & Mary was the first team to put points on the board, though it took them until the end of the first quarter to find the end zone. Hampton's offense was actually driving on the previous possession. The Pirates weren't close to scoring, but they had strung together a couple first downs. Unfortunately for them, quarterback Chris Zellous threw his first of four interceptions. As he evaded pressure, Zellous uncorked a deep ball to a streaking wide receiver. The ball, however, was severely under thrown, allowing William & Mary defensive back Ryan Poole to snag the interception at the one-yard line. Poole literally waited at the goal line, waiting for the sailing ball to fall into his hands.
The Tribe took possession and, powered by an explosive run game, marched down the entire football field to take a 7-0 lead. On a third down on their own side of the field, quarterback Tyler Hughes found his running back Malachi Imoh wide open for a 33-yard completion. Imoh's big play was immediately followed by a 29-yard rush from his backfield teammate Mattijs Lasore, which helped set up a touchdown catch to tight end Trey McDonald.
After punts from both teams, Hampton finally got on the board. The drive nearly ended in a turnover as running back Darran Butts fumbled the ball, but a review confirmed that he was already down. The Pirates got into field goal range, but had to settle for the kick as the Tribe stuffed Zellous short of the first down.
Hampton would get the ball right back, courtesy of a recovered fumble forced by linebacker Qwahsin Townsel. In the waning seconds of the first half, Zellous juked multiple defenders as he dropped back to pass. Eventually, he found receiver Romon Copeland, who turned upfield and ran for a 45-yard touchdown. The Pirates walked into halftime with a 10-7 lead.
The third quarter was a glorified game of hot potato. Neither team put any substantial drives together, and neither team legitimately threatened to score. Fans began to filter out of the stadium due to the lack of action and cold weather.
Towards the end of the quarter, Darran Butts had his second “fumble,” but the ball bounced toward a Hampton lineman. They recovered possession, but soon after, Zellous coughed the ball up on a quarterback run. This time, William & Mary recovered the ball with intentions to capitalize.
The Tribe's offense never really got going consistently, but thanks to key plays, they were able to put up points. Right before the end of the third quarter, Hampton's defense had the Tribe in a third down. As the play wore on, the Pirates seemingly had everything covered. Hughes had converted multiple first downs throughout the game with his legs, but defenders were closing in. Instead, the quarterback threw a prayer to true freshman receiver Leonte Oulahi. Oulahi bobbled the ball, but he secured the 18-yard reception before a defender could knock it away. The Tribe only walked away from that possession with a field goal, but with the score tied 10-10, pressure mounted on Hampton's offense.
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For a second, it seemed like the Pirates were up to the challenge. They put together their most successful drive of the half with completions through the air and progress on the ground. A big completion to Copeland put the Pirates right outside the red zone. However, on a toss play to Butts, the running back couldn't corral the ball. He bobbled it right into the hands of opposing linebacker Quinn Osborne. On offense, Hughes immediately found receiver JT Mayo for a wide open 76-yard touchdown.
Now down 17-10, events for the Pirates only went from bad to worse. Zellous threw a pass to a falling receiver, whose leg just happened to kick the ball into the field of play as he fell out of bounds. The ball fell into linebacker Kevin Jarrell's hands, and he turned the turnover into another seven points.
With only a few minutes remaining, Hampton had to get aggressive. The quarterback threw another deep ball to try to make up the deficit. This time, defensive back TJ McGill batted the ball to his teammate David Roulley for the interception, effectively ending the game. They drove down the field one last time and capped it off with a touchdown run from Hughes.
William & Mary's offensive stats weren't great, but they secured the win mostly due to their defense's five takeaways. Quarterback Tyler Hughes finished with 145 passing yards and two touchdowns, though he completed just five of his 14 passing attempts. All Tribe receivers had just one catch. JT Mayo led his teammates with 76 yards and a touchdown. Mattijs Lasore led the way on the ground with six carries for 42 yards. Hughes turned his nine carries into 36 yards and a touchdown.
Without running back Elijah Burris, Hampton's offense looked rudderless. Chris Zellous had a day to forget, throwing four interceptions to just one touchdown. He also had 17 carries for 77 yards, and Darran Butts came behind him with 15 rushes for 56 yards. Wide receiver Romon Copeland led all receivers with seven catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.
Hampton sits at 5-5 on the year as they face their final opponent. Next week, the Pirates close the 2023-24 football season with a showdown against the 5-5 Elon Phoenix.
