HAMPTON, Va. - An interception by Davant Reynolds with 37 seconds left sealed the victory for visiting North Carolina Central as they defeated Hampton 14-6 at Armstrong Stadium.
North Carolina Central hauls in a touchdown pass.
Hampton (5-4, 4-2) scored on its first possession going 48 yards in 11 plays before Adam Brown connected on a 49-yard field goal to lead 3-0 with 8:24 left in the first quarter. That field goal from Brown was two yards shy of his career best when he hit a 51-yarder against Howard in the Nation’s Classic in September 2016.
The defense set up Hampton’s next scoring attempt as Steven Smith Jr. recovered a Dorrel McClain fumble on the NCCU 45. Central turned up the defense and held Hampton to a 31-yard Brown field goal to lead 6-0 at the 3:04 mark.
North Carolina Central (7-2, 5-1) got on the board with its defense as Kawauan Cox caught a deflected Delmon Williams pass and rambled six yards for a touchdown as the Eagles took a 7-6 lead with 9:49 left in the first half.
The Eagles drove 80 yards in six plays to take a 14-6 lead on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Chauncey Caldwell to Jacen Murphy. Those two connected on a 46-yard pass early in the drive on a third down play to keep the Eagles flying.
In the fourth quarter, Hampton was stopped on its last two drives deep in NCCU territory. A fourth down Williams pass was incomplete with 4:12 left, but Hampton returned the favor and forced an Eagle punt with 2:05 remaining.7
After taking possession on their 40, Hampton used a Williams to Wolfolk connection of 21 yards to get to the NCCU 39. Three completions to Chase Powell later, Hampton had the ball on the Eagles 7-yardline. Reynolds stepped in front of a Williams pass in the end zone to seal the win for the Eagles.
Williams threw for 260 yards going 27-of-48 with three interceptions, Ronald Bell caught 11 passes for 88 yards, while Shai McKenzie was the leading rusher for Hampton with 13 carries for 79 yards. Smith was the leading tackler with nine, a sack, a tackle for loss and three quarterback hurries.
Caldwell completed 16 of 26 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown, while Murphy caught seven passes for 145 yards and a touchdown for NCCU.
Hampton hits the road now to Orangeburg, SC to face South Carolina State on November 11 at 1:30 pm.
