By Tiffany Williams –
Week 1 of the college football season gave coaches their first opportunity to see how their teams would respond when the games finally counted.
There were close finishes, comeback victories, explosive offensive performances and several teams that made strong opening statements.
But one performance stood above the rest.
Hampton didn’t just win its season opener.
The Pirates controlled the game from beginning to end.
Hampton rolled past Virginia-Lynchburg 45-0, delivering the only shutout among the 10 Week 1 games reviewed and earning head coach Van Malone the Week 1 NewsTalk New England M&T Bank Coach of the Week.
The Pirates were effective in every phase.
Hampton finished with 476 yards of total offense, including 263 yards on the ground, while quarterback Jalen Woods completed 15 of 26 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns.
Amari Pryear provided the biggest performance out of the backfield.
Pryear rushed for 132 yards on only eight carries, averaging 16.5 yards per attempt and breaking a 65-yard run.
But Hampton’s offensive production was only part of what made Malone’s team’s performance stand out.
The Pirates’ defense never allowed Virginia-Lynchburg to score.
Not once.
Hampton created turnovers, consistently prevented drives from becoming points and even contributed directly to the scoring.
Caden Rice intercepted a pass early in the third quarter and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown, extending Hampton’s advantage to 24-0.
The Pirates also received major contributions from their special teams.
Temond Marcus blocked a punt in the first quarter, helping create an early scoring opportunity. Cam Sturdifen forced and recovered a fumble, while Marcus later recovered another fumble near the goal line to prevent Virginia-Lynchburg from capitalizing on one of its best opportunities of the afternoon.
Those are the types of plays that make a performance complete.
Hampton wasn’t dependent on one quarterback, one running back or one side of the football to carry the afternoon.
The offense produced.
The defense created turnovers and scored.
The special teams contributed.
And the Pirates kept their opponent off the scoreboard for all four quarters.
There were other strong coaching performances around the CAA during Week 1.
Campbell’s Braxton Harris guided the Camels to a 49-37 road victory over ETSU in an offensive battle.
UAlbany’s Tom Perkovich watched his Great Danes rush for 374 yards in a 28-14 victory over New Hampshire.
Maine’s Jordan Stevens saw his defense make the plays it needed late to preserve a 21-18 victory over Towson.
Rhode Island’s Jim Fleming and Bryant’s Chris Merritt also opened the season with convincing victories.
But Malone’s Pirates delivered something none of those teams did.
A shutout.
Hampton scored 45 points and allowed zero.
That combination of offensive production, defensive dominance, turnovers and special-teams impact made Hampton’s opening performance difficult to overlook.
One game doesn’t determine what the rest of a season will look like.
But Coach of the Week isn’t about what might happen next month.
It’s about what a team accomplished that week.
And in Week 1, Malone had Hampton prepared to perform in every phase of the game.
For leading Hampton to a 45-0 victory and one of the most complete performances of the opening weekend, Van Malone is the Week 1 NewsTalk New England M&T Bank Coach of the Week.