By Tiffany Williams –
HAMPTON, Va. — Bryant answered an early Hampton field goal with 31 unanswered points, leaning on Brennan Myer’s arm, a balanced rushing attack and a defense that repeatedly shut the Pirates down on fourth down in a 31-3 victory Friday night at Darling Stadium.
Bryant improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while Hampton fell to 1-2 and 0-1. The Bulldogs trailed 3-0 late in the first quarter before scoring touchdowns in each of the first three quarters, adding a field goal at the end of the first half and finishing the scoring with a fourth-quarter touchdown.
The game kicked off at 7:14 p.m. in rainy conditions with a temperature of 85 degrees. An announced crowd of 2,985 attended the game at Darling Stadium.
Hampton received the opening kickoff and moved the football effectively. Jalen Woods completed a six-yard pass to Noah Colon before Gracen Goldsmith broke a 17-yard run into Bryant territory. The Pirates reached the Bryant 44 before consecutive incomplete passes forced Bryan Ramirez to punt.
Bryant’s first possession went nowhere. OJ Ross gained two yards, Myer threw incomplete and Korede Sogbesan sacked him for a four-yard loss. Kristian Karoglan punted, and Hampton took over at its own 40.
The Pirates then put together a lengthy 12-play drive almost entirely on the ground. Amari Pryear carried for gains of one, nine and six yards, while Donovan Shepard and Goldsmith continued moving the chains. MarShawn Ferguson Jr. broke an 11-yard run to the Bryant 19, and Hampton eventually reached the 12.
An illegal-substitution penalty backed the Pirates up five yards, and Brett Starling came on for a 35-yard field goal. He converted it with 3:49 remaining in the first quarter, giving Hampton a 3-0 lead after the 6:35 possession.
Bryant answered immediately.
Kendrick Agenor opened the drive with runs of 13, nine and four yards, moving the Bulldogs from their own 27 into Hampton territory. Ross then broke a 10-yard run to the Hampton 37. Myer began working through the air, finding Agenor twice and Ross once as Bryant moved to the 13.
On the final play of the quarter, Myer connected with Sean Wilson Jr. over the middle for a 13-yard touchdown. Nicholas Stoyanovich added the extra point, completing a 10-play, 73-yard drive and giving Bryant a 7-3 lead.
Hampton opened the second quarter with another productive drive. A Bryant pass-interference penalty extended the possession, and Woods then connected with Goldsmith for 26 yards. Another Bryant personal foul moved Hampton all the way to the Bryant 30.
The Pirates stalled from there. Woods lost four yards on a quarterback run and then threw incomplete on third down. Starling attempted a 46-yard field goal, but the kick was no good with 12:02 remaining.
Bryant could not immediately capitalize. Jordan Bennett gained 15 yards on two carries, but the drive stalled near midfield and Karoglan punted.
Hampton also failed to move the chains. A false-start penalty helped force a punt, and Bryant took over at its own 25 with 7:14 remaining.
This time the Bulldogs struck quickly.
Ross opened with consecutive runs of nine and six yards. Myer then threw incomplete on first down. On second-and-10 from the Bryant 40, he found Shamar Fowles.
Fowles turned the completion into a 60-yard touchdown. Stoyanovich added the extra point, and Bryant’s lead grew to 14-3 with 5:46 remaining in the half.
Hampton again came up empty, and Bryant received one more possession with 2:50 remaining.
Agenor gained 13 yards, although a Bryant unnecessary-roughness penalty pushed the Bulldogs backward. Myer then took over through the air. He completed a nine-yard pass to Wilson, a 12-yard pass to Agenor, another 21-yard strike to Wilson and a six-yard completion to Jose Leon.
Bryant reached the Hampton 25 but could not finish with a touchdown. Stoyanovich instead converted a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the half, sending the Bulldogs into halftime with a 17-3 lead.
Bryant received the second-half kickoff and crossed midfield behind Ross and a 16-yard completion from Myer to Fowles, but the possession stalled and Karoglan punted Hampton back to its own 6.
The Pirates went three-and-out, and a short 28-yard punt gave Bryant the football at the Hampton 36.
The Bulldogs immediately turned the field position into another touchdown. Bennett rushed 10 yards to the 26. Myer then gained five yards, and a Hampton personal-foul penalty moved the football to the 10.
After an incompletion, Bennett ran four yards to the 6. On third-and-six, Myer kept the football and rushed six yards into the end zone. Stoyanovich’s extra point made it 24-3 with 9:40 remaining in the third quarter.
Hampton responded with its most sustained drive of the second half. Tre’Von Taylor completed passes to Dedrick Borden, Colon and Chaz Portis while Pryear added a six-yard run. Taylor also broke a 13-yard run as the Pirates advanced to the Bryant 33.
A penalty pushed Hampton backward, but Taylor later ran 12 yards on third-and-15 to set up fourth-and-three from the Bryant 26. The Pirates stayed aggressive, but Taylor’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete under pressure from Anthony Schettino.
Bryant took over with 4:17 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs then put together the game’s longest scoring drive.
Agenor gained seven yards before Myer found Wilson for eight and Fowles for 16. Hampton helped Bryant with an unnecessary-roughness penalty that moved the football to the 29.
The drive continued into the fourth quarter. Facing fourth-and-18 from the Hampton 37, Bryant kept its offense on the field, and Myer found Fowles over the middle for 20 yards and a first down.
Ross was then stopped, but a Hampton illegal-substitution penalty moved Bryant closer. Myer followed with a 12-yard run to the Hampton 3. One play later, Agenor powered in from two yards.
Stoyanovich converted the extra point with 11:50 remaining, completing a 15-play, 74-yard possession that consumed 7:27 and stretched Bryant’s lead to 31-3.
Hampton continued trying to find the end zone.
Taylor completed passes to Isaiah Smith, Colon and Khaioz Watford, and a Bryant roughing-the-passer penalty helped the Pirates move to the Bryant 29. Goldsmith rushed six yards to the 23, but three consecutive Taylor incompletions followed.
On fourth-and-four, Taylor’s pass for Watford fell incomplete, ending the drive and giving Bryant the football back with 7:14 remaining.
The Bulldogs punted, and Hampton made one final push from its own 10.
Taylor converted third-and-13 with a 20-yard completion to Watford and then hit Sejhe Jackson for 37 yards to the Bryant 36. He followed with a 15-yard completion to Pryear, moving Hampton to the Bryant 21.
Bryant’s defense again shut the door. Taylor was sacked for a nine-yard loss by Scott Walker on second down. After a short Taylor run, Hampton faced fourth-and-15 from the 26. Taylor’s deep pass for Nare Means was broken up by Jean Calixte.
Bryant took over with 1:51 remaining and ran out the clock to complete the 31-3 victory.
Myer finished 15-of-29 passing for 216 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He also rushed six times for 25 yards and scored Bryant’s third-quarter touchdown.
Fowles was Bryant’s biggest receiving weapon, catching four passes for 112 yards and a touchdown, highlighted by his 60-yard score in the second quarter. Wilson caught four passes for 51 yards and the first-quarter touchdown, while Agenor added three receptions for 26 yards.
Bryant’s rushing attack was spread across several players. Ross led with 37 yards on 12 carries, Agenor had 34 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts, Bennett added 30 yards on five carries and Myer contributed 25 yards and a score. The Bulldogs finished with 136 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Hampton actually finished with more rushing yards than Bryant, totaling 153 on 33 attempts. Goldsmith led with 41 yards, Taylor added 36, Pryear finished with 32 and Colon contributed a 16-yard carry.
Taylor completed 12 of 24 passes for 134 yards, while Woods went 4-of-7 for 43 yards. Hampton finished with 177 passing yards but never found the end zone through the air. Jackson led the Pirates with 37 receiving yards on one catch, while Colon caught three passes for 40 yards.
The final yardage was relatively close. Bryant finished with 352 total yards and Hampton with 330. The difference came when drives reached critical situations. Bryant scored on all three of its red-zone opportunities, while Hampton converted its only red-zone trip into a field goal and failed on all three of its fourth-down attempts.
Hampton scored first but never scored again. Bryant responded with touchdowns from Wilson, Fowles, Myer and Agenor, plus Stoyanovich’s 44-yard field goal, and the Bulldogs’ defense kept the Pirates out of the end zone for the full 60 minutes to finish off the 31-3 road win.