Oct. 31, 2009
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Hampton Pirates erased a 10-point deficit in the final 5:23 of the fourth quarter and used a Steve Robinson 11-yard touchdown run in overtime to steal a 16-13 overtime victory away from the Rams in Winston-Salem State University's
Homecoming on Saturday afternoon at Bowman Gray Stadium. The Rams jumped out to a 7-0 lead at the 5:05 mark of the first quarter as running back Cedrick Hickman muscled his way into the endzone from three yards out to give the Rams the early advantage.
Hickman's touchdown is all that the stingy Rams' defense would need in the game's first 30 minutes of play as they held the Pirates to only 88 yards of total offense en route to a seven point halftime lead, only their second lead of the season at intermission.
Winston-Salem State increased their lead to 10 points with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter as Landen Thayer's 33-yard field goal gave the Rams a 10-0 lead with only 17:35 to play in the game.
WSSU's defense, a unit that would rank 33rd in the nation in total defense continued to stymie the Pirates during the first two-thirds of the final quarter of play before Hampton sophomore quarterback and Syracuse University transfer David Legree led the Pirates to a come-from-behind march that would send the game to overtime.
Legree capped a five-play, 80-yard scoring drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Isiah Thomas with only 5:23 remaining in the contest as he accounted for 56 of the drive's 80 yards via both the run and the pass.
"Their quarterback really rose to the occasion in the fourth quarter and put them back into the game" WSSU head coach Kermit Blount commented in postgame interviews. "His play in the fourth quarter was really one of the determining factors in the game. I made sure to find him after the game and commend him on his play" Blount added.
Legree continued to impress on Hampton's final drive of regulation as he ran for 52 yards and passed for 16 more as he set up Jordan Stovall's 30-yard field goal that capped a 14-play, 68-yard scoring drive that forced overtime. The overtime period saw Landen Thayer record the longest field goal of his WSSU career as he drilled a 46-yarder on fourth and 14 as the Rams moved ahead 13-10 prior to the Pirates' possession.
Fourth quarter hero David Legree would need only to hand the ball off in Hampton's half of the overtime session as the Pirates ran the same play four consecutive times with Steve Robinson and LaMarcus Coker alternating runs over left end. Robinson's 11-yard scoring run would prove to be the game winner as he followed a key block and burst through a seam into the endzone as Hampton handed WSSU their third consecutive Homecoming day defeat.
"We didn't make plays when we had a chance to. Down the stretch we didn't bow up on defense and make stops" Kermit Blount said. "We made a few boneheaded plays and the play in the fourth quarter hurt us. Our defense spent a long time on the field in the fourth quarter and got tired and it was evident down the stretch and in overtime" he added.
The loss drops the Rams to 1-7 on the season while the Pirates improve to 4-4 with the victory. WSSU returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 1:00 p.m. as they play host to Delaware State University at Bowman Gray Stadium.
For additional information on WSSU football, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official web site of WSSU Athletics at WSSURams.com.
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