Morgan State seemed to have #12 Hampton (3-0, 3-0 MEAC)hanging on the ring ropes, but it turned out to be the three-time defending MEAC champions who scored the knockout in the end.
T.J. Mitchell threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns, including a 30-yard touchdown pass to Justin Brown to clinch a thrilling 24-17 overtime victory against MSU. The game was broadcast by ESPNU and was definitely “Made for TV” as Hampton played host to a Bear team that had not played at Armstrong Stadium since 2001.
The Bears (1-3, 0-1 MEAC) who overcame a 17-point deficit early in the first half, was sparked by the play of senior quarterback Byron Selby and a swarming, hard-hitting Bears defense.
Selby took over for starter Mario Melton in the second quarter and gave the Pirates defense fits with his scrambling ability. The Baltimore product finished the game with 95 yards on the ground and 98 in the air and appeared to energize and give confidence to the Bears offensive unit.
With Selby at the helm the Bears took the ball downfield and got on the scoreboard when James Meade booted a 43-yard field goal with 6:39 left in the 2nd quarter. It was Meade’s second 40-plus yard field goal in two games.
On the first play of Hampton’s ensuing drive, Mitchell threw a pass over the middle that was picked off by senior linebacker Kofi Nkrumah, who then pitched the ball to teammate Darren McKahn, who broke downfield toward the sideline. But McKahn fumbled the ball when he was hit by wideout Kevin Teel, and Michael Ola recovered the ball for the Pirates.
The Bears defense continued to ramp up the pressure and forced the Pirates to punt. The next two possessions by both teams ended with disaster as Melton was intercepted by Tobin Lynch at the Morgan 36, followed on the very next play by a fumble in the backfield by Pirate Dennis Mathis and recovered by Nkrumah.
Nkrumah finished the night with a game-high 13 tackles (five solo) and a sack.
Selby returned back on the field and led the Bears on a 10-play, 65 yard drive ending with 6-yard off-tackle touchdown run by Chad Simpson with 1:39 remaining in the 2nd quarter. Morgan trailed 17-10 at the intermission.
Simpson, who rushed for a game-high 142 yards on 33 carries, tied the ballgame 17-17 with his second touchdown of the night when he scored from 5 yards out. The TD run capped a 14-play, 64 yard drive with 9:14 left in the 3rd quarter.
Melton completed 7-of-16 passes and threw two interceptions, while Selby finished the game by completing 9-of-16 passes and rushed for 95 yards.
"My biggest thing was getting into a rhythm," Selby said. "Once I started running around out there, Chad started finding the creases in the defense."
"The orange and blue is never going to give up," Selby said. "And we showed that tonight."
Jeremy Gilchrist led the Pirates with three catches for 107 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown from Mitchell to help give Hampton a 14-0 lead late in the 1st quarter.
Van Morgan rushed for 98 yards and the Pirates ground attack was held to 125 rushing yards.
Anthony Young and Jerrell Guyton finished with seven tackles apiece to help lead the Bears defensive unit. Senior Bryan Wilson was a headache for the Pirates all night as he had a couple of free shots on the Mitchell and finished with six tackles, a sack and a forced fumble, while Chris Williams had six tackles and three breakups from his strong safety position.