Junior RB Devan James gained 112 yards on 25 carries against Hampton.
Boxscore
Bear Shots
BALTIMORE, Md. – Dennis Mathis had 34 carries for a game-high 137 yards and Recardo Kemp scored on an interception return to help Hampton outlast Morgan State 17-13 in the season finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Hughes Stadium.
The Bears missed an opportunity to finish above.500 for the first time since 2003, as they capped the season with a 4-4 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference record and went 6-6 overall. Meanwhile the Pirates improved their record to 6-5 (5-3) and snapped a four-game losing streak.
Hampton scored a fourth quarter touchdown and then held off two last drives by the Bears to win their sixth straight against Morgan State.
Devan James, who entered the game as the MEAC's leading rusher (111.4 yards per game), finished the game with 112 yards on 25 carries.
One of the key plays of the game came at the end of the first half with the Bears holding a 10-3 lead. Ricardo Kemp stepped in front of an errant pass by Morgan quarterback Mario Melton and took the interception 76 yards down the sideline for the Pirates only touchdown of the first half. Carlo Turavani's extra point tied the ballgame at 10-10 at the break.
Herbert Bynes, the MEAC's leading passer (2,670 yards) completed just 2-of 7 passes for 43 yards, but one of his completions ended up putting the Pirates ahead for good.
Morgan State's offense had their second costly turnover of the game when Melton drove the Bears deep
into Hampton territory and were threatening to score. On 2nd and goal from the 10, Melton rolled left and attempted to pitch to James, but the pitch missed its target, and Hampton defensive lineman Josh Johnson scooped up the loose ball and raced 22 yards, before lateraling it back to Chris Cills who ran another 16 yards down to the Morgan 42 yard line.
Three plays later, Bynes threw a 38-yard touchdown strike into the hands of Pirate wideout Dyrri McCain.
On the ensuing possession, Morgan State grinded out a 15-play, 59-yard drive but was forced to settle for a 38-yard field goal by James Meade to trim the lead to 17-13 with 5:06 remaining.
Morgan State had one last opportunity at taking the lead following a fumble by Mathis that was recovered at the Morgan 34 by Darren McKhan with 3:21 to play.
Melton broke off a 27-yard run and completed a 14-yard pass to Winfred Diggs to help move the ball back into scoring position. The Bears had 1st and 10 from the Hampton 13 with just under a minute left on the clock, but the Pirates defense shut the door on any chance of a Morgan victory as the Bears turned the ball over on downs.
Morgan State had too many opportunities deep in Hampton territory that ended with no points.
"It's tough," said MSU coach Donald Hill-Eley. "We contributed to our loss. We continue to contribute to our demise."
"Throw an interception with 13 seconds left, they run it back for a touchdown. We get on the goal line. Clearly can run in with the ball and pitched the ball behind after the play; Unheard of. Everything that they got, we gave them."
The Bears got on the scoreboard on their second drive of the game when Melton took the offense on a 9-play drive from the Hampton 49 to the 12, but it ended there. Meade entered the game and booted a 29-yard field goal to give the Bears an early 3-0 lead at the 3:17 mark of the first quarter.
From there the defenses took over and the teams swapped punts until midway through the second quarter, when Mathis fumbled and Darren McKhan recovered the ball and returned it 34 yards to push the Bears lead to 10-0.
Said Hill, "Going into the off-season, we continue to make an assessment. there's no question that we're going to have to definitely revamp the offense. We have to revamp everything that we're doing and how we're doing it and why we're doing it."
"Defense, we've got to stay steady. Special teams, I think they've played consistent throughout the year. They've had only one return on them the whole year. So it's just staying consistent with that. It's just fixing what's wrong."
