Senior QB Carlton Jackson and senior RB Devan James complete their collegiate careers with a winning record.
Boxscore
HAMPTON, Va. – With 1:54 remaining in the game, the Pirates got the ball on Morgan State's 42-yard line for what would be the final drive of the game on Saturday at Armstrong Stadium. On this final drive, the Pirates committed three penalties and lost a total of 51 yards, which ended in a 44-yard field goal attempt by freshman Jordan Stovall that came up short, giving the Bears a 16-13 win on Hampton's Senior Day.
That final drive for the Pirates went just 15 yards in 15 plays.
The Bears of Morgan State closed out the 2009 season with a 6-5 overall mark and a 4-4 mark in MEAC play. It was the first time since 2003 (6-5) the Bears had finished with a record above.500.
The Pirates closed out the regular season with a 5-6 mark, marking the first time since 1996, when the Pirates joined the MEAC, that they finished below .500. The Pirates were 10-2 and went on to the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs the following season.
The game was a defensive battle, as neither team wanted to allow the other to score, but the Bears would get on the board first when Domanick West rushed in from two yards out for the first score of the day and to put the Bears up 7-0. The Bears would get on the board once more when Kemar Scarlett hit a 43-yard field goal with 34 seconds left to head into the half with a 10-0 lead over Hampton. The Pirates missed two key field goals in the first half.
In the second half, the Pirates came out ready to play, as they scored 13 quick points to take the lead at 13-10 late into the fourth quarter. Quarterback David Legree got Hampton on the board in the third quarter with a 90-yard touchdown pass to Isiah Thomas; that was the Pirates' longest offensive play from scrimmage on the season.
Darius Mullen gave Hampton the lead with 13:04 left in the game, when he grabbed a pass from Legree and ran it 15 yards for the score. Stovall's PAT missed to keep the Bears within a field goal.
The play that changed the entire game for the Pirates was on 4th-and-6 for the Bears with the ball on the Pirates' 14-yard line. Defensive line Kendrick Ellis got called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that gave the Bears a first down that they turned into the game-winning touchdown, a 1-yard run from West with 5:16 to play.
Hampton finished the game with 484 yards of total offense while the Bears posted 281 yards. Herbert Bynes led the Pirates by throwing for 233 yards on 13-for-20 passing on the day. Carlton Jackson had one of his most efficient games for the Bears as he completed 17 of 24 passes for 146 yards. George Howard, the MEAC's leader in tackles (130 tackles), led the Bears on defense with a game-high 14 tackles, while Gary Albury added nine tackles and Sheldon Jacques finished with two sacks.
Morgan State star running back Devan James rushed for 53 yards, which gave him 639 for the season, and he finished ranked No. 4 in school history with a career-mark of 2,422 yards on 544 carries.
