– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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WASHINGTON — No matter the rivalry game, the Hampton Pirates made sure that bragging rights were locked down in all of those contests before starting conference play next week, and took their of their oldest rival in another close encounter on Saturday.
Ja’Quan Snipes ran for two second-half touchdowns, including a 53-yard sprint to give the Pirates the lead for good, and Hampton pulled away to earn a 27-20 win over Howard in the Truth and Service Classic played inside Audi Field, the home of Major League Soccer’s D.C. United. The Pirates dominated the Battle of the Bay in their 30-point win against Norfolk State last week, but played another barnburner against the Bison on the Pirates’ way to their eighth straight win against Howard. Each of the last three victories in the series have come by one score, including last year’s 35-34 win by Hampton.
The Pirates ran for 293 yards, but it was the pass game that gave Hampton the lead early. Quarterback Chris Zellous connected with Tyler Hatcher from six yards with less than four minutes remaining in the first quarter to give the Pirates the lead. Malcolm Mays doubled the lead with a 34-yard run early in the second.
Howard battled back and tied the game late in the third quarter, as quarterback Richie Ilarraza threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Kasey Hawthorne right after the two-minute mark of the second, and then and Eden James scored on a 16-yard run with 3:04 left in the third to even the game at 14-14.
But right before the end of the third, Snipes broke free for a 53-yard touchdown run to give the Pirates the lead back. In the fourth quarter, he dded a 5-yard touchdown run with under nine minutes left for a two-score cushion.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Rodney Pierce. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 33 pictures in total.
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