Golden Eagle firepower hoping to sink Pirate ship Saturday
The Tennessee Tech football squad heads to the Commonwealth of Virginia for only the third time in history Saturday, and the Golden Eagles are hoping they're toting enough firepower to sink the Hampton Pirates. Kickoff in HU's Armstrong Stadium is set for 5 p.m. CDT.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
3 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 30 |
|
|
7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
Team Stats
Hampton
| Game Statistics | Tennessee Tech | Hampton |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 181 | 190 |
| Rushing Yards | 159 | 55 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Time of Poss. | 31:03 | 28:57 |
Click here to download or view TTU game notes
(PDF)
By Rob Schabert, TTU Assistant A.D. for Sports
Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech football squad heads to
the Commonwealth of Virginia for only the third time in history
Saturday, and the Golden Eagles are hoping they're wielding enough
firepower to sink the Hampton Pirates.
Kickoff in HU's Armstrong Stadium is set for 5 p.m. CDT.
After playing an NAIA opponent in the opener (No. 25 Cumberland)
and a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foe last week (No. 21
Wisconsin), the Golden Eagles will play the first of 10 consecutive
regular season games against teams in the NCAA Football
Championship Subdivision (FCS).
For the Pirates, the game with Tennessee Tech will be the home
opener in Armstrong Stadium, following road contests at FCS
opponents Western Illinois and William & Mary. The Pirates
dropped a 42-9 contest at Western Illinois, suffereing nine
turnovers. Last week, Hampton dropped a 31-7 decision in
Williamsburg.
The Golden Eagles are currently 0-1 on the road in 2013, falling
last week at No. 21 Wisconsin.
The game at Hampton will be only the third time the Golden Eagle
football team has ventured into Virginia to play football. The only
previous visits to the Old Dominion were for games at Virginia
Military Institute (VMI) and Liberty University. Under head coach
Mike Hennigan, Tech played the VMI Keydets in Lexington, Va., on
Sept. 18, 2004, and claimed a 16-10 victory. The other visit
was to Lynchburg, Va., where coach Jim Ragland’s Golden
Eagles dropped a 24-20 contest on Sept. 10, 1988, to the Liberty
Flames. Both previous games were afternoon contests.
Last year in the first meeting between Tech and Hampton, seniors
Tre Lamb and Adam Urbano put on an offensive show as the Golden
Eagles defeated the Pirates, 41-31, in the season opener in Tucker
Stadium.
Lamb and Urbano led the Golden Eagle offensive juggernaut that put
up 548 yards of total offense on 82 plays. The 548 yards were the
second highest total of a Watson Brown-led team at Tech. Lamb
completed 24 of 35 passes for 339 yards and tied a career-high with
four passing touchdowns. His 339 yards were the second most of his
career.
Urbano had the best game of his career, rushing for 158 yards and
one score on 25 carries.
Zack Ziegler had a career-best two touchdown grabs in the game and
added 43 yards. He scored the first points of the game, sneaking
behind the defense for a 34-yard touchdown catch. His second
touchdown, a nine-yard reception, came in the fourth quarter and
ended a 17-point run by the Pirates.
Another receiver, sophomore Cody Matthews, had a career night for
the Golden Eagles, hauling in three passes for a team-high 89
yards.
Sophomore kicker Zach Sharp chipped in two field goals in the
game, one from 25 yards and one from 28 yards. He added 11 total
points on the night.
It appeared that Tech was comfortably in charge with a 31-7 lead
after Da'Rick Rogers grabbed a TD pass four seconds before
halftime. However, the Pirates stormed back in the second half by
scoring 17 consecutive points to trim Tech's advantage down to
31-24.
Jorrian Washington took the second half opening kickoff 10 yards
for a touchdow, followed by a 40-yard field goal from Taurean
Durham, making it 31-17. Five minutes later Jeremi Schwartz crossed
the goalline from one yard out, making it 31-24 late in the third
quarter.
Tech answered with a touchdown to Zeigler and a field goal for a
41-28 lead, before Javaris Brown hauled in a two-yard touchdown
toss from quarterback Travis Champion with 2:16 to play for the
game's final score.
Tech had a 209-89 advantage in rushing yards, and also outgained
the Pirates 339-103 through the air. Tech had 548 yards of offense
while Hampton finished with 192.
The Golden Eagle offense was flawless in the season opening 63-7
win over Cumberland, but was limited to 113 total yards last week
by No. 21 Wisconsin.
Cody Forbes is Tech's leading rusher with 82 yards on 15 carries
through two games. Darian Stone owns a 128.03 quarterback rating,
going 16-for-30 for 212 yards with two touchdowns and one
interception. Krys Cates and Cody Matthews have four catches each
to lead a deeo receiving corps.
Hampton is led on the ground by Antwon Chisholm with 48 yards on
26 carries. QuarterbackJaylian Williamson has a 137.0 QB rating,
going 26-for-50 for 274 yards with two touchdowns and two
interceptions.Rayshad Riddick is the top Pirate receiver with nine
catches for 67 yards, while Chisholm and and Jorrian Washington
have six catches each.
