Defense, Keyondre White’s TD run give Hampton an overtime win over Gardner-Webb
One of the Reverend Jerome Barber’s favorite sayings during his 27 years as Hampton University football public-address announcer is: “Let’s hear it for the defense!”
Because he says it when the Pirates make a stop, he’s gotten fewer chances than usual during a 2021 season when they’ve allowed an average of 33.8 points. But on a day when the unit was terrific, the words echoed in Armstrong Stadium as the offense took possession in overtime after the defense held Gardner-Webb scoreless.
Keyondre White showed the offense’s appreciation, running 25 yards on the Pirates’ first snap of OT for a touchdown. The score gave the Pirates a 27-21 win over Gardner-Webb in a Big South game Saturday and kept alive their hopes for a winning season.
The Pirates (4-5, 2-3 Big South) play at Campbell next Saturday before returning to Armstrong on Nov. 20.
“I was very proud of the defensive coaches and the defensive players played well,” said Hampton coach Robert Prunty, whose defense limited the Runnin’ Bulldogs to no offensive points and just 134 yards in the final two quarters and overtime.
End JehDon Jenkins (1½ sacks, 2½ tackles for loss), linebacker Demetrius Stitmon (eight tackles) and cornerback Ali Shockley (10 tackles) were the standouts.
Safety Devonta Davis made a key tackle at his own 6 on third down in OT, stopping Narli Gaither (27 carries, 147 yards) two yards short of a first down. Though the score was tied at 21, G-W went for it on fourth-and-2, but quarterback Bailey Fisher overthrew an open receiver in the end zone under a heavy Hampton rush.
“I felt like we needed to get this game over with now,” White said. “On the last play, I told Coach to give it to me and I ran inside to the left, but everything got washed down, so I bounced out.
“I saw (Pirates quarterback) Jett Duffey and (wide receiver) Romon Copeland on a block and I was like, `If I can get outside of them, I can score.’”
Duffey (231 yards passing, three TDs) and Copeland, a true freshman from Oscar Smith High, also had big games offensively. Copeland made a one-handed grab of a Duffey pass across the middle on a post, then used a spin move after the catch to beat a defender on his way to a 44-yard touchdown to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead with 9:25 to play in the first quarter.
“It feels good, awesome,” Copeland said. “It’s going to be a big play on Big South (online media) and it may go viral, but I’m just glad I had a chance to make a big play for my team.”
He would make another and later, to his chagrin, make a mistake that benefited G-W. Before that, Runnin’ Bulldogs quarterback Bailey Fisher threw touchdown passes of 32 and 5 yards to give his team a 14-7 lead in the first quarter. G-W rarely dented the Hampton defense after that.
Copeland’s 58-yard catch-and-run in the final moments of the first quarter moved the Pirates inside the G-W red zone. On the next play, the first of the second quarter, Duffey threw 16 yards to tight end James Stanley for a TD to tie the score at 14.
Duffey’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Trent Cloud gave the Pirates a 21-14 lead at halftime. But Copeland muffed a punt near the goal line early in the second half and Zay Jones recovered it in the end zone to tie the score at 21.
Copeland didn’t flinch, hanging tough to make the key block for White on the winning touchdown.
“I bounced back from it,” Copeland said. “It’s (having) a short memory. I just let it go and played for my teammates.”
White said, “It’s a surreal feeling. It’s a great thing in sports to hit the game-winning shot or score the game-winning touchdown.”
