Greenwood’s Booker T. Chambers again shined for Mississippi Valley State, but it wasn’t enough to pull MVSU past Hampton.
The Delta Devil defense had no answers for Hampton as Delmon Williams threw for five touchdowns, and Raeshad Herriott and William Robinson both ran for 100 yards and a touchdown to lead Hampton to its sixth straight win on Saturday, 54-39 over Mississippi Valley State.
Williams, who was 17 of 23 for 231 yards, had scoring passes of 65 yards to Marcel Paul and 19 yards to Byron Barney and Herriott and Robinson had their rushing touchdowns as the Pirates led 28-7 after one quarter.
The high scoring continued with Hampton (6-3) taking a 40-24 lead at the half.
Valley got three touchdowns from Chambers, but the Delta Devils were forced to play catch-up after trailing 28-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Chambers caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Jett Even in the first half, which included a 71-yard score 65 seconds into the game to put Valley ahead 7-0. Chambers later added an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the third quarter — his second punt return for a touchdown this season.
The Greenwood High School product finished with 11 catches for 180 yards to go with 101 punt return yards. Greenwood’s JohnDerrick Smith had a team-high 49 yards rushing on 11 carries.
Darrion Harper caught four passes for 47 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown pass from Chris Fowler. Quinn McElfresh also caught four passes, gaining 49 yards through the air.
Valley split time at the quarterback position, with Even throwing for 173 yards and a touchdown on 9-of-18 passing. Fowler completed 12 out of 14 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown.
After Hampton’s quick start, the Delta Devils outscored the Pirates 32-26 over the last three quarters of the game. Valley pulled to within 10 points late in the first half when Chambers’ 16-yard touchdown reception capped a four-play, 44-yard drive with 3:42 left to play in the second quarter.
Tadarius Davis again led the Delta Devil defense, as he recorded 10 tackles in the game.
Saturday’s game marked the first time Mississippi Valley State and Hampton had met on the gridiron in 29 years. The high-scoring game was a stark contrast to the only previous meeting between the two teams, when Hampton won 6-3 in 1989.
The Delta Devils play their final home game of the 2018 season this Saturday when they host Alabama A&M. Kickoff has been pushed ahead to 11 a.m. to ease potential traffic congestion as Mississippi Valley State University will also be hosting the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s postseason volleyball tournament this weekend.
