HAMPTON — In a battle of Tidewater teams, the tide told two tales — one of Hampton’s rise and Norfolk State’s rinse-and-repeat.
Hampton rallied from a two-score deficit in the first half to defeat Norfolk State 41-34 on Saturday in the 60th edition of the Battle of the Bay at Armstrong Stadium in front of 9,222 fans.
“Just a well-fought game,” Hampton coach Trenton Boykin said. “Everybody just had to just rally together. Proud of the coaching staff, proud of our trainers, proud of these young men. We understand what this game means. We got two games that we circle every year, and this was one of them. We let one get away. We weren’t gonna let this one get away.”
After falling behind 21-10 early in the second quarter, The Pirates (2-4) flipped the game behind a wave of explosive plays and Norfolk State mistakes. Freshman running back Gracen Goldsmith ignited the surge with a 30-yard touchdown run, the first of his collegiate career, slicing the deficit to 21-17.
The Pirates then capitalized on two consecutive fumbles by NSU running backs — one by X’Zavion Evans, another by Jaylen Laudermilk — to seize control before halftime. Brett Starling drilled a 25-yard field goal to pull Hampton within one after the first fumble, and MarShawn Ferguson Jr. capped the comeback with an 8-yard end-around touchdown after the second fumble to give the Pirates a 27-21 lead with 1:29 left in the second quarter.
“Play with passion, not emotion,” Boykin said when asked what was the message to the team after going down two scores. “When we play with passion, that’s what we do. When you play with emotion, good things don’t happen for you.”
Norfolk State receiver DreSean Kendrick (5) accelerates along the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown. Hampton faced Norfolk State in the Battle of the Bay at Armstrong Stadium in Hampton, Virginia, on Oct. 4, 2025. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot)
Hampton never trailed again from there, extending the lead to 34-24 with a four-yard run by Jah’Kei Chavis with 6:46 left in the third.
Norfolk State (1-5) made one last push late in the fourth quarter when QB Otto Kuhns connected with TE Ikeem Wright for an 18-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 34-31. But Hampton answered right back as QB Braden Davis broke free for a 21-yard scoring run to make it 41-31. The Spartans added a field goal to pull within a touchdown, but the defense couldn’t come up with the crucial stop needed to give the offense another shot.
“When we got the ball back, we ended with the football,” Boykin said. “We did everything we were supposed to do to make sure they never got the ball back after that last score.”
Hampton’s Davis completed 16 of 28 passes for 202 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while rushing for 64 yards and a score on 14 carries. Goldsmith led the backfield with 75 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Meanwhile, the Spartans blew a two-score lead for the second straight week, and the collapse followed a familiar script.
“When I can look back at these games and see those reasons why, then I can look in the future and say, ‘If those things don’t happen, we got a chance at winning the game,’” NSU coach Michael Vick said.
NSU got going early as Kuhns found DreSean Kendrick for a 65-yard catch-and-run touchdown less than five minutes into the game, then connected with Laudermilk on a 9-yard score midway through the first quarter.
A short touchdown run by Evans extended the lead to 21-10 early in the second, but from there, everything unraveled.
The Spartans’ lack of discipline and ball security — recurring issues this season — again proved costly. NSU committed a season-high 17 penalties for 154 yards and turned the ball over twice, much to the chagrin of Vick.
“You have so many yards in penalties once again — it’s probably the reason I’m sitting here in the mood that I’m in,” Vick said. “We got to find ways to do better, and it has got to start with us. But we got to find ways to to put it all together.”
Evans finished with 93 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, while Kuhns completed 15 of 26 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns. Kendrick led the wideouts with 120 yards and a touchdown on two catches.
The Pirates’ win brings them a bit closer in the all-time series, now 30-29-1 in favor of Norfolk State with Hampton taking the last two meetings.
Hampton returns home next Saturday (Oct. 11) to host Campbell, while Norfolk State wraps up its three-game road trip at Wofford before heading into its bye week.
