Battle of the Real HU

Before my current writing life, there was The Hilltop, Howard University’s and the Nation’s Oldest Black Collegiate Newspaper, where many of the questions and themes I still explore first found their voice. What follows are my early published works, preserved in their original form.

From The Hilltop Archives

Originally published in The Hilltop, Howard University — September 16th, 2003

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Battle of the Real HU

After a rainy start, the sun finally emerged Saturday afternoon in Greene Stadium, illuminating a victorious Hampton football team. The Pirates retained their bragging rights with a 14-17 win before a crowd of 10,500 jeering football fans. 

"I believe in Rocky [Alessandro Marchsini]. I thought he could tie the game for us and we could go into overtime with the momentum and win. We've seen him hit field goals from 55 yards," Bison football coach Ray Petty said.

Marchesini missed a 52-yard field goal attempt that would have tied Saturday's contest and ultimately given the Bison a one-game lead in the series rivalry dating back to 1924. Instead, the win gives the Pirates a slight 40-39-1 advantage. 

The Bison were in position to tie or win the game late in the fourth quarter because of the defense. The tag-team of senior safety Vontrae Long and sophomore cornerback Antoine Bethea forced the Pirates to turn the ball over five times.

After the Bison began the second quarter, Long redeemed the offense on the Pirate's ensuing possession by picking off Pirate quarterback Timothy Frazier's pass.

Bethea, on the other hand, didn't force any take-aways; they simply came to him.

"I was in the right place at the right time," Bethea said. 

If the right place and right time means scooping up three fumbles, then Bethea made lightening strike three times on the Pirates. 

Pirate running back Rian Thompson expressed his disgust in losing two of Hampton's four fumbles.

"I felt like we were letting the offensive line down by putting the ball on the turf," Thompson said.

"You don't just fumble, somebody must have laid some wood," Pirate's Head Coach Joe Taylor said. 

Long was the carpenter forcing two fumbles; Bethea took one 35 yards for a touchdown and the other was a bit of trickery that got the Bison down to the one-yard line.

The fumble that led Bethea to lateral to a teammate didn't upset Petty. 

"We needed a score. They were trying to make a play and it looked good for the crowd," Petty said.

 

However, the concern on each of the Bison's minds and the crowd wasn't the score, but the condition of sophomore running back Keon Coleman, who went down early in the first half with what appeared to be an ankle injury.

"He's the heart of our offense when it comes to the run," Petty said.

The hard rain for most of the first quarter forced each team to stick to a solid running attack. But with the injury to Coleman, the Pirates out-rushed the Bison 269-63.

With Coleman on the sideline, the Bison still had a strong back in sophomore Jamar Smith, who rushed for 77 yards against Texas Southern last week.

The Pirates also knew what Smith was capable of and locked down the run.

Isaac Hilton, MEAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and Sports Network Second Team All-American last year, led the Pirates with six solo tackles. 

Last year, Hilton, a 6'5, 250-lb defensive end, led the conference with 13 sacks and 31 tackles for losses.

Coming off a big game against Villanova, Hilton went from a passing scheme to an attack scheme. 

"I went to a cock stance (sideways). I was able to see everything," Hilton said.

Hilton used all his senses to attack the Bison running game. He said the team studied film on the Bison and knew they were going to aggressively run the ball.

It was Hilton who turned the game around on third and goal. 

"I heard them calling the boot-leg, so I knew it was coming," Hilton said bringing Marcos Moreno down for a loss and leading to a blocked field goal. 

The Bison were there, but couldn't get over that hump.

"We needed to find a way to make one more play; that big play to get us over that hump," said senior linebacker Greg Spriggs. 

It was bittersweet for Bethea, who scored his first collegiate defensive touchdown off one of his fumble recoveries. 

"It's always good to have individual accomplishment, but at the end of the game the win is all that matters," Bethea said. 

It was nip and tuck the whole way and even in the loss the Bison were still positive.

"We never quit. We're going to play til we can't play no more," Spriggs said.

The next home game for the Bison will be homecoming, against Florida A&M on October 11th. Kickoff is set for 12 noon.