HAMPTON — Virginia Union running back Jada Byers came in to Saturday night’s game with plenty of deserved acclaim, but his Hampton University counterpart Elijah Burris left Armstrong Stadium with the glory.
Burris carried 35 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns, quarterback Chris Zellous also rushed for two scores, and HU rallied past VUU 33-21.
The two teams have battled 84 times since the series began in 1906. Virginia Union holds a 42-40-3 margin in the series, but the Pirates won the last matchup 42-28 in 2021. This was only their third meeting since 1994, when Hampton left the Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association for the Division I MEAC.
Virginia Union is still in the CIAA, and Hampton is in the Coastal Athletic Association.
Hampton trailed 14-12 at halftime and 21-12 after the opening series of the third quarter, when Virginia Union went four plays and 78 yards to score a 57-yard touchdown on a pass from RJ Rosales to Reginald Vick Jr.
Hampton answered with 21 unanswered points.
Zellous and Burris both scored from 1 yard to help the Pirates take a 26-21 lead early in the fourth. Burris added a 21-yard scoring run with 3:32 for a two-possession lead.
Zellous completed 14 of 25 passes for 177 yards for Hampton (1-1), which was coming off a 30-28 loss at longtime rival Morgan State. Brennan Ridley caught a team-high six passes for 78 yards.
Byers, a Division II All-American, had 21 carries for 105 yards and two scores for Virginia Union.
The Panthers, 9-2 last year, were ranked fourth and 14th in various preseason polls this season. They lost in the D-II playoffs’ first round last year to Wingate.
