THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 17, 1995 TAG: 9509170187
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
For Eddie Robinson, 400 will have to wait.
The Hampton Pirates kept the Grambling legend from taking a step closer to a victory milestone Saturday night, grinding out a 16-7 win over the Tigers in front of 61,023 in the Whitney M. Young Classic at Giants Stadium.
Most of the buildup to the game centered on Robinson's quest for his 400th coaching victory, a number no other college coach has come close to approaching.
Robinson entered the contest with 398 wins, and the smart money had him playing for No. 400 next week against Central State. ESPN2 even issued a press release announcing that it has obtained exclusive rights to the milestone victory, ``which could come next Saturday'' the release said.
But that calculus overlooked a Hampton team that felt it had something to prove after losing to Howard last week, a setback that ended an eight-game wining streak.
``We had gotten a little fat in the head,'' linebacker Kevin Williams said. ``It was definitely a wake-up call.''
Saturday night, it was Grambling (1-1) that appeared to be slumbering, particularly on offense. The Tigers, helped by a woeful Hampton punting game, started eight drives inside the Pirate 50. They scored only once.
``It just wasn't clicking,'' Grambling quarterback Kendrick Nord. ``We had it down there three or four times and couldn't score.''
Nord, the pre-season player of the year in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, was the source of much of Grambling's troubles. He completed just 10 of 30 passes and frequently missed open receivers.
``I don't think you saw the real Nord,'' Robinson said. ``What happened, I don't know.''
Credit must go to a Hampton defense that spent most of the night in its own half of the field. The Pirates (2-1) turned Grambling away on downs inside the 30 three times. The defense essentially clinched the game with two minutes left by knocking out Nord, who left with possibly broken ribs.
``We always tell the defense: bleed slow,'' Hampton coach Joe Taylor said. ``Make sure every yard you give up is tough yardage.''
Hampton's defense had to be good because its punting game was terrible. Starter Todd Covington bobbled two snaps early, and was tackled for big losses on both plays. Covington was hurt on the second play, and was replaced by Matt Williams, who had his first attempt blocked. Williams also failed to get off two other punts after his protection broke down. Again, both miscues resulted in big losses.
``I don't know what the problem was,'' Taylor said. ``I'm going to find out.''
How sweetly ironic, then, that the play of the game turned out to be a blocked punt - a Hampton block. With the Pirates leading 9-7 with 7:30 left in the third, Malcolm Benson spiked a Brannon Simpson punt near midfield. Josef Manley scooped it up and ran 56 yards for a touchdown.
Hampton had gone up 9-7 on a 14-yard by Anthony Smith, who was called upon when tailback Lamonte Still left the game late in the first quarter with a knee injury. Hampton was having trouble moving the ball when Smith came in and ran 34 yards on his first carry. He finished the game with 86 yards on 14 carries.
``I called his number myself a couple of times,'' Hampton quarterback Sekou Wilson said. ``He wanted to run the ball, so let him run the ball.''
Wilson himself was filling in for the injured Williams, who bruised his left shoulder against Howard. The fifth-year senior was just 9 of 20 for 109 yards, but he was 7 of 10 in the second half, when he kept a pair of Hampton drives going with big third-down completions.
``He deserved to play tonight, instead of Matt Williams,'' Taylor said. ``It was good to see that we have two guys that can play quarterback.''
Hampton's win was its second in three years over Grambling, which has missed this annual gamebenefiting the New York Urban League, only once since 1968.
``When y'all come out next year, we're going to be smoking,'' Robinson promised.
INJURY IN THE STANDS: At least 22 people were injured Saturday after they fell on top of one another on an escalator at Giants Stadium that was reportedly being blocked by band members from Hampton University.
The band had just gotten off the field prior to the start of the game and had ascended stairs on the way to seats in the lower tier.
A stadium spokeswoman said they were in formation and blocking the up escalator leading from the ground level to the lower tier. People on the escalator could not get off, she said.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS by CNB