Hampton fell in a heartbreaker Friday night.
The Bulldogs dropped a 35-31 decision to South Greene on Rebel Hill after the Rebels erased a 10-point deficit in the closing quarter – including the game-winning score with 28.8 seconds remaining. With the loss, Hampton falls to 6-1 overall.
It was a heavyweight battle from the opening kick.
The Bulldogs got on the board first as Conor Jones ran in from 30 yards out. Michael Harrison added the extra point to give HHS a 7-0 lead with 6:15 left in the first. South Greene answered the Bulldog score in the closing seconds of the opening stanza as Luke Myers scored on a 33-yard run and the extra point tied the game up at 7-7 after 12 minutes of action.
Hampton was awarded a safety early in the second after the Rebels were called for holding in the end zone and then added to the advantage as Morgan Lyons caught a Jones pass for a 30-yard touchdown.
Harrison’s extra point gave Hampton a 17-7 halftime lead.
The Rebels opened the second half with a big play.
Jalen Ingram took the second-half kickoff 86 yards for the touchdown as SG trimmed the Hampton lead to three points. The Bulldogs, however, answered with a Jones touchdown from a yard out to go back up 10 points.
The back-and-forth battle continued as Corey Houser caught a Myers pass for a 39-yard touchdown as SG pulled back within three with 4:03 remaining in the third quarter. That score held to the end of the third as Hampton maintained a 24-21 lead going to the fourth.
The Bulldogs added to their lead just over two minutes into the quarter as Lyons scored on a three-yard touchdown as Hampton held a 31-21 lead with 9:49 to play.
South Greene marched down the field on the ensuing drive, but a fumble at the Hampton 1 ended the drive. The Bulldogs, however, were forced to punt to the Rebels – who scored five plays later to trim the lead.
Hampton was unable to extend their next drive and the Bulldogs punted with 1:43 remaining.
South Greene moved quickly as they scored in five plays to take the lead on a two-yard run from Myer.
The Bulldogs were unable to rally back in the closing seconds despite a hard-fought effort.
Jones ended the night with over 200 total yards as he recorded 154 rushing yards and 46 passing yards. Aidan Vines had 73 yards rushing, while Lyons had 65 total offensive yards.
Myer finished with 286 total yards – 204 through the air and 82 on the ground.
Hampton is slated to travel to Volunteer next Friday night.
