Hampton came up short in the season-opening contest.
The Bulldogs fell 24-14 to Pigeon Forge in nonconference play on opening night at JC Campbell Stadium. Pigeon Forge snapped a two-game Hampton winning streak in the series with the win.
The Tigers jumped out early as Wyatt Howard threw a deep pass to set PF inside the Hampton two, and Aiden Howard scored two plays later to give the Tigers an 8-0 lead.
Hampton was unable to answer on the first drive of the game, and the teams traded possessions until the Bulldogs got on the board in the second half.
Senior Dylan Trivett capped off a Bulldog drive with a short touchdown run and added the two-point conversion as Hampton tied things up at 8-8.
The Tigers, however, pushed the lead back to 16-8 with a late second-quarter score.
Hampton continued to battle, but Pigeon Forge pushed the lead to 24-8 after three complete quarters.
The Bulldogs saw Dominique Burleson score in the fourth quarter to trim the lead. However, Hampton was unable to rally back despite a hard-fought effort.
As a team, Hampton had over 400 yards of offense in the game, but had four fumbles in the contest.
