HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Christopher Zellous accounted for four touchdowns and Hampton held off Grambling 35-31 on Saturday as the teams opened their seasons in the inaugural Brick City HBCU Classic at Red Bull Arena.

Zellous broke loose for touchdown runs from 22 and 11 yards in the second half, the later stretching Hampton's lead to 35-25 with 3:08 remaining. Chance Williams' 3-yard plunge into the end zone capped the scoring, but Grambling couldn't convert the ensuing onside kick.

Zellous also threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and finished 14 of 25 for 155 yards passing to go with 114 yards rushing on 15 carries. Darran Butts added 103 yards on the ground with a 40-yard touchdown run.

Myles Crawley was 25-of-38 passing for 311 yards and threw two touchdown passes to lead Grambling. Lyndon Rash caught eight passes for 90 yards and a touchdown.

Hampton has won the last six in the series, yet it was the first meeting since 2006. Grambling's last win against the Pirates was in 1994.

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll