Grayslake C. tops Hampshire

Friday night certainly was a rude welcome to the Fox Valley Conference for the Hampshire football team.

Grayslake Central scored 28 first-half points, held the Whip-Purs to 157 yards of offense and cruised to a 34-0 FVC Fox Division victory in Hampshire.

“We know what we are in for. It’s no surprise,” Hampshire coach Dan Cavanaugh said. “The speed of that game, we should learn from that.”

The speed of the Rams showed on the first play from scrimmage. Joey Valdivia was hit behind the line for what could have been a 6-yard loss. Valdivia broke a couple tackles, cut back to the right, got up field before coming back to the left for a 47-yard gain. Five plays later, Ray Beckman connected with Jon Gurchak for a 7-yard touchdown, the first of four touchdown passes for Beckman.

“We’ve got some playmakers on both sides of the ball,” Rams coach Nick Goshe said. “Luckily for us, those guys got some touches and made big plays. That’s what we expect.”

Grayslake Central (3-0, 1-0) went up 14-0 on a screen pass from Beckman to Valdivia, who took it 64 yards for a score with 11:22 remaining in the first half.

Beckman hit Valdivia in the flat for a 9-yard touchdown with 2:45 left in the second quarter for a 21-0 lead. Hampshire (0-3, 0-1) went three-and-out giving the ball back to the Rams with 1:39 left. Beckman hit Vince Smith for a 24-yard gain down to the Whip-Purs’ 27. After two incompletions, Beckman and Gurchak connected for a 27-yard touchdown and a 28-0 lead with 33.9 seconds remaining in the first half.

In the half, the Rams gained 285 yards. The Whip-Purs had just 72.

“They are a good football team,” Cavanaugh said. “There’s a reason why they are one of the contenders for the top of this division.”

In the third quarter, Hampshire ran 24 offensive plays compared to just five for Grayslake Central. But the Whip-Purs got inside the Rams’ 20-yard line for just one play.

“Our kids run and hit. That’s the name of our game,” Goshe said. “We don’t give up big plays. That’s our theme.”

Davonte Jennings had a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown with 1:49 remaining in the game to complete the scoring.

Beckman was 10-for-17 for 182 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Valdivia finished with 103 yards rushing on eight carries and had three catches for 73 yards.

Hampshire finished with 157 yards of offense. Chase Lundry had 80 rushing yards on 23 carries.