Woodstock North rattles Hampshire
The Fox Valley Conference’s first game in Fairbanks, Alaska between Hampshire and Woodstock North was a huge success, and the conference would like to hold more games in exotic locales, preferably Jamaica or Cancun.
But seriously, it only felt like Alaska in northern Woodstock, but the Thunder put the Whip-Purs’ offense in a deep freeze in a 46-14 Fox Division win.
Woodstock North (6-2, 4-1) clinched a playoff berth while eliminating any chance for Hampshire (3-5, 2-3) to make the postseason.
Woodstock North’s offense used big plays, scoring on 5 plays of 30 yards or more.
The longest play of the night, though, belonged to Hampshire’s Chris Calvin, who returned a kickoff 87 yards for the Whip-Purs’ first score.
Phil LaPointe also scored for Hampshire on a 7-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The opportunistic Thunder seemed to take advantage of every Hampshire mistake, turning each one into a scoring opportunity.
“They took advantage of everything we did,” said Hampshire coach Dan Cavanaugh. “They beat us in every facet of the game — offense, defense. They did a nice job.”
Adam Haimbaugh ran for 175 yards on just 12 carries for Woodstock North, including touchdown runs of 64 and 45 yards. Quarterback Brian Loftin added 153 yards on just 8 tries, including 47- and 58-yard scoring runs.
Hampshire went with a running-back-by-committee approach, with 5 players gaining at least 18 yards. Fullback Nick Kielbasa led the way with 49 yards on 16 carries. Calvin added 42 yards from scrimmage and LaPointe chipped in 31 yards.
Woodstock North led 13-0 after one quarter, thanks to Loftin, who scored on a 47-yard bootleg, then tossed a scoring pass. Grant Bender blocked the extra point, however.
Grant Wade’s 1-yard run made it 19-0, but Hampshire got it back quickly when Calvin scooped up the ensuing kickoff at his own 13 and zigzagged his way up the field.
The Thunder added one more score when the snap sailed over the head of Kielbasa in punt formation, handing Woodstock North the ball at the Hampshire 4. Wade scored 2 plays later.
It took Woodstock North just 3 plays to score after intermission, with Haimbaugh covering the final 64 yards in 1 play. After that, Hampshire drove to North’s 13-yard line, but was stopped on downs.