Hampshire 2-0 for first time since 2007
When the Hampshire football team needed a sustained drive Friday night, it got one.
The Whip-Purs saw their lead on DeKalb cut to 2, 28-26, with 4:42 remaining in the third quarter. Hampshire responded with a 15-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Tim Jansen’s jumping touchdown catch after the Whip-Purs took 7:32 off the clock.
The score gave Hampshire a 9-point lead and that was enough to hang on for a 35-34 nonconference victory over the Barbs in Hampshire.
“That was pretty big for our motivation,” said Jansen, who had 5 receptions for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns. “It motivated us to keep going and not to quit.”
Hampshire (2-0) had touchdown drives of 2, 4 and 6 plays before its extended scoring drive that made it a two-score game. Jansen caught 2 passes on the drive. The other 13 plays were on the ground. Nick Kielbasa had 7 carries for 38 yards during the drive.
“We took some time off the clock,” Hampshire coach Dan Cavanaugh said. “What we want to be able to do is pound the football, pound the football. That was huge taking some time off and putting up another score.”
Chris Calvin got the Whip-Purs going on the second play from scrimmage, scoring on a 74-yard touchdown run. Kielbasa, who finished with 175 yards on 33 carries, gave Hampshire a 14-0 lead with an 8-yard touchdown run with 5:59 remaining in the first quarter.
DeKalb (1-1) cut the deficit to 14-12 after 2 touchdown runs from quarterback Jack Sauter.
Nick Mohlman hit Jansen for a 34-yard touchdown with 1:29 remaining in the first half as the Whip-Purs took a 21-12 halftime lead.
Barbs star running back Dre Brown, who was held to 85 yards on 10 carries, had his only big run, a 58-yard touchdown, less than 2 minutes into the third. Kielbasa increased the lead to 10, 28-18, with an 11-yard score with 8:04 remaining in the third.
Sauter hit Rudy Lopez for a 9-yard score to cut the Whip-Purs’ lead to 28-26 before Hampshire’s key drive.
The Barbs scored with 1:25 remaining when Lopez recovered Sauter’s fumble in the end zone. A 2-point conversion got DeKalb within 1, 35-34. Hampshire’s Trey Schramm recovered the ensuing onside kick, allowing the Whip-Purs to run out the clock.
The victory makes Hampshire 2-0 for the first time since 2007.
“This group is really a hardworking group,” Cavanaugh said. “They get confidence from that. They don’t back down when it gets tough.”
Calvin finished with 141 yards on 10 carries. Mohlman went 9-for-10 for 152 yards.