Hampshire's in its element with win at Grayslake C.
With a steady rain and 44-degree temperatures at kickoff, visiting Hampshire wanted to set the tone early in this Fox Valley Conference football game at Grayslake Central on Friday night.
Mission accomplished.
The Whip-Purs built a 10-0 lead after one quarter before taking a comfortable 24-7 lead into halftime in this FVC Fox Division battle.
From there, Hampshire (2-1, 1-1) played smart football as the Whip-Purs secured a 31-14 victory behind a big-play offense led by senior quarterback Nick Mohlman and junior running back Xavier Bennett.
Hampshire's Mike Palazzolo recovered a fumble by Grayslake Central quarterback Luke Shepherd early in the first quarter to set up the Whip-Purs first score on the Rams' homecoming night.
Taking over at the Grayslake Central 15, Hampshire had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Jose Hernandez for a 3-0 lead 5:40 into the contest.
After Grayslake Central (0-3, 0-2) had its ensuing drive stall, the Whip-Purs (2-1, 1-1) got their hurry-up offense going with a quick, two-play scoring drive.
Mohlman (18-for-26. 188 yards) started out with a 33-yard pass to junior Jake Manning to take the ball down to the Central 20.
On the next play, Bennett caught a pass in the right flat, made a quick juggling act with the ball above his head, and raced 20 yards for the TD and a 10-0 lead with 2:02 left in the first quarter.
The score remained 10-0 until Mohlman hit Manning with a perfectly thrown low TD pass on fourth-and-goal from the 2. Manning caught the ball just above the wet field turf in the right corner of the end zone for a 17-0 advantage 2:42 before halftime.
The Rams were able to respond strongly to that score as Shepherd marched his squad quickly down field with a 21-yard keeper ultimately putting the ball on the 1-yard-line.
Shepherd scored on a 1-yard plunge before Kevin Dunk's extra point cut the gap to 17-7 just 1:19 before the intermission.
But then came the real back-breaker for Central as Bennett fielded the ensuing kickoff on his own 5 and headed for the right sideline into the open field. That is where Bennett managed to outrun the final two defenders en route to the end zone for a 95-yard kickoff return and a much more comfortable 24-7 lead.
"I just try to make big plays, and I couldn't do it without my team," said Bennett. "The blocking was on point and that is the reason I got my big plays. We work hard in practice and that is paying off in games."
A huge turnover on a backwards lateral turned the momentum in the Rams' direction right away in the third quarter as Central's Mike Shallenberg recovered the ball deep in Hampshire territory.
Sophomore running back Mike Andrews (84 yards on 18 carries) made a key 6-yard-run on third down to give the Rams first-and-goal from the 1 before Shepherd's second 1-yard TD run made the score 24-14 just 3:15 into the second half.
But that is as close as Central would get as Hampshire's defense kept the Rams at bay the rest of the contest.
"We dug ourselves a hole, but our offensive line did a good job for our sophomore (Andrews) running the ball," said Grayslake Central coach Jason Schaal. "I give credit to Hampshire - their coach is doing a great job and they took advantage of the opportunities they had."
The Whip-Purs added a 9-yard TD pass from Mohlman to Bennett going over the middle for a 31-14 lead with 4:22 left in the third quarter to account for the final score.
Mohlman did injure his left leg on Hampshire's next drive late in the third quarter and he did not return. Hampshire coach Mike Brasile was unsure of the severity of the injury, but he will know more on Saturday as Mohlman remained on the sideline for the rest of the game in favor of back-up quarterback Jared Lund.
"It's a long bus ride for us and they were excited for homecoming so we knew they would be ready to play," said Brasile. "We knew we would have to put some points on the board and Nick (Mohlman) really did a nice job. Xavier (Bennett) is a quick little kid, he's a kid who has worked his tail off this summer, and he's got some moves."