Hampshire falls to Prairie Ridge

Hampshire's postseason starts next week.

After falling to Prairie Ridge 28-20 in a Fox Valley Conference Fox Division game Friday night, it's now win or go home for the Whip-Purs.

Hampshire (3-4) must win its final 2 games at Crystal Lake Central and at home against Woodstock to have a shot at the playoffs.

"It's round one for us now," said Hampshire coach Mike Brasile. "Playoff atmosphere's a great time."

Friday night it was a case of missed opportunities, as Hampshire failed to capitalize on 3 trips into the red zone. Nicholas Greenberg intercepted Matt Bridges twice, and the Whips missed a short field goal.

Still, the Whips had a chance at the end. Trailing 28-13, Bridges completed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Nick See with 1:14 left. But the Wolves covered up the onside kick and ran out the clock.

"That was something we saw open, and we knew we needed to score quickly," said Brasile.

"It goes back to missed opportunities. We had a second-and-1 and we can't get a first down, a few turnovers down here in the red zone. That just seems to be the way we're doing things."

Mason Fleury ran for 123 yards and a touchdown for Hampshire. Bridges threw for 115 yards and added 75 yards and a TD rushing.

Statistically, the game was close to a tossup. Each team had 18 first downs. Hampshire rushed for 228 yards to 227 for the visitors. The Whips had the edge in passing yards, but Prairie Ridge dominated time of possession, especially in the first half, with its triple-option attack.

Fullback Emmanuel Ebirim ran for 110 yards, all in the first half, including picking up some key third-down conversion to keep Hampshire's offense off the field.

With quarterback Brett Covalt throwing and running for scores and Ebirim scoring on a short run, Prairie Ridge led 21-7 at halftime.

But Hampshire took the second half kickoff and moved 57 yards on just 6 plays, with Fleury finishing it off with a 19-yard run around left end.

Prairie Ridge answered with a 1-yard run by Nathan Griffin to go up 28-13, but Hampshire wasn't done yet.

After a short punt, Hampshire took over in Prairie Ridge territory. Josh Koch's diving catch of a Bridges pass set the Whips up at the PR 20. After 3 straight incompletions, Bridges connected with See straight over the middle.