GRAYSLAKE – It was sloppy at times with the constant rain and chilly conditions.
But, good teams always find a way to win.
Hampshire rebounded from its loss a week ago by holding off a feisty Grayslake Central team 31-14.
"We knew it was their (Grayslake Central's) homecoming and they were going to come ready to play," Hampshire first-year head coach Mike Brasile said. "Our motto for this game with the long ride and all was 'get off the bus'."
It wasn't pretty at times but the visitors used a combination of senior quarterback Nick Mohlman's arm, a stingy defense, and special teams to improve to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the Fox Valley Fox Division. Hampshire travels to Huntley next Friday.
"We definitely need to clean some things up before we start playing the top teams in the conference," said Brasile, whose troops were flagged seven times for 80 yards. "We came away empty-handed sometimes but we were just trying to put points on the board."
Speaking of Mohlman, the senior quarterback completed 16-of-25 passes for 183 yards and his third and fourth touchdown passes of the season. Mohlman injured his leg on a running play late in the third quarter and was replaced by junior Jared Lund, who ran the offense effectively for the rest of the game. Lund completed 2-of-5 passes for 14 yards.
The defense recorded three sacks and senior linebacker Mike Palazzolo and senior defensive lineman Patrick Fleener recovered fumbles for the Whip-Purs.
Special teams was at a premium as junior Xavier Bennett returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score just before halftime to put Hampshire ahead 24-7.
Mike Palazzolo, sr., LB
Palazzolo's first quarter fumble recovery led to a first-quarter field goal and Hampshire never looked back.
The number
7:80-Hampshire posted a 31-14 victory but not before it was flagged seven times for 80 yards, something the Whip-Purs need to cut down on as it heads into the heart of the season.
The Big Play
Junior Xavier Bennett returned a kickoff 95 yards just before halftime as visiting Hampshire padded its lead to 24-7.
Hampshire 31, Grayslake Central 14
Hampshire 10-14-7-0=31
Grayslake Central 0-7-7-0=14
First quarter
Hampshire-Hernandez 26 FG, 6:20
Hampshire-X. Bennett 20 pass from Mohlman (Hernandez kick), 2:02
Second quarter
Hampshire-Adriatico 2 pass from Mohlman (Hernandez kick), 2:42
GLK Cent.-Shepherd 1 run (Dunk kick), 1:19
Hampshire-X. Bennett 95 kickoff return (Hernandez kick), 1:04
Third quarter
GLK Cent.-Shepherd 1 run ((Dunk kick), 8:45
Hampshire-X. Bennett 24 pass from Mohlman (Hernandez kick), 4:22
INDIVIDUALS STATISTICS
RUSHING–Hampshire: M. Fleury 9-24, Mohlman 10-25, X. Bennett 4-minus 11, Lund 5-32, Rojo 2-11, Curran 1-minus 14. Totals: 31-68. Grayslake Central: Andrews 16-84, Shepherd 20-minus 16, Schwartz 1-4, Ali 1-5. Totals: 38-77.
PASSING-Hampshire: Mohlman 16-25-183, Lund 2-5-14. GLK Central: Shepherd 5-17-51.
RECEIVING-Hampshire: Manning 10-97, X. Bennett 6-74, M. Fleury 1-4, Palazzolo 1-5. GLK Central: Dunk 1-18, Schwartz 1-11, Ali 1-18, Andrews 1-minus 9, Comerford 1-12.
TOTAL YARDS-Hampshire 265, GLK Central 128.