HAMPSHIRE – Hampshire beat Grayslake Central 40-17 on Friday night behind both wide receiver Xavier Bennett and quarterback Jake Vincent.
A rambunctious crowd ignited the team to pull away in the fourth quarter. Jared Lund returned a blocked field goal 89 yards after it was deflected by Brady McMorris late in the fourth quarter that iced the Rams.
“We had some turnovers and we had some adversity, but we stuck together," Hampshire coach Mike Brasile said. "The defense came up huge for us again. That’s what this whole sport is all about just guys coming together and working together for a common goal.”
Bennett put the moves on the defense and shook, shimmied, and rolled his way to 156 yards receiving. Vincent added his own flare putting up a monstrous 328 yards passing.
Bennett credited his performance to his whole team.
“We fight as a team, we win as a team,” Vincent said. “The (offensive linemen) do an outstanding job blocking for me. Without them, we wouldn’t be anywhere.”
The scoreboard certainly did not reflect how the Whip-Purs (2-1, 1-1 FVC Fox) played, causing eight Rams (0-3, 0-2 FVC Fox) turnovers and raking up the scoring going the other way. As always, Brasile has some concerns going into next week’s game against Huntley.
“There’s a lot of concerns for them,” Brasile said. “They’re a big team, it’s someone that we have to compete with every year now. As of next year, all teams will be a part of the Fox Valley Conference. They’re a team that’s a stonesthrow away from here and I think they will be a pretty natural rival. We have to show them that we can play with those guys. It’s going to be a great opportunity to make a statement.”