Dundee-Crown spoils Hampshire’s homecoming for Fox Valley Conference win

HAMPSHIRE – Leon Metcalf was in the right place at the right time.

The Dundee-Crown defensive back picked off a Ryan Prowicz pass at the 22-yard line with 1:33 left and raced 65 yards to the Hampshire 15-yard line. The Chargers offense then ran out the clock and D-C earned a hard-fought 21-16 win and spoiled Hampshire’s homecoming in a Fox Valley Conference game Friday night.

“It feels great,” said Metcalf. “We were physical and aggressive. It has been a tough season. This is a great win.”

Coach Mike Steinhaus appreciated his defense’s effort.

“Leon made a great play and I thought he could take it the distance,” said the D-C coach. “Our defense was great.”

The Chargers (2-5, 2-5) led 21-10 at halftime courtesy of 3-yard and 71-yard touchdown runs by Ed Bailey, who gained 114 yards on 11 carries.

Quarterback Hayden DeMarsh threw a 9-yard TD pass to Terrion Spencer.

Bailey absorbed a knee injury during the first half and didn’t play during the final 24 minutes.

The next man up for the Chargers was running back Kadin Malone, who bulldozed his way to 81 yards on 17 carries.

“When Ed went down I had to step up,” said Malone. “I just run hard and the offensive line was awesome.”

D-C, which ran for 274 yards, got a great effort from the offensive line, which included Josh Anderson, Mike Weightman, Eric Perez, Alejandro Gonzalez and Teigen Moreno.

“The offensive line did a great job and opened some big holes,” Steinhaus said. “We have had some adversity and the kids rose above it. We have great kids.”

DeMarsh completed 8-of-11 passes for 81 yards and a TD.

Spencer caught 3 passes for 25 yards and a TD and Max Backhaus snared 2 passes for 27 yards.

In a losing cause, Hampshire’s bruising fullback Cole Klawikowski gained 150 yards on 20 carries. He had a 58-yard run in the first quarter.

“He had a big run early in the game but we held him down after that,” said Steinhaus. “He is a good back.”