Sophomore QB Jackson Alcorn, Burlington Central rally late to edge Hampshire in FVC thriller

HAMPSHIRE – For almost 44 minutes Burlington Central sophomore quarterback Jackson Alcorn struggled in his first varsity game.

The Rockets had scored only two points on a safety and trailed Hampshire 14-2.

The young Rockets signal caller made up for his struggles during the final four minutes of the game.

Alcorn threw two touchdown passes as the Rockets rallied for an exhilarating 15-14 win over host Hampshire in Fox Valley Conference action Friday night.

Alcorn tossed a 27-yard touchdown pass to fellow sophomore LJ Kerr with 4:09 remaining. The Rockets (1-0, 1-0) missed the extra point and trailed 14-8.

First-year Central coach Brian Iossi opted for the onside kick and it was recovered by sophomore Chase Powrozek at the Hampshire 40.

With 2:39 left, Alcorn threw a perfect strike to junior Michael Person for a 31-yard touchdown. Griffin Kollhoff converted the extra point and the Rockets led by a point.

Central was able to hold on for the narrow win.

Alcorn, who completed 2 of his first 10 passes for 9 yards, was 4 of 6 to end the game for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns.

“I had a lot of nerves coming into my first varsity game,” Alcorn said. “My teammates believed in me and we didn’t quit. Michael and Lucas ran great routes to get open. It was a great win to start the season.”

Iossi was proud of his team’s comeback.

“Jackson is mature beyond his years,” Iossi said. “These kids never quit and stayed with it. I am so proud of them.”

Wasted for the Whip-Purs was the incredible effort by sophomore running back Cole Klawikowski.

Klawikowski ran for 407 yards on 45 carries with touchdown runs of 88 and 34 yards.

“He was our best running back on the frosh-soph team last year,” Hampshire coach Josh Brosman said. “We just kept feeding him. The kids are upset with the loss. We need to learn from our mistakes.”

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