Hampshire’s Nick Terry underthrew the football on Nov. 24, 1995, all but conceding an interception.

It was a play the quarterback practiced and perfected during practice at Northern Illinois University in the days leading up to the 1995 Class 2A state football championship against Moweaqua Central A&M.

But this time, on the AstroTurf field at Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium in Normal, he underthrew it a good 10 to 15 yards short.

Two plays before, Terry threw a wobbler to Adam McCarthy, who tipped the ball up and tried to catch it on the way down before the ball fell harmlessly out of bounds.

“These guys must be good volleyball players,” you can hear color commentator Bill Gourley say on the IHSA Archives footage.  “… Not a passing quarterback,” announcer Jim Blaney added.

The Whip-Purs, a double-wing offense led by offensive lineman-defensive end Andy Olsen fullback Mike Meyer and running backs Bill Seyller and Andy Brock, had moments earlier recovered a fumble at the Central A&M 39 and were trying for a quick six in the final minute before halftime with the score tied at 6.

The next play, Terry rolled to his left, took a shot to the chin, tossed short and was nearly picked off.

Then, on his third attempt, a sure interception in double coverage turned into the game’s defining moment, as two Raiders’ defenders converged and collided and Paul Wleklinski, never losing sight of the ball, plucked the ball out of the air down the left sideline and sprinted in for the score.

Hampshire went on to win, 20-18, finishing a perfect 14-0 and securing its first championship since the powerhouse teams of the 1970s won two titles in 1976 and 1979 under Ron Ellett.

“Sports is 95 percent effort and 5 percent luck,” recalled Terry, a senior that year, who now lives in New York. “From my perspective, you look at it in retrospect and say, ‘The offensive line did a great job, nobody touched me; the receiver ran a good route, he got a step; and I underthrew the football.’ [Wleklinski] made a great play to adjust, and we got a little lucky. You can say, 'They’re just lucky; or you can say, ‘Sometimes you earn your luck.’ ”

Lucky or not, the ’95 team will be honored Friday at halftime of the Whips’ homecoming game against Urbana. It will be the first time that many of the players and coaches have seen each other since a gathering for coach Dan Cavanaugh, who retired after the 2013 season and 25 years at Hampshire.

Cavanaugh, who took a year off from coaching and now volunteers at Westminster Christian, said what he remembers most about the ’95 season was how the community rallied around the team.

“It was always more than a football game,” said Cavanaugh, who had a 120-121 record at Hampshire. “I guess that’s the way to put it. It was such a community event; it seemed like the whole town came down to watch us.”

There were other big plays, too.

Late in the fourth quarter, after Central A&M cut Hampshire’s lead to 20-18 with 3:35 left, a 5-foot-10 Wleklinski broke up a two-point conversion pass, outmaneuvering 6-foot-5 Mike Root.

Earlier in the quarter, Andy Brock recovered his second of two A&M fumbles and returned it 15 yards for a 20-12 Hampshire lead. He also fell on the ball before Wleklinski’s score before half.

Leading up to the state championship, Hampshire beat Byron, 16-7, Aurora Central Catholic, 14-8, and No. 1 Rockridge, 20-14. In the semifinals against Paxton-Buckley-Loda, Hampshire’s Jason Ormond forced a fumble at the Whips’ 1 with 51 seconds remaining, preserving a 7-6 win and a trip to Normal.

The Whips’ defense thrived all year, as Hampshire outscored its opponents, 346-40, in nine regular-season games, pitching three shutouts and never allowing more than eight points.

“All of the guys, we’d been playing together since peewee (football),” said David McCarthy, who, along with Thompson, played middle linebacker and led the defense. “We weren’t really a big group of guys, but our defense was probably the fastest out there. I mean, our defensive lineman were probably 140 pounds soaking wet, but they were quick off the ball.”

Hampshire only had 24 players on the state championship team, with seven going both ways.

About 20 players and coaches are expected to attend Friday's ceremony. They’ll receive a plaque with a team photo, including names of all 24 players and coaches, as well as the scores from the memorable postseason.

It won’t be much different from when the team unanimously voted 20 years ago not to name offensive and defensive MVPs; instead, they voted to recognize the team for future generations to see.

“That year, there were no individuals,” Cavanaugh said. “They all voted to put the entire team on the plaque for MVP. That’s the kind of group they were … In the back of our minds, we knew we had a really good team and we knew we were going to go a really long way.”