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CARPENTERSVILLE – Hampshire struggled to stop Dundee-Crown running back Greg Williams for most of the night.
But when the Whip-Purs needed it most, they managed to get Williams on a fourth-and-2 play.
Following the defensive gem, quarterback Jake Vincent and wide receiver Jared Hornbeck hooked up for a 40-yard gain and running back Danny Tuzak finished off the comeback with a 4-yard run as Hampshire defeated D-C, 35-28, in their Fox Valley Conference opener Friday night.
Williams carried 53 times for 389 yards and three touchdowns for the Chargers, who had a 28-21 lead in the fourth quarter. But Vincent, who was 24 of 32 for 348 yards with three touchdowns, all to Hornbeck, led the Whips back.
Hampshire (1-0 overall, 1-0 FVC) was playing its first intra-District 300 opponent, while D-C (0-1, 0-1) was opening against a foe other than Elgin for the first time since 2007.
“Dundee-Crown has had a lot of success in their first game over the past four years,” Hampshire head coach Mike Brasile said. “We knew we were going to be up for a dogfight … I wasn't expecting that kind of a fight."
D-C went with what had worked most of the game on the big stop. The Chargers could have driven for the winning score with a new set of downs.
“Our biggest thing was that we had to get off blocks,” Brasile said. “(We) also had to shut down some of those traps and pulling guards. It was more like, can we just contain (Williams)?”
After that stop, Vincent went back to work with Hornbeck, who caught 11 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns.
“Originally, it was a post, but I saw the safety sitting high so I had to run a skinny,” Hornbeck said. “If I sat on it, the probably would've picked it off. It's great to open the season off with a win. But, we’ve got work to do this week.”
It was something the Whips have grown accustomed to seeing.
“They've been doing it for a long time together, since they were in Pee-Wee,” Brasile said. “When you have a relationship like that, they just look at each other and they know what they're doing.”
Unsung hero:
Jacob Detiveaux, jr, DL
Detiveaux intercepted Dundee-Crown QB Conor Ryan's final pass to seal the comeback win for Hampshire. The Whip-Purs, who had trouble stopping Charger running back Greg Williams all night, needed one final play from their defense, and Detiveaux was there to spoil the Dundee-Crown home opener.
Quick Stats
Dundee-Crown 0 14 7 7 - 28
Hampshire 7 7 7 14 - 35
First quarter
Hampshire: Hornbeck 5 pass from Vincent.
Second quarter
Dundee-Crown: Greg Williams 5 run.
Hampshire: Hornbeck 10 pass from Vincent.
Dundee-Crown: Williams 10 run.
Third quarter
Hampshire: Hornbeck 29 pass from Vincent.
Dundee-Crown: Williams 6 yard run.
Fourth quarter
Dundee-Crown: Donte Gholston 19 yard from Ryan.
Hampshire: Tuzak 10 run.
Hampshire: Tuzak 4 run .
And Another Thing …
Dundee-Crown had a fourth-and-2 situation at Hampshire’s 19-yard line with 3:00 to play in the fourth quarter. Had Chargers running back Greg Williams gotten over on that fourth down, D-C very well may have walked off its home field with a win. However, Hampshire held tight and set up its offense for the comeback victory.