MOLINE — Playing in its first playoff game since 2015, Hampshire was faced with big odds against No. 5 Moline in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs.
But the Whip-Purs didn’t care.
Before 10 minutes went off the clock, Hampshire was down 21-0. The lead swelled to 27-0 before Hampshire got on the board.
And it still didn’t matter.
With 2:03 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Whip-Purs had the ball for a chance to win the game. Four straight incompletions sealed Hampshire’s 48-42 loss to Moline at Browning Field, but the fight in the team was noticeable.
“They fought and battled the entire game,” Hampshire coach Jake Brosman said. “Just four years ago we weren’t winning many games, and this group made sure we got to this spot. Coming up short hurts, but putting a good physically battle like that on the field against one of the top teams in the bracket feels good.”
Down 41-21 in with 7:35 left in the third quarter, Hampshire’s Devin Yeats led a valiant comeback attempt. The senior tight end finished the game with three touchdowns and 192 rushing yards.
“Devin is a fantastic player,” Brosman said. “The last half of the year here we have had him at receiver a ton, but he was getting double teamed a lot so we had to think of ways to get him the ball. We put him in the backfield and he has been doing some pretty good things. Being able to get him the ball and let him make some plays was good to see.”
As good as Yeats was, the Moline offense was able to keep the Maroons ahead the entire game. Moline began the scoring on a fourth-and-14 from the 24-yard line. Quarterback Alec Ponder scrambled to his right and lobbed it up to tight end Colin Shults, who tip-toed his feet inside the back line for the score.
Moline scored on the same exact play later in the game, but senior receiver Matthew Bailey ran the route the second time. The Western Big 6′s receiving yards leader returned Friday after missing the last six quarters with a shoulder injury. He finished the game with 64 yards a touchdown.
But Hampshire never went away. Quarterback Tyler Fikis found receiver Zachary Vodraska wide open on the right sideline and hit him in stride for the 64-yard touchdown. Fikis found Vodraska again to make it 41-28 with 2:16 left in the third.
Down 48-35, Fikis ran 65 yards to the end zone to make it a one possession game with 3:35 remaining. The Maroons recovered the onside kick, but Hampshire forced a stop. The Whip-Purs turned the ball over on downs with 1:12 remaining and no timeouts.
“That’s just a tremendous high school football game,” Moline coach Mike Morrissey said. “There is no loser in a game like this. Those kids on the other side deserved it just as much as we did. When you play in the 7A playoffs everyone is going to be talented and everyone is going to be tough. It was no different tonight.”