St. Edward beats Hampshire

ELGIN – For a fullback, St. Edward senior Jordan Torres sure looked nimble.

Torres ran for three touchdowns, two of which were of the long-distance variety, as the Green Wave rolled past visiting Hampshire 32-6 in Friday's season opener at Greg True Field.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Torres finished with 162 yards on 10 carries, including scoring runs of 87 and 52 yards. St. Edward's beefy offensive line also created plenty of space for the rest of the team's backs as the Wave racked up 8.6 yards per carry on a playing surface that resembled a mud pit after a week of soccer games and steady rain.

"Our holes were huge," Torres said. "Our line really stepped up all night and gave us a lot of room to run."

Added St. Edward coach Mike Rolando: "That's what we expect out of those guys (on the line). They average 230 pounds, they've got some varsity years under their belt and they've got some big running backs to follow them. In games like this they have to step up because you can't rely on the passing game. You've got to run first in the mud."

Hampshire did itself no favors by turning the ball over five times while losing its season opener to the Wave for the second straight year.

The Whips were inside the St. Edward 30-yard line on their second drive of the game when quarterback Joe Peralta was intercepted on fourth down by Nathan Gaige. Two plays later, Torres took off for an 87-yard run up the middle to put the Wave ahead 6-0.

Hampshire's ensuing possession lasted only two plays as Peralta fumbled a snap that was recovered by St. Edward sophomore Evan Finnane. The Wave wasted no time finding the end zone again as junior quarterback Ben Lehman connected with junior Sam Pozezinski for a 31-yard touchdown pass with 4:47 left in the first quarter.

The onslaught continued from that point as St. Edward built a 32-0 lead before the Whips scored their only points of the game on A.J. Sabate's 2-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

"You can't turn the ball over as many times as we did," Hampshire coach Dan Cavanaugh said. "It's a clichι, but it's true. You just can't turn the ball over that many times against a quality team."

Senior Ron Laramie led the Whips with 67 yards on nine carries. Hampshire managed only 153 yards of offense as Peralta watched from the sidelines in the second half with what Cavanaugh described as cramps.

Lehman enjoyed a productive varsity debut, completing 6 of 12 passes for 103 yards. Senior David Hoebbel also excelled out of the backfield, running for 128 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

The decisive victory marked another step in the right direction for the Wave, which has lofty expectations this year after nearly becoming playoff eligible in 2008.

"We expect to play well and we expect to come out and be competitive," Rolando said. "This team has a lot of confidence and they have a lot of experience. We're just excited about what they did on the field tonight."

ST. EDWARD 32, HAMPSHIRE 6

Hampshire     0     0     0      6    —    6

St. Edward   12    7    13     0    —   32

STED — Torres 87 run (kick failed), 5:51

STED — Pozezinski 31 pass from Lehman (run failed), 4:47

STED — Hoebbel 10 run (Jim Cholewa kick), 10:19

STED — Torres 3 run (pass failed), 8:51

STED — Torres 52 run (Jim Cholewa kick), 4:32

HAMP — Sabate 2 run (pass failed), 10:21

Team statistics             HAMP           STED

First downs                       10                    21

Comp.-att-int.                1-6-2              6-12-0

Passing yards                    10                   103

Rushing-att-yds.             38-153            42-363

Total yards                      163                   466

Fumbles-lost                    6-3                   1-1

Penalties-yards                3-15               12-103

Individual statistics

Rushing:

HAMP — Laramie 9-67, Sabate 8-37, Kuefner 5-37, Peralta 1-14, Kendrick 8-10, Burke 6-1, Smith 1-(-13).

STED — Torres 10-162, Hoebbel 17-128, Godfrey 8-49, Keokanlaya 5-23, Scholly 1-3, Lehman 1-(-2).

Passing:

HAMP — Peralta 1-6-2 10.

STED — Lehman 6-12-0 103.

Receiving:

HAMP — Burke 1-10.

STED – Von Ahnen 4-55, Pozezinski 1-31, Hoebbel 1-17