Hampshire downs rival Central

Whip-Purs prevail in OT

HAMPSHIRE -- Hampshire's Ron Laramie didn't know what to say so he just repeated himself.

"We just beat Burlington on homecoming," he said. "We just beat Burlington."

With his team trailing 9-6 in overtime, the senior running back took a handoff on a fourth-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line and drove through the left side of the line to give the Whip-Purs a dramatic 12-9 overtime win over rival Burlington Central in Big Northern Conference East Division action Friday night.

That score capped off a euphoric win, which gave Hampshire its first two-game winning streak of the year and also marked the first time 1979 that Hampshire has won two straight over its rival.

In a format similar to college football, Central (3-5, 2-2) got the ball first at the Hampshire 10-yard line, and got to the 3 before settling for a 20-yard field goal from Tim Vincent to go ahead 9-6.

"After the defense held them to a field goal we knew we could score," Laramie said.

However, before Hampshire (3-5, 2-2) could even begin its game-winning drive, it was docked five yards on a delay-of-game penalty to make it first-and-goal at the 15.

"It would have been the bonehead play of the year if we hadn't come back," said Hampshire coach Dan Cavanaugh.

Quarterback Ryan Burke then attempted his seventh and final pass of the night and hooked up with fellow senior Caleb Kendrick near the right sideline for a 12-yard pass down to the 3-yard line.

"That was a good call," Burke said. "Caleb ran a good route and we had good protection and he was wide open."

Laramie then took a handoff on second down, setting up a third-and-goal from the 1. But the Rockets' defense came up big and stopped Laramie mere inches from the goal line before Laramie punched it through on fourth down.

"We knew we could move the ball," said Laramie, who finished with 53 yards on 17 carries. "The linemen made holes for that touchdown."

Central's postseason hoped ended with the defeat.

"That's about as tough as it gets," said Rockets coach Aaron Wichman. "It's frustrating. It's frustrating for the kids, the coaching staff and I'm sure it's frustrating for everyone who's a Central Rocket fan."

Early on, it looked like each team would pile up points instead of seeing the contest turn into a defensive battle.

The Whips got the ball first and drove from their 41-yard line to the Central 8, before fumbling on the quarterback-center exchange on first-and-goal.

Central made it 6-0 with 7:03 left in the second quarter after quarterback Tim Maroder (16 carries for 55 yards) capped a 92-yard, 20-play drive that consumed 10:16 with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Hampshire then went three-and-out but got the ball right back after Central muffed the punt to give the Whips the ball at Central's 12-yard line. Three plays later, Laramie punched it in from 2 yards out to tie the game at 6.

Central looked for another scoring drive before halftime but Laramie ripped the ball out of the hands of Central running back Tre Llanes at Hampshire's 46-yard line.

Despite the turnover, Llanes rushed for a game-high 132 yards on 25 carries.

Each team saw time-consuming second-half drives stall, setting up the dramatic overtime finish.

"Our defense played a great game," Cavanaugh said. "Shut them out in the second half. To do this on our homecoming is nice. It's a great rivalry. I have a lot of respect for BC and (consecutive wins over Central) hasn't happened in awhile."

HAMPSHIRE 12, BURLINGTON CENTRAL 9

Central           0    6    0    0    3   --   9

Hampshire      0    6    0    0    6   --  12

Central – Maroder 2 run (kick failed) 7:03

Hampshire – Laramie 2 run (kick failed) 4:13

Central – FG Vincent 20

Hampshire – Laramie 1 run (no kick)

Team statistics           BC         Hamp

First downs                   16             15

Comp. att- int              1-5-1       3-7-1

Passing yards                 4              35

Rush att-yard             51-217     44-146

Total yards                   221           181

Fumbles-lost                 3-2           1-1

Penalties-yards             4-25         6-50

Individual stats

Rushing

Hampshire – Laramie 17-53, Kendrick 13-31, Kuefner 7-33, Burke 7-29

Central – Llanes 25-132, Maroder 16-55, Westergaard 10-30

Passing

Hampshire – Burke 3-7-1 35

Central – Maroder 1-5-1 4

Receiving

Hampshire – Kendrick 1-12, Quesada 1-9, Wienke 1-14

Central – Kellenberger 2-4