Rockets run past Whips

HAMPSHIRE -- Burlington Central got a major boost from some unlikely sources Friday.

Trailing by a point late in the third quarter, freshman Tim Maroder scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Rockets on a 52-yard run.

Then with Hampshire driving deep into Central territory in the fourth quarter, sophomore Kevin Kellish broke up a third-down pass from Whip-Purs quarterback Trace Teboda to tight end T.J. Burzak in the end zone before Maroder deflected another Teboda pass intended for Burzak on the next play to thwart Hampshire's scoring chance.

The underclassmen's contributions -- combined with an overall stout defensive effort and another strong game from Central quarterback Dan Hagberg -- lifted the Rockets to an 18-7 win.

The victory sets up a showdown between Central and Harvard next week that will decide the Big Northern Conference East Division title. The Rockets also clinched their seventh trip to the playoffs in eight years with the win.

"Those were huge plays by kids that don't have a lot of varsity experience," Central coach Aaron Wichman said. "Kevin Kellish is a sophomore and Tim Maroder is a freshman by age, but not by experience any more. To their credit they were making big plays."

Defense ruled in the first half as Central (6-2, 4-0) inched out to a 6-0 halftime lead. The Rockets held Hampshire to three first downs and only 63 yards of total offense in the first two quarters.

But the Whips turned things around on their first drive of the second half, marching 74 yards in 10 plays to take a 7-6 lead on Joe Moore's 5-yard touchdown run with 5:16 left in the third quarter.

The score remained the same until late in the third quarter when Central took possession at its own 48-yard line after a Hampshire punt. On the first play of the drive, Maroder came across on a sweep and took off down the right sideline for a 52-yard scoring run to put the Rockets ahead 12-7.

"We didn't really plan on running the sweep this game, but I guess (offensive coordinator Jeff Herman) saw it there," Maroder said. "I had a great block by my receiver Jordan Schreiber and I just took off."

Hampshire (4-4, 1-3) appeared poised to respond on its next possession after marching to the Central 15-yard line. However, on third-and-8 Teboda rolled out to his left and fired a pass to Burzak in the end zone that Kellish managed to knock away.

On fourth down Teboda located Burzak on the right sideline, but Maroder snuck a hand in front of Burzak and tipped the ball out of bounds to force a turnover on downs.

"We moved the ball and we had our chances," Hampshire coach Dan Cavanaugh said. "I'll give (Central) credit because they batted down the pass a couple times in big situations."

Hampshire had another chance to regain the lead after Central went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, but the Whips could move the ball no further than the Rockets' 34-yard line.

Needing only a few first downs to ice the game, a penalty and two short runs left Central facing third-and-12 on its next drive. That's when Hagberg sealed the outcome when he broke free down the left sideline for a 61-yard touchdown run with 1:25 to play.

"Hampshire is always well coached and they did a good job of taking away our offense," Wichman said. "A few big plays is how we scored. In games like this when both sides are getting after it, that's normally how it works out. Somebody is going to make the big play."

Hagberg finished with a game-high 172 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. All of the Rockets' 278 yards came on the ground.

After completing only 2 of 9 passes in the first half, Teboda managed to finish 8 of 22 for 111 yards. Burzak caught four passes for 64 yards. Hampshire finished with 217 yards of offense and only 106 rushing yards on 38 carries.

"(Central) double teamed T.J. so it was hard to work with him," Teboda said. "They also played really good 'D' against our wideouts."

The win was Central's eighth in nine meetings with Hampshire. The Whips must win next week against winless Marengo to become playoff eligible.