Cary-Grove outlasts Hampshire

Updated: September 17, 2011 7:55PM

Hampshire coach Dan Cavanaugh doesn’t believe in moral victories, but he couldn’t help but be happy with the way his team played on the road Saturday against Fox Valley Conference powerhouse Cary-Grove in a crossover game. The Whip-Purs hung with the Trojans in the first half before finally succumbing to Cary-Grove’s overwhelming speed and depth in a 35-6 loss.

“You come into one of the best teams in the state and play them toe-to-toe — we have a lot of positives to come away with,” Cavanaugh said.

The Whips (0-4) had first-and-goal inside the 5-yard line twice in the first quarter, but turned the ball over on downs one drive, and quarterback Kyle Anderson had a pass intercepted in the end zone on the second.
“Our offense did a nice job getting the ball and getting field position,” Cavanaugh said. “That’s been a problem this year — getting it on the doorstep and not being able to push it in. With that said, they have a great defense and I’m proud of the way our guys battled them all game long.”

After Hampshire fumbled on its own 1-yard line, the Trojans (3-1) gave their homecoming crowd something to cheer about after junior quarterback Quinn Baker took a sneak up the middle for a 7-0 lead with 5:58 left in the first half.
This asfter Quinn took over for senior Corey Laktas after three drives.

“We’re fortunate we have two good quarterbacks,” said C-G coach Brad Seaburg. “Quinn was reading things a little better and making plays and we stuck with him this game. We were rotating them the first two games a little bit.”

The Trojans pushed the lead to 14-0 with 0:49 left in the half after Quinn took another keeper, this time for an 11-yard score.

“It hurts when it’s 7-0 with a couple minutes left in the half and they put that drive together,” Cavanaugh said.

The Trojans put the Whips away in the second half. On its first play from scrimmage, Quinn raced 90 yards for a touchdown and a comfortable 21-0 lead. Later, he added a 17-yard score to finish with four touchdowns and 197 yards rushing. Cary-Grove tallied 396 yards of total offense, while Hampshire put up 221 yards.

“Defensively, it’s like holding back this tidal wave, and we fought and fought,” Cavanaugh said. “Every once in a while they’re gonna break a big one.”

Down 35-0 in the fourth quarter, the Whips finally cashed in a long drive. With workhorse running back Chase Lundry leading the way, Hampshire capped a 16-play 73-yard drive with a 4-yard Lundry touchdown run. Lundry finished with 103 yards on 24 carries.

“They play very hard and we saw it on film,” Seaburg said about Hampshire. “They’ve just got more guys going both ways and that’s the unfortunate thing with low numbers, but they play very hard.”

With the loss, Hampshire has now lost eight in a row dating back to last year and 11 of its last 12.

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