Quiet and unassuming, but also tough.
Those are the characteristics that define the 2008 Hampshire football team and its leader, senior James Goebbert.
Not one to crave the spotlight, Goebbert did all the little things to help the Whip-Purs knock off rival Burlington Central 21-0 on Friday night in Burlington.
On special teams, Goebbert did his best impersonation of his favorite player, Bears return man Devin Hester. Goebbert returned the opening kickoff to midfield. When he fielded a punt at midfield after Central's first possession, he returned the ball to the Rockets 16-yard line. After that, Central punter Tim Maroder kicked the ball away from Goebbert for the rest of the night.
On offense, Goebbert snared an eight-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter on a throw lofted high in the air by quarterback Evan Brenner into the back left corner of the end zone. He also led the Whips in rushing with 87 yards on 12 carries.
On defense, Goebbert led a defensive secondary that kept Central quarterback Tim Botsford and the Rockets' new-look passing attack grounded for much of the night.
Not bad for a guy who had big shoes to fill when his older brother Jake graduated in the spring of 2006 with enough memories to last a lifetime after a successful run as a three-sport standout at Hampshire.
Jake Goebbert, who now plays baseball at Northwestern, forewarned my co-worker R.J. Gerber a few years back that his younger brother James is the better athlete between the two brothers.
James himself is a successful three-sport athlete, but there's little doubt he's not as comfortable in the spotlight as his older brother. Unlike Jake, who was the spokesman for his talented class of 2006, James does most of his work behind the scenes. He's not the basketball team's biggest scorer or the baseball team's biggest slugger, but don't be surprised if both those squads enjoy success this year the way the football team is now.
At times it seems like Hampshire's entire team is made up of James Goebberts. Senior quarterback Evan Brenner is a quiet leader who gets the job done on offense, special teams and defense. The same can be said of seniors Joe Moore, Bo Price, Matt Kuefner, Lucas Meyer, Jerry Eckler and Ron Bronke as well as juniors Ryan Burke, Caleb Kendricks and Ron Laramie. I might be missing a few in there, but it isn't hard on this Hampshire team where no player seems to want to be the big star.
Jake Goebbert was in attendance Friday like he has been most games this fall. He had to be pleased with what he saw as Hampshire took down the Rockets for the first time since Jake Goebbert's 2005 team accomplished the task. The Whip-Purs also clinched at least a share of their first Big Northern Conference crown since that 2005, a point that wasn't lost on the younger Goebbert.
"My brother was a senior when we beat them and now I'm a senior when we beat them," Goebbert said with a big grin. "It's great to beat them, and it's better to win the conference."
