Hampshire: October 2008 Archives

It's playoff time for Hampshire, Genoa-Kingston, Bartlett, St. Charles North, St. Charles East and Huntley.

Here's a year-by-year look at the rivalry between Hampshire and Genoa-Kingston since 1984. The teams meet Friday night in Genoa in round 1 of the Class 4A Playoffs.

Of the eight classes in the state playoffs, none has a richer tradition than the Class 4A bracket when it comes to total number of state championships.

BY. R.J. GERBER
AND BRANDON MANGIA
Staff Writers

Hampshire and Genoa-Kingston don't need any introductions.

The two schools are separated by only nine miles and have a long history on the football field. And the two programs will renew their rivalry this weekend when the 11th-seeded Whip-Purs (6-3) and sixth-seeded Cogs (7-2) hook up in Genoa in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs.

MARENGO -- Six weeks ago, this type of outcome seemed highly improbable.

After starting the season 0-3, Hampshire notched its sixth win in a row with a 34-7 win over Marengo on Friday night.

The win capped the Whip-Purs' perfect 5-0 run through Big Northern Conference East play and gave them the outright division title.

An in-depth look at week 9's area contests in the BNC, FVC and SCC. The capsule for the Dundee-Crown vs. Jacobs rivalry game will be featured in a separate post.

Larkin football passed its first must-win test of the season last week, defeating Elgin in the Town Jug game.

The job gets more difficult tonight when the Royals visit Waubonsie Valley. Larkin sits at 4-4 and needs a victory to become playoff eligible.

The conference title scenarios are pretty cut and dry going into the final week of the season. Here's a look at what's on the line this weekend.

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."

It's rivalry week here in Courier country, and in my opinion there's no better week on this year's schedule.

There's something about showdowns between natural rivals -- whether they play in the same town or in neighboring communities - that always seems to bring out the best effort from players, coaches, student cheering sections and sometimes even entire communities.

This weekend, area fans can't go wrong by going out to any one of three local showdowns. On Friday, Hampshire and Burlington Central will renew pleasantries in Burlington. Meanwhile, St Charles North and St. Charles East will be squaring off on the northwest side of St. Charles. On Saturday morning, Elgin and Larkin will meet for the 48th time at Memorial Field.

So what is it that separates these games from the rest? Answering this question has a number of layers.

Here's a look at the varsity football series between Burlington Central and Hampshire since 1974.

St. Charles East coach Ted Monken is never one to shy away from a shootout.

Then again, that should come as no surprise when he's got a gunslinger like senior running back Wes Allen, who ran for six touchdowns each of the past two weeks.

Despite those heroics, the Saints could only earn a spit in those two games, beating Lake Park 42-41 in double overtime in Week 5 before dropping a 49-42, four-overtime affair against Neuqua Valley last week.

Could East be in for another wild affair this week?

It's Week 6 of the high school football season, and every team in the area is dealing with bumps and bruises.

For teams with 3-2 records like Dundee-Crown, St. Edward and St. Charles North, this week is critical as they look to give their playoff hopes a boost. However, the Chargers, Green Wave and North Stars could all be without key offensive playmakers when they take the field this weekend.