Scouting Hampshire at Burlington Central

Hampshire (1-4, 1-0) at Burlington Central (0-5, 0-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday at Rocket Hill

Last year: Hampshire 12, Burlington Central 9

Last week: Hampshire 21, North Boone 20; Richmond-Burton 34, Burlington Central 0

Outlook: Once more, with feeling. The rivalry between the Rockets and the Whip-Purs will live on after tonight, but this game marks the last time these longtime opponents will compete in a conference game. Hampshire moves from the Big Northern East to the Fox Valley Conference next year, but the schools will preserve their rivalry by meeting in season openers, beginning in 2011. Each team has played a brutal schedule to this point. Hampshire's opponents own a combined record of 19-6, but no team in the state has faced quite the Murderer's Row Central has. The Rockets' previous five opponents sport a combined record of 25-0, and four of them Sycamore, Kaneland, Stillman Valley and Richmond-Burton are ranked this week in Class 5A or 4A. Last week, the Rockets played better than the final score indicated. They were within 7-0 of powerful Richmond-Burton at halftime before third-quarter turnovers allowed R-B to gain separation. "We thought we played our best half of football against Richmond-Burton," Central coach Aaron Wichman said. "We have to try to carry as much of that momentum over as we can. I was pleased with how we moved the ball offensively. We had a 17-play drive and an 11-play drive, but on both we were not able to punch it in. We controlled the clock and the line of scrimmage. Due to turnovers we put our defense in a tough position at our own 30 and 35." The Whip-Purs earned their first win of the season last week at North Boone and sit tied atop the BNE at 1-0. Junior quarterback Chase Lundry may have won himself a job after the backup rushed 25 times for 142 yards and threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Nick Holze. Quarterback Bryan Roberts, previously a two-way starter, will be eased back into the lineup against the Rockets as a safety. Running back Mike Kuefner is coming off a productive outing. The senior rushed for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns on 30 carries. "We've got a little confidence coming out of the North Boone game," Whips coach Dan Cavanaugh said. "We played well on both sides of the ball. We have to play good defense and keep (Central) from running that veer option right down our throat. They can move the ball; They've shown it. We have to do what we can to keep from giving up the big play." The Whup-Purs get a lift from the return of junior linebacker Nick Antonacci, who will play for the first time this season following off-season surgery. Hampshire has won the last 2 meetings, though Central leads the all-time series 24-16.