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Hampshire, Burlington Central both hurting

There's good news and bad news for injury plagued Hampshire heading into Friday's home game against Prairie Ridge.

The bad news? Quarterback Nick Mohlman is again considered "day to day but most likely out," according to coach Mike Brasile.

Mohlman, who has completed 55 of 81 attempts for 714 yards, 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, left a Week 5 win at Urbana after he was hit low while attempting to pass. He sat out last week's 21-9 loss to league-leading Woodstock North. That setback dropped the Whip-Purs to 3-3 overall, 1-2 in the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division.

Senior Matt Bridges (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) stepped in at quarterback last week and completed 13 of 25 attempts for 150 yards. He was intercepted twice. Bridges is expected to get the nod against Prairie Ridge.

"We're all right at that position with Bridges at quarterback," Brasile said Wednesday. "He does a nice job and can throw the ball. We really have to mix the run and the pass to keep (Prairie Ridge) off balance. We'll have to take advantage of what they give us."

Further complicating matters, Hampshire running back Devontae Johnson left last week's contest with a knee injury and is expected to miss the Prairie Ridge game. The 5-foot-8, 170-pound senior is scheduled to undergo a MRI next Monday, his coach said. Against Urbana, Johnson rushed 21 times for 238 yards.

The good news? All five members of Hampshire's starting offensive line are healthy and are expected play together for the first time this season on Friday. The unit of junior left tackle Payton Mull (6-1, 195), senior left guard Gader Bulow (6-2, 200), junior center Matt Kielbasa (6-2, 280), senior right guard Nick Wojciechowski (5-10, 240) and junior right tackle Bobby Pearson (6-1, 240) is finally injury free.

Kielbasa missed the season opener, Mull and Pearson each missed a game due to injury and Bulow missed a couple of games with a dislocated elbow.

"We've been banged up across the board," Brasile said. "We hear Prairie Ridge is pretty banged up, too, so we'll see who's got what left. We're both limping into this thing. Unfortunately, we've had some injuries of late, but I think we still have enough to win."

Rockets grounded: Burlington Central (4-2) has won 4 straight games and remains tied for first place in the Big Northern East with Johnsburg with identical 4-0 league records, but the team's roster depth will be tested in coming weeks by a combination of mounting injuries and suspensions.

Not only has junior running back Jason Berango joined a growing injury list - he will miss Friday's game against Richmond-Burton due to a knee injury he aggravated in last week's 21-13 victory at Marengo - the Rockets will take on Richmond-Burton this Friday minus six players who are facing suspensions of at least one week due to code of conduct violations, Central coach Rich Crabel confirmed on Tuesday.

Three players facing suspensions are starters. Combined with the injuries to Berango, fullback Dan Le and three-year linebacker Cole Roach and the loss of another player due to academic ineligibility, the Rockets have lost seven starters in two weeks.

"We're scrambling right now, moving some people around," Crabel said. "I think we'll still be OK. The kids that are available are still really good kids. We've still got our core out there. It just means now more kids are playing both ways. We can't allow it to be a distraction. We just have to keep doing our thing."

Asked about the pending suspensions Wednesday, Burlington Central athletic director Steve Diversey said he could not comment on an ongoing matter.

Defensive standouts: Two Elgin Area District U-46 football players turned in huge games on the defensive side of the ball in victories last Friday.

Bartlett junior cornerback Cameron Mays forced 2 fumbles and hauled in 2 interceptions, including one he returned 75 yards for a touchdown, as the Hawks posted a school record 7 turnovers in a 23-20 overtime win against Glenbard East to improve to 3-3.

"Earlier in the year he had another fumble return for a touchdown so he's been active," Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said. "I was really happy with the way our defense came out and pursued to the ball and how they got off the ball. We made headway getting into the backfield with 6 tackles for loss and a couple of sacks."

The other top performance of the week came from Streamwood's Tae Reetz. Normally a safety, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound junior filled in for an injured teammate at middle linebacker with dynamic results.

Reetz, who on offense carried the ball 15 times for 51 yards and a touchdown, registered 4 sacks and created a turnover when he stripped Elgin quarterback Dontrell Gaddy of the ball at the Elgin 7-yard line. Defensive lineman Johan Exline scooped up the fumble and returned it for a touchdown to give the Sabres a 28-6, third-quarter lead. They went on to win 28-18 to notch their second win of the season.

Quote of the week: "It starts in practice. Each practice we work hard, we get better. We haven't had a bad practice yet. That's where it starts and it translates out on the game field." - Cary-Grove senior, two-way lineman Trevor Ruhland on the key to the Trojans' 6-0 start.

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