Preview: Hampshire at Richmond-Burton

When: 7 p.m. today at R-B Athletic Complex

Last year: Richmond-Burton 28, Hampshire 27

Last week: Hampshire 20, Byron 6; Richmond-Burton 21, Winnebago 0

Outlook: Hampshire has been showing steady improvement over the past two weeks and hopes to continue the trend with a good showing against a tough Richmond-Burton squad. "This week will really tell us a lot about ourselves," Hampshire coach Dan Cavanaugh said. "They're probably the biggest team we've played, physically, and they run a similar offense but theirs is more a double-tight wing-T than ours. We're a little familiar with that, but it's going to be a physical matchup for us." A win tonight is key if Hampshire expects to compete for the Big Northern-East title. The Whip-Purs earned their first victory last week after 3 close losses by amassing 438 total yards and holding Byron to 168. Senior fullback Joe Moore rushed for 154 yards and junior Caleb Kendricks ran for 140 on 11 carries behind an offensive line that dominated the line of scrimmage. Kendricks has been a pleasant surprise. A transfer from Texas, he starts on the defensive line and alternates at running back with junior Ron Laramie. Like Hampshire, Richmond-Burton is coming off its first win of the season, thanks to solid play by its offensive line. Those blockers paved the way for Kenneth Riordan to rush for 61 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half against Winnebago and for Justin Russell to run for 112 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown. R-B has beaten Hampshire each of the last three seasons.