Hampton football savors taste of victory

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, October 1, 2017 | 7:21 PM

Following his team's 24-10 victory over Chartiers Valley, Hampton quarterback and team captain Ross Andersson had to share a hug with some of his fellow seniors. The last win they had before this one was the biggest of their high school careers.

That victory — a gutty, gritty 19-14 first-round playoff victory at Montour — occurred Nov. 6, 2015.

Andersson and his senior teammates, dedicated football players such as Jesse Berzonski, Jack Bish and Tyler Steedle, were just sophomores. For a significant portion of their high school football careers — 11 regular-season games in a row — they shared anguish and frustration more than hugs and elation. It felt good to let it all go.

“It was absolutely amazing,” Andersson said. “I've won games before: Back in my youth days we had plenty of undefeated seasons. To have that junior season not winning a game was so foreign to me. We were angry about it and frustrated. That win versus (Chartiers Valley) was such a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

“We cleared the elephant in the room and said that, yeah, we can win in 5A.”

It was a tough realignment that pitted Hampton, one of the smallest Class 5A schools, against some of the bigger, more traditional powerhouses in the WPIAL. But after an offseason with a new mindset and increased numbers, coach Jacque DeMatteo and Andersson agree Hampton (2-4, 2-2) is headed in the right direction — toward the playoff hunt.

“When the state realigned everything, it was a big shock to the system,” DeMatteo said. “It was quite an adjustment for all of us. Little by little, we're making strides. We're not there yet, but we're making strides. I believe that they believe that they're going to battle.”

Those strides have manifested in the win column, despite the team's recent three-game skid that included a heartbreaking last-second loss to Moon and, most recently, a 31-21 battle with traditional powerhouse Woodland Hills.

The team has dealt with consistency and penalty issues, the latter of which is a big no-no in DeMatteo's ground-and-pound offense.

“We have to play in front of the sticks,” DeMatteo said. “We are not built to play football first-and-20 or third-and-long. We have to be in manageable downs and situations. We can't have stupid penalties, that's what kills us. It's a fine line, we have to play aggressive to the whistle, but we have to play clean.”

Still, the team has found its running game in the trio of Andersson, Steedle and Vinny Schmitt. Andersson had 134 rushing yards against Woodland Hills.

“I think Tyler and Vinny are giving some added pressure off Ross,” DeMatteo said. “And our line, if we can stay healthy, I think we have some chemistry there.”

“We had a 98-yard drive against Woodland Hills,” Andersson said. “We just have to do that consistently. I think if we can put a full 48 minutes together, as a team I think we're capable of doing that … we just have to figure out how to fit all of the pieces together, and we're going to be hard to beat.”

Hampton hopes that first complete-game effort comes against Fox Chapel (2-3, 2-4) on Friday. With both teams sporting similar conference records, playoff implications are huge and a win will be precious, particularly with the two top teams in the Allegheny Nine — Upper St. Clair and West Allegheny — looming on the Talbots schedule.

“We have to match Fox Chapel's physicality,” DeMatteo said. “They have got very physical the last couple years. The culture there has changed. They kind of remind me of what we want to do. We just have to see who can do it best.”

Devon Moore is a freelance writer.

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