Hawk seniors leave program better than they found it

Drake Schafer didn’t know it at the time, but Hampton’s 49-7 win over Santee turned out to be his final high school football game. 
But what a show the Hawk senior went out on. Schafer totaled three interceptions, two of them pick sixes in the rout of Santee. 
While its a tough ending for a playoff-caliber team, this season is still a success for the Hawks, and that comes back to Schafer and his teammates. 
First of all, Hampton’s football team won all of the games it was supposed to win. That hasn’t been the case in previous years and is a giant step forward. 
While it’s not an excuse, all four of Hampton’s losses in 2021 were to playoff teams. Turn any one of those into wins and the Hawks are still on the practice field right now. 
Still, when you look at the turnaround of the Hampton Hawks, it can be hard to believe. 
For Schafer and his teammates, the Hawks only won three games combined over their first three seasons of football. One of those was an 0-8 campaign. 
This year alone, the Hawks won four times. 
Back a few years ago, there were several games Hampton couldn’t play because of low numbers. There were even a few that were called off at halftime because of injuries, as Hampton didn’t have enough players to continue. 
Schafer was part of that. He took a ton of those big hits as a freshman and sophomore, the types of hits that make you cringe when you see them, hoping the offensive player even gets up. 
For some reason, though, Schafer always got off the carpet. Tougher than most.
Even Schafer’s senior year, he gets banged up with a hand injury, taking him out of the quarterback position after just two games. 
Yet, No. 5 had his hand wrapped up in what looked like a giant club and continued to be Hampton’s best defensive player. 
Back in 2019, I put Schafer, a sophomore at the time, in a list of top 10 football players in the area. It was a list he deserved to be on and has shown over the years to not make me look bad in that regard. 
I wrote at the time, “There’s no breaking his effort, no matter how hard you hit him.” 
Still holds true. 
Schafer isn’t solely responsible for Hampton’s turnaround on the gridiron. Neither is their coach, Carson Klute, who came during Schafer’s sophomore season. 
It was a collective effort, a mindset shift, a dedication to get better and the will to improve. 
“That comes down to seniors. We had a great group this year that bought in and proved themselves outside of football. Those guys took care of things so we could focus on football,” Klute said. “It took a few years to get rolling in that direction, but our seniors led the way with preparation. I really appreciate them and that trickled down. It had a different feel this year and hopefully our guys that are coming back enjoyed that so we can continue with it.” 
You could see it on the field. In pregame warmups. During timeouts. Even postgame huddles. 
Hampton was dialed in to everything their coaches had to say. They were fired up during warmups, having the look and feel of a playoff team. 
They took their coaches’ words to heart and executed that on the field. 
Maybe moreso than anything, the Hawks looked like they were having fun on the field. That’s something that didn’t look right in previous years. 
Now, it’s about sustaining that feeling. 
“These seniors left this program a lot better than they found it,” Klute added. “I told them that in the huddle. That should be everyone’s goal. If we can take lessons from that, we’ll be fine.”
Thanks for the ride, No. 5. 
***
If the Huskies play anything like they did Friday night against Seward in the playoffs, there will be some hardware waiting by Thanksgiving. 
Sure, a lot can happen between now and Nov. 22, but who doesn’t want to see Aurora get another crack at top-seeded Bennington? I know the Huskies would like one more shot. 
Aurora has one of the best running schemes in the class and one of its best tandems in Carlos Collazo and Mack Owens. 
While the run game will have a huge impact on how far Aurora goes, the defense may be playing as well as any facet. 
In four games during the regular season, the Huskies held its opponent to under 150 yards. That included Friday’s contest against a ranked Seward team. 
For a team that’s built a tunnel wave of momentum on a seven-game win streak, it will be tough for any foe to knock Aurora off its track. Much like tackling either Collazo or Owens. 
Let the new season begin. 
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.