The Night the Lights Went Out

This story originally appeared in our Saturday Newsletter, but we run it here, on its own in case it got buried for you. Hampton will play its final regular season game on Friday against Santee and await their playoff fate on Saturday morning when playoff brackets are released.

“I hope them Friday night lights stay on; I hope them backroad tires keep burning; I hope that line out the church stays long; I hope them ole turn rows keep turning.” — from Small Forever by George Birge and Brantley Gilbert

It’s a day — a night, maybe — that many small towns in Nebraska have faced over the years. The fact that stares them straight in the eye that it’s time. That who you are can no longer support football on your own.

It’s just that it’s never been my town. Hampton, population 432. Same sign, ever since the day we moved there on a warm July day in 1985, so dad could coach football in the toughest little 8-man conference in the state.

But it was our time last night. And, sometimes you are grateful that you get to say goodbye. These Hawks will co-op with Heartland next year. They’ve already done it in everything else; they’ll be on the basketball court together soon enough.

Football, however, has been our own this fall.

These current Hawks — who are ranked 8th in the nebpreps Coaches Poll — moved to 6-1 with a 73-20 beat down of Ansley/Litchfield here on Friday. Over 100 former players — state finalists and dad’s guys and my buddies and many in between — making the trip here to say one last goodbye.

How these small towns change was evident on both sides of the field on Friday. I remember vividly “coach” taking me to my first state championship game in 1985 — Ansley against Bancroft-Rosalie at the city park in Ansley along Highway 2.

“I didn’t think about football very much this week,” Hampton coach Jereme Jones admits to me after the game. His players didn’t seem phased much, sprinting to a 42-7 halftime lead before they honored the former Hawks on the field.

“Probably didn’t think about this game until about 5:30. So much to get organized and plan.”

There wasn’t much to start with in Hampton this fall; 12 or 13 players Jones estimated. The Hawks, who have played six-man since 2016, have been decimated this year by season-ending injuries.

“I think we are going to be down to eight healthy guys after tonight,” Jones said. And, the playoffs — believe it or not — are coming for this final group. They sit on the fringe of turning these lights on one more time. A home playoff game.

“The goal was the playoffs. We thought we could be a team that had a chance to be 7-1. But, I thought we’d have Wyatt (Dose) at quarterback. I thought we’d have Noah (Miller) at center. I thought we’d have Kyler (Rojewski). He played tonight with a torn ligament in his thumb and he’s got to have surgery next week, so he’ll be done.”

No matter. These Hawks are still fighting in mid-October. It’s just how we’ve always done it.

So, Landen Rojewski — a sophomore — caught four touchdown passes from Landen Hanson — also a sophomore — and also ran for scores of 33 and 8 yards. Hampton never gave the Spartans a chance. Hanson, the backup, I guess, threw for six touchdowns and 245 yards on the night.

“They just keep stepping up,” Jones said. “I love these guys. They just give me everything they have every day.”

That’s how it is in Hampton. A village that raised me and so many others. And, while some have chosen to stay, others have gone to many other places and been successful. Many of us buoyed by the lessons we learned on the football field down 5th Street, where the sun set behind a barren corn field on Friday night.

And, while it may have taken the team and the purple jerseys with it for the final time it won’t ever take the lessons of hard work and togetherness and community and fighting for the guy next you.

Maybe that’s why it’s so hard to turn the lights off.

If your school is looking to upgrade their GameDay experience or get students ready for an introduction into digital media, the Striv team is ready to help. Striv AV and Striv Education can help your school take their digital and social media to the next level while giving students hands on learning tools for the real world. The Striv team is a proud supporter of Nebraska High School athletics.