CTK 67
Holy Cross 61
Rob Hampton tried for years to get his mother’s permission to play football, but she would never relent.
“It was always a battle,” the Chris the King senior said. “Finally, this year, she said OK.”
The 6-4, 180-pound Hampton proved a quick study, earning second team All-CHSFL honors as a wide receiver. The real benefit, however, may be coming now.
“I feel so much stronger this year,” Hampton said. “Those football pads weigh a lot, so when you don’t have them on, you feel light. Other guys are tired at the end of games like these, but not me.”
Hampton wound up with a team-high 17 points as CTK held off Holy Cross, 67-61, at Bishop Ford last night to capture its first Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan championship since 2003.
The Royals, who were the top seed in the tournament, now get one of the two No. 1 seeds in the league’s intersectional tournament and get a bye into the CHSAA AA quarterfinals next week.
They appeared to be cruising to an easy victory, up 52-31 in the third quarter, but the second-seeded Knights made a run and cut their deficit to 65-61 with 16 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Laurence Jolicouer. But sophomore Erving Walker sank a pair of free throws with 13 seconds to go to help seal the win.
Walker was one of four Royals to score in double figures, finishing with 11 points, as N.C. State-bound senior Larry Davis (12 points) spread the wealth. Hampton took the most advantage and Davis wasn’t surprised.
“He catches all my passes and finishes,” said Davis, whom coach Bob Oliva praised for how well he got his teammates involved. “He’s a great wide receiver. Those stats count for me, too.”
They are stats that may not have been there if Hampton hadn’t picked up football.
“Guys jump on you all the time on purpose in football and you have to deal with it,” said Hampton, who will likely play only basketball in college. “So when you get bumped out here, it’s not as big a deal.”
Hampton’s success is nothing new to Oliva.
“He hasn’t flown under my radar,” Oliva said of Hampton. “This is how he’s been for the last two years.”
Hampton said that Oliva wasn’t completely enthusiastic about his foray onto the gridiron this year, since both knew that the Royals were among the favorites to contend for the CHSAA title this season.
“He told me he wasn’t going to stop me and to do what I wanted,” Hampton said. “But [he told me] just try not to get hurt and we’ll be waiting for you.”