Hampton named Mr. Football

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The celebration to “bring it back to 1800” turned into Owensboro High School handing off the Kentucky Mr. Football trophy off to senior running back Evan Hampton.

Hampton was named Mr. Football by the Kentucky Football Coaches Association on Wednesday. The award was announced to a standing ovation at the OHS gym, where the Celebrating Champions at 1800 was going on for the Class 5-A state football championship team.

He became the first OHS player to win the award in the school’s storied football history.

Teammates and friends gathered around Evan for photos with his Mr. Football award in front of the big inflatable Red Devil tunnel that was set up in the gym.

Hampton didn’t find out he’d won until right before the award was being brought to him by OHS assistant coach Will Barnes, who is also on the KFCA.

“They told me Marlon Harbin from St. Xavier had won it; I thought I’d lost it,” Hampton said. “It was a relief. It’s been a somewhat stressful week, considering all the awards and things. I give all the glory to my teammates; this is a team award even though it has my name on it; it’s a reflection on our season.

“It means a lot, all the workouts, time and effort I put in to get here. But, my journey is just restarting, I’m going to get down to Nashville (Vanderbilt) and be a freshman again. I’ve got to work my tail off to get back up. It doesn’t stop, I’ve got to keep working.”

Hampton wrote on a green post-it note before he started high school “Mr. Football.”

“That’s been taped up in my room for six years now, it’s pretty awesome,” Hampton said.

Very few people knew of Hampton’s honor until it was announced at the Celebrating Champions event.

“We did not know,” said Heather Hampton, the mother of Evan and Eli. “I kept asking Evan and my dad if they’d heard all day long. Nobody had any idea. I am so blessed to be their mom. Evan deserves this. They have had a bond that was remarkable since birth.”

Eli was thrilled to see his brother win the statewide award.

“Words cannot describe how much pride I have for him; he’s been working for this since he was a freshman in high school,” Eli said.

There were nine finalists announced for Mr. Football, which was voted on by high school football coaches in the state.

At 6-foot, 208 pounds, Hampton had been considered a favorite by many for the award honoring the top senior high school football player in Kentucky after he put up sensational numbers during the stretch run to the state title.

What figured to put Hampton over the top was that he was a key in delivering the state championship for the Red Devils. Hampton has signed to play football at Vanderbilt.

“He’s a great example of what a student-athlete should be,” said OHS assistant coach Drew Hall, a former football great himself for the Red Devils. “He does everything the right way; he works hard. He’s a leader on the team. His hard work has paid off. I’m not going to lie, I teared up when I found out he was Mr. Football. He’s the best player in the state.”

OHS head coach DaMarcus Ganaway Sr., was also thrilled to see the work pay off for Evan Hampton.

“Emotional,” Ganaway said. “Just because you saw his emotion, the team’s emotion, we all saw how hard he worked. We also know how special he is. Everybody rallied around him, too. It meant a lot to the entire team that he is Mr. Football.”

These were the numbers Hampton finished with in his senior season. Hampton was the Most Valuable Player in the Class 5-A championship game, and that bodes well for his chances at being named Kentucky Mr. Football. He’s already the Gatorade Kentucky Football Player of the Year.

Hampton ran for 108 yards and three touchdowns in the state championship game.

Hampton ran for 2,035 yards on 173 attempts, which was 11.7 yards per carry this season. He added 288 receiving yards and had 34 total touchdowns.

Those numbers were tremendous by themselves, but they were made even more phenomenal because he only had 41 rushing yards against St. Xavier and 15 rushing yards against Christian Academy-Louisville. OHS started 0-2 after losing to St. X 38-7 in Louisville and CAL 35-0 at Rash Stadium.

In five playoff games, Hampton went for 94, 76, 326, 266 and 108 yards, which totaled 870 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Hampton ended his OHS career with 5,259 rushing yards and 82 touchdowns. He should hit the KHSAA all-time rushing list with that yardage. Hampton had 6,100 all-purpose yards for OHS.

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