Division I prospect Messiah Hampton scored twice in helping his James Monroe Red Jackets cruise to a 54-0 victory over visiting Wilson Saturday afternoon.

Hampton's touchdown came receiving and rushing. The junior receiver caught three passes for 85 yards and a touchdown, and added a 15-yard rushing touchdown to his resume. Hampton doesn't need many touches to make big plays for Monroe coach Terrell Cunningham's Red Jackets. No wonder why Michigan, Ohio State, Syracuse made the three star's top 10 list of schools last month. Hampton is the No. 1 ranked receiver in New York state.

Hampton and this years Monroe crew appear to be on a similar war path on their move up to Class A this fall. The Red Jackets led Wilson (1-0) at halftime 38-0 before putting on the brakes in the seconds half. In Week 1, Monroe routed reigning Section VI Class A champion Clarence 42-14.

The Red Jackets, who improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in Section V Class A competition after plowing through their Class B slate en route to the state semifinals in 2023, has not allowed a Section V team to score on them in over a year. Last season, Monroe defeated Honeoye Falls-Lima 54-6 on Sept. 8, 2023 before shutting out the rest of their local opponents.

In Monroe's win over Clarence last week, Hampton had five touches for 87 yards rushing and receiving, and reached the end zone on a pair of two-point conversions, which featured a screen pass he took 20 yards through numerous Red Devil defenders for the score.

-- Marquel Slaughter is a journalist for the Democrat and Chronicle, specializing in high school sports. He won numerous Associated Press and NYNPA awards for his work in print and broadcasting throughout his 15-year career as a reporter. Follow him @MarquelSports and X and Instagram. You can email him at [email protected].