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McConnell's big day can't save Andover

Saturday, October, 04 By David Willis
Staff writer

ANDOVER — The opportunity was there for Andover.

The Golden Warriors had unbeaten Billerica at fourth-and-10 with 2:11 left to play near midfield. But despite heavy pressure by Andover, the Indians completed the pass and ran out the clock for a 35-27 win last night.

“That was a killer,” said Andover coach Ken Maglio. “We came out in a funk in the first half, but we were a different team in the second half.”

The Golden Warriors trailed 28-13 at the break. But they cut into the lead on the first play of the second half when John Hennessy hit Chris McConnell on a 6-yard touchdown pass.

The Indians responded with a score of their own on brilliant freshman Nicholas Laspada’s third TD pass of the night. They then started another drive, but Matt Washburn recovered a fumble. Six plays later, Hennessy hit McConnell on an out, and the track star used his speed to turn and outrun the defender for a 17-yard TD.

But Billerica recovered the onside kick, and managed a pair of first downs to run out the clock.

“We made some very impressive plays in the second half,” said Maglio. “We can play with any team in the MVC if we are focused. But we need to work on focusing. We didn’t come out to play early.”

It was a breakout game for juniors Hennessy and McConnell. The quarterback was 18-for-35 passing for a career-high 255 yards and four touchdowns, also a career best. Those numbers would have been better had it not been for a few drops, and a long pass that was called back for a block in the back.

Three of those scores went to McConnell, who set career highs in catches (7) and yards (101). He also showed stellar moves, faking out a number of defenders. His previous career highs were six catches for 62 yards in Week 2 against Boston College High School. Ryan Peek also stood out, catching four passes for 63 yards including the first score.

“They are very athletic and very quick,” said Billerica coach Peter Flynn. “I lost a lot of sleep worrying about that offense. They have speed and ability.”

Star defensive lineman Andrew Lebowitz led the Golden Warriors with 10 tackles. Washburn was next with eight, Jake Lebowitz had six and Nick Sylvester, Kevin Baroni and Steven LaFortune each made four stops.

Andover struggled with penalties. The Golden Warriors committed four personal fouls in the first half, and had the long pass play to Peek called back.