RallyNorth.net

Struggles on defense, in red zone doom Andover

Thursday, September, 16 By David Willis
Staff writer

ANDOVER — The start was perfect for Andover. But then the trouble started.

Pat Farnham took the game’s opened kickoff and ran it back 95 yards for a touchdown, but Gloucester responded by scoring on four of its next five possessions and went on to down the Golden Warriors 38-13 last night in a game played on Thursday due to the Yom Kippur holiday.

“We did a lot of things wrong early,” said Andover head coach E.J. Perry. “We have a lot of things that we need to correct.”

Gloucester, the reigning Division 1A Super Bowl champions, entered the game ranked No. 4 in Eastern Mass.

“We’re aggravated,” said Andover quad-captain Ned Deane. “I have never seen a team execute like they did. But we didn’t come out hitting like we should have. We came out with some fire in the second half, but it was too late.”

The Golden Warriors could do little to slow down the Gloucester offense in the first half. The Fishermen struck for 282 total yards, including 198 on the ground, in the first two quarters led by bruising fullback Jordan Shairs (15 carries, 134 yards). The lone stop for the Blue and Gold in the first half came on an interception by Mark Zavrl.

Andover’s offense also struggled in the red zone. Twice in the first half, and three times in the game, the Golden Warriors drove inside the Gloucester 10-yard line only to come away without a point.

“We made it in the red zone three times and ended up with nothing,” said Perry. “You can’t do that. This is an offense you know is going to score points, so you have to respond on offense. You can’t keep putting the defense out there. That’s where we have to start our work.”

Eagle-Tribune track All-Star Farnham delivered the highlight for the Golden Warriors on the opening kickoff, flying through a small crease and scampering untouched into the end zone.

Andover quarterback Tom Dempsey finished the day 12 of 30 for 138 yards and Andover’s other score, a 9-yard touchdown pass to Ben McQuaide on the game’s final play. McQuaide finished the day with five catches for 76 yards, both team-highs.

Running back Andy Coke added 16 carries for 72 yards, and completed his only pass while playing Wildcat quarterback.

The Golden Warrior defense tightened in the second half against primarily the Gloucester starters, allowing just 29 rushing yards and 76 in the air, most on a 48 yard touchdown.

“We didn’t give up,” said Deane. “We never give up, and came our with some fire in the second half. But we still had penalties and didn’t play well enough.”

Deane once again led Andover with 11 tackles, while junior defensive back Fred Scribner added nine stops, Lyle Baker and Will Keller each made six tackles and Connor Clancy had five stops.

The Golden Warriors open their Merrimack Valley Conference schedule next Friday when they host Tewksbury (1-0), which will host Lawrence tomorrow afternoon.

“We reacted well,” said Perry. “But we have a lot of work to do. We’ll learn from this game, then erase it from our minds. We’ll be ready for next well.”