ANDOVER – The defending Division 2 state champions from Catholic Memorial came as advertised on Thursday night at Lovely Field, right from the opening kick.
Knights speedster Christian Simmons took the opening kick 90 yards to paydirt and the visitors to Lovely Field stayed on the gas, rolling to the 36-14 win over the host Warriors.
CM would build a 14-0 lead after a quarter then made it 28-0 at the half.
The Knights scored TDs on their three offensive possessions of the half.
Simmons scored on a six-yard run off tackle. Ayan Messiah had a one-yard plunge, and Ramar Thomas hauled in a 52-yard Kingston Rust TD bomb to round out the scoring in the first half.
Andover’s offense just never found its best stride in the first half against a rugged CM defense.
John Stadler hit on 7 of 18 passes before the break, and the Warriors worked one possession into the red zone before missing a field goal attempt.
The ground game struggled, picking up just 23 yards on nine tries.
After the Knights scored a safety in the third, the Warriors picked up their first points of the season.
A 90-yard march on six plays ended with Stadler throwing a 12-yard TD to Marcus DeJesus. Henry Belscher delivered the PAT, and the teams went to the fourth at 30-7.
CM substituted liberally throughout the second half, but Tony Kayrouz scored on a 42-yard keeper to make it 36-7 there.
Stadler hit DeJesus on a 40-yard bomb to set up a TD keeper of his own, this one a three-yarder to make it 36-14 with eight minutes to play.