HOLDEN — After taking it on the chin each of the past two weeks, losing to Central Catholic and Tewksbury by a combined 79-34, the plan for Andover High in Friday night’s Division 1 state tournament opener was simple: start out fast.
On the first play from scrimmage Marcus DeJesus took the ball 40 yards which set up Kyle Olson’s 13-yard touchdown and the No. 11 Golden Warriors never looked back, cruising past No. 6 Wachusett Regional, 29-9.
“That run set the tone for us. We wanted to come out fast and that was our plan all along. Our kids were ready and they just played out of their minds,” said Andover coach Jay Fielding. “This is such a huge win for our program and I finally feel like we executed in all three phases.”
The win pushes Andover (6-3) to the state quarterfinals where the Warriors will travel to take on No. 3 Xaverian on Friday (6 p.m.).
“This win feels great and we’re going to celebrate for 24 hours and then get ready for film and practice and prepare for Xaverian,” said senior Jackson Fuller.
Andover ran a no-huddle offense on that first drive which worked to perfection — five plays, 80-yards in just 79 seconds.
“We wanted to throw the kitchen sink in there,” said Fielding. “We wanted to be aggressive on offense and defense. That’s a real good program over there. They are in this playoff picture every single year.”
Andover got a big boost from sophomore placekicker Henry Belscher who connected on 3 of 4 field goal tries from 28, 23 and 32 yards, while he also booted two PATs.
“I just take my steps, visualize what I’m going to do and I don’t hear anything,” said Belscher, “and then I just swing and kick it. Last year I had three field goals and eleven points against Haverhill. It’s just amazing and pretty crazy to do it again.”
Defensively, Andover regrouped from the past two weeks.
“The last two weeks wasn’t us on defense,” said Fuller. “We had a very locked in week of practice. We came in here and knew exactly what they were going to run so it was on us to play our system and execute.”
Early in the second quarter, Fuller, from his defensive end spot, busted through the Mountaineers’ (7-2) defensive line and came up with a big QB sack.
“That was a great play call by our coaches. It was the right call at the right time. I just had to get in there clean. I near-footed him and got him.”
Andover’s defense held Wachusett’s running game to just 37 yards, while Nick IIsley and Owen Cote came up with interceptions.
“We had to get back to basics,” said Fielding. “We got back to basics and had a great week of practice to get ready for this. We have four starters out but had so many kids step up and play fantastic.”
DeJesus finished with 102 rushing yards with a TD and Olson threw for 109 yards including a TD pass to Rodrigo Sequeira and rushed for 80.
Andover 29, Wachusett 9First Quarter
A: Kyle Olson 11 run (pass failed)
W: Jack Hehir 29 Field Goal
Second Quarter
A: Henry Belscher 28 Field Goal
A: Belscher 23 Field Goal
Third Quarter
A: Marcus DeJesus 7 run (Belscher kick)
A: Rodrigo Sequeira 13 pass from Olson (Belscher kick)
A: Belscher 32 Field Goal
Fourth Quarter
W: Luke Vecchione 16 pass from Tyler Beverage (kick failed)
Individual Stats
Passing: A, Kyle Olson 9 for 17, 108 yards
Rushing: A, Marcus DeJesus 19-102, Kyle Olson 18-80, JC Jimenez 3-12.
Receiving: Nick IIsley 4-61, Rodrigo Sequeira 3-23, Marcus DeJesus 1-15, Michael Crowley 1-9.