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Andover Golden Warriors Football '06

Thu, Sep 21, 2006 07:00 PM @ Dracut
Team Final
Andover 21
Dracut 36
Andover's Gordon Dubois gives chase as Dracut quarterback Bobby Russo looks for a receiver. Andover lost, 36-21. » Carl Russo, Staff Photographer

Middies sink Golden Warriors

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Wednesday, August, 22 By David Willis
Staff writer

DRACUT | If a game could have been won on the first drive of the game, Andover would have gone to bed very happy last night.

Unfortunately, an entire four quarters had to be played, and the Golden Warriors struggled to keep up with the fast-paced Dracut offense on their way to falling to the Middies, 36-21.

"It was their night, not our night," said Andover coach Ken Maglio. "We knew what they were going to present, but we didn't have the proper alignment, and you're going to get beat when that happens. And we got beat deep a couple times because we came up to stop the run."

The Golden Warriors could do little against Middies quarterback Bobby Russo. Expertly running the no-huddle offense, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound quarterback threw for 205 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 97 yards and four more scores.

Through the first half it appeared that Andover quarterback Mike Pierce may have the ability to compete with the shifty senior. The Andover QB accumulated 117 yards on the ground through the first two quarters, but was held to only 16 yards on four carries in the second half. He also struggled through the air in the second frame, going 4 for 13 with a pair of interceptions.

"I think we have a very good first half on offense," said Pierce. "But in the second half we made some mistakes. We looked good up front and pounded the ball early, but we couldn't get it done at the end."

The game could not have started on a brighter note for the Golden Warriors. Taking the opening kickoff, they drove 65 yards on 10 rushing plays and took a 6-0 lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by Ken Masse.

After Dracut responded with a score, Andover took the lead back one play later when Pierce scrambled to the left and broke off a 65-yard touchdown run.

But a dip followed and the Middies stretched their lead to as high as 29-12 before the Warriors staged their comeback thanks to a few Dracut miscues.

With the score 29-15 after a Masse field goal, Mike Morander recovered a fumble off a botched trick play for the Middies, and Pierce hit Matt Rayner with a picture-perfect 40-yard touchdown pass.

But that was as close as the Golden Warriors would get, as Dracut managed two more long drives and tacked on a final touchdown with just over a minute left.

"They (Dracut) stacked the box a lot in the second half and out running game wasn't as strong," said Pierce. "We wanted to bang the ball, but when that wasn't working the coaches decided to go to the air. And that didn't work."

The game would not have been as close had it not been for a pair of spectacular Andover defensive plays in the final moment of the first half.

With the Middies inside their own 20, Rayner came out of nowhere to lay a crushing hit and separate the opposing receiver from the ball on a play that appeared destined for the end zone. Two plays later, Masse ended the half by knocking down another pass that looked to be a sure touchdown.

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