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Hennessy, Andover all over Lawrence

Friday, October, 09 By Hector Longo

LAWRENCE - Andover High heard the clatter raised by Lawrence in last week's upset of Chelmsford.

The Warriors had no interest in being similarly victimized.

"They have a ton of great athletes," said Andover quarterback/safety John Hennesy. "We really geared up and took away their studs."

Its intricate passing game riddled by swarming Warriors, Lawrence simply had no answers for Hennessy, who threw three TDs and run for the fourth in a 28-0 Andover blowout win.

 "We got beat in every phase of the game, offense, defense, penalties, special teams, up front, toughness," said Lancer coach Mike Yameen. “We took one on the chin. Right after the first six minutes, we just got beat up by a better team.”

Andover, now 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the Merrimack Valley Conference, pounced on four Lawrence turnovers, converting all four for TDs.

Jimmy Johnson has a pair of interceptions and linebacker Craig Newton added another as Andover simply flooded the secondary, leaving QB Nick Elwell with few viable options.

"The quarterback likes to throw to (Nova) so we just keyed on him and (Michael) Calzetta," said Johnson. “We had a great (defensive) game. They ran at least 12 screens against Lowell, so we knew they’d be throwing it a lot.”

Flush with weapons, Hennessy connected with Johnson, a 60-yarder, Chris McConnell and Brian Miller for second-quarter touchdowns. The senior now has nine TD passes on the year.

The Warriors played ball-control in the mist all night, pounding the middle with reliable Nick Enxing in a 24-carry, 143-yard performance.

Lawrence had similar success on the run, chewing up 154 yards on 22 tries - a 7.0 yard per pop clip - but the Lancers kept trying unsuccessfully to take to the air.

With no room downfield, Lawrence went to its extensive screen game, and all to often the ball, linebacker and Lancer found themselves on a three-pronged collision course.

"We worked on the screen game all week," said Hennessy. “That’s a big play for them, and we just shut it down. Our defensive line and linebackers did a great job.”

Lawrence got some even worse news in the second half when receiver/safety Michael Calzetta left the game after taking a helmet right to the collarbone.

"I don’t know if they went helmet to helmet or what, but he went to the hospital for X-rays," said Yameen, who also lost receiver Kevin Valerio earlier in the night. “Hopefully, it’s not that bad.”

The pace picks up again next week for both teams as Andover faces Chelmsford and the Lancers get a trip to Billerica, which for sure will be a bit ornery after the upset loss to Tewksbury last night.

Additional stories:

• Andover halts surging Lawrence