RallyNorth.net

Andover delivers revenge against Dracut

Friday, October, 29 By David Willis
Staff writer

ANDOVER — Connor Clancy and Andover had one word on their minds heading into last night.

“I kept saying ‘revenge’ on the sidelines for a reason,” said Clancy. “They last two years had been pure misery against Dracut. They scored 47 on us last year, and two years ago it was 55. It just stunk. We wanted this, and there is no better feeling.”

The Golden Warriors delivered that revenge in a big way, following another tremendous performance by Andy Coke and a shutdown defense to blast Dracut, the No. 13 team in Eastern Mass, 46-19.

“We said that we had to step up in the second half,” said Andover quad-captain Brian Miller, holding back tears. “We were prepared for anything they would do. We knew what we were going to do, and stopped them.”

The Middies seemed to take control, grabbing a 19-17 lead 2:29 into the second half. But Andover struck back in style, starting with a Freddie Scribner 20-yard touchdown with 4:36 left in the third.

Then, in a matter of just 27 seconds, Coke rushed for a touchdown, Ned Deane tackled the kick returner for a safety and Tom Dempsey threw a 17-yard touchdown to Miller to make it 39-19, and quickly put the game away.

“It was just great,” said Deane. “We knew they had talent, but we said it would be nothing like the last two years. This was our last game at home under the lights, so this means so much.”

It was an especially memorable night for Coke. The junior tallied 205 yards on 26 carries, giving him 1,143 for the season.

Since The Eagle-Tribune began keeping complete records in 1996, no other Golden Warrior has rushed for 1,000 yards in a season. The most in that stretch is Matt Hennessy (902) in 2004. It is also believed to be a school record, breaking the mark of 1,050 yards set by Dave Tucker in 1989.

“All week my friends were telling me I would break it,” said Coke. “So to do this feels so good. And this was a huge win. It was all for the seniors.”

Coke scored three touchdowns, giving him 18 for the season, and threw a 57-yard touchdown to Cam Farnham on a fake punt on the first possession of the game. Scribner added six carries for 44 yards.

“I have said since Day 1 that we love to pound the football,” said Clancy, who helped lead a dominant blocking attack. “We love to come out and hit people.”

Dracut could also find no consistency against the Andover defense. The Golden Warriors limited 2009 All-Scholastic quarterback Matt Silva to 148 yards passing and 61 yards rushing, with Mark Zavrl and Will Keller each picking him off once.

Deane once again paced the Andover attack, making 18 tackles. Zavrl made eight stops, Keller added seven tackles and Lyle Baker, out the last two weeks with an injury, chipped in with six stops.

“The seniors promised me they would give me a signature win,” said Andover coach E.J. Perry. “And they did it.”