10/21 — Andover: 12, Brunswick School: 20
Similar to many of the teams playing at Andover on Saturday, Andover Football (1-4) faced heavy rain in the game against Brunswick. Running back Logan Cove ’24 and wide receiver and Co-Captain Joe Carrara ’24 each scored a touchdown for Andover. These notable plays were not sufficient, however, to counteract Brunswick’s 20 points.
Linebacker John Moran ’24 described Cove’s and Carrara’s long touchdown drives.
Moran said, “Logan Cove’s touchdown, I think it was a 40-yard run. He broke tackles at the line and then broke tackles at the second level. Again, ran right into the end zone. Probably every single yard he got on that play was after contact… Joe’s touchdown was like 60 yards, a huge touchdown. Those two plays were really awesome because the offense has been the part of the team that struggled a little bit more this year”
According to Carrara, the game against Brunswick was unique because of the team’s attitude. He observed the team being full of energy and enthusiasm.
“The atmosphere of the event was definitely different [from] any game we’ve had before… You could really see that everyone bought in and everyone was really excited for the game. And I think that lasted from the beginning to the end. Like even after the loss, you could still tell how much guys cared. And it really just showed how much we’ve moved in the right direction as a team,” said Carrara.
Carrara noted that the defense as a whole made their presence known in Saturday’s game. He specifically admired a defenseman that he felt led the defense. Carrara also mentioned Janiel Herrera ’24, who played in his second game after being injured for the past two years.
“Individuals that stood out, I’m just going to say the whole defense, especially number six, Janiel Herrera, and number four, Aiden Goss [’24]. Those two kids stood out to me throughout the whole game. I know [Herrera, this] was his first full game back in a long time from injury, and he played really [well]. Aiden Goss, number four, was a leader on the defense,” said Carrara.
Byron Johnson ’25 reflected on last week’s game against Cheshire Academy and how the team prepared differently for its game against Brunswick.
In an email to The Phillipian, Johnson wrote, “We practiced [for Brunswick] like we were going against the team we were going against. I think part of the reason we lost to Cheshire was because we had the mindset that we were playing Kent. Coming into the game knowing who we were playing is the reason [why] we had such a great first half.”
Moran looked ahead to Andover’s upcoming game against Deerfield Academy and how the team will move past its loss against Brunswick. Moran also reflected on the team’s current record and emphasized the importance of the team maintaining a positive attitude.
“[We’ll work on] staying high energy, high effort, keeping our heads up. We’re one in four now, so this is an opportunity, this is a time when the team could get really down on itself and we’ll be working on keeping our heads high and keeping our eyes focused on the next game to come, which is [against] Deerfield,” said Moran.
Andover Football will travel to Deerfield on Saturday.
