In first win of the season, linebacker Matthew Saleh ’26 lines up on the field.
Football (1-4) earned its first win of the season on Saturday night with a commanding 29-6 victory over Kent. The long-awaited and well-deserved triumph reflected the team’s steady improvement and strategic adjustments over the past few weeks.
The team played under the lights in front of an electric home crowd at Phelps Stadium. Ben Kazlouski ’28 emphasized how focused practices and renewed energy throughout the week prepared the team for success.
“The atmosphere was absolutely incredible, not just after the win but coming into it. The practices we had before the game were some of the best practices all season. We’ve been having some more high-intensity drills to really get the energy going,” said Kazlouski.
Defense, which has been a consistent strength for Andover all season, once again anchored the victory — holding Kent to just six points. Scott Carmichael ’27 highlighted the unit’s physicality and ability to disrupt plays behind the line of scrimmage.
“The defense was super consistent. They did a great job of playing physical and fast, not giving up any easy things. Brock Feinberg [’26] and Richard Indresano [’26] had many tackles for losses along with Nathan McCormick [’27] and Matthew Saleh [’26], while [Co-Captain] Ollie Velez ’26, [Co-Captain] Bennett Rodgers [’26], Tyler Baty [’27], and [Mark] Gaines [’26] played great defense in the secondary. The defense came together well and caused a lot of three-and-outs, making Kent either punt the ball or go for it on fourth down, causing a lot of turnovers,” said Carmichael.
A major storyline of the game was the rise of quarterback Cale Barker ’28. After making an impression with a long touchdown pass against Salisbury and stepping in following injuries at the position, Barker earned his first varsity start — and delivered a breakout performance.
“We had Cale Barker starting the game this weekend, and he had a really good game. He was throwing some beautiful passes accurately to our receivers, and our receivers also did a great job getting open, giving the quarterback the window to throw the pass. Then, at the center of it all was our [offensive] line. They had a really solid game. They set the pocket for the [quarterback] and gave him the time to do what he’s got to do, and we did a good job moving the ball up the field efficiently,” said Kazlouski.
Carmichael described one of Barker’s early highlight plays — a deep third-down completion to wide receiver Will Mascena ’27 — as a turning point that shifted the game’s momentum.
“Early in the game, Cale got the ball and threw it up to Will. It was a 50/50 ball, third and long, and Mascena overcame his defensive back and caught it over the opposing player. That was a really big momentum play that gave everyone a whole lot of confidence,” said Carmichael.
Overall, Barker threw four touchdown passes and commanded the offense with poise. Carmichael praised the young quarterback’s confidence and composure — qualities that, he said, the team has been missing in recent seasons.
“Cale played great; he really surpassed all expectations. In warm-ups, you could see that he had that swagger to him, like he knew that he was good, which is exactly what you want out of a fresh, first-start sophomore quarterback. When he started throwing the ball well, everyone was just like, ‘Yeah, he’s really good.’ It was something we haven’t been able to do in two years, so seeing the ball move down the field and those crazy catches really makes football a fun sport to watch,” said Carmichael.
With its first win of the season under its belt, Andover looks to carry the momentum into its next matchup against Suffield on Saturday, October 9.
