Co-captains Turner Shaw ’11 and Thomas Armstrong ’11 led Andover to yet another great week, finishing first in the Amherst Invitational B Division and beating a tough Masconomet team.
Andover started off Saturday’s Amherst Invitation on a high note beating Amherst Middle School 15-4. Shaw said “That game was a great warm-up, and we got to play many of our inexperienced players.”
Next, Andover faced the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School, Andover’s hardest game of the tourney. Through hard work and very solid defense, Andover was able to beat the talented PVPA team with a 15-9 win. Unfortunately, Armstrong was kicked in the head during this game and had to sit out the rest of the day due to concussion.
After playing two games straight, an injured and exhausted Andover team took the field against a well-rested AHS team. Andover lost the game by a large margin, falling to AHS 4-15.
Andover’s luck turned around, however. With more energy and depth, Andover walloped St. Johnsbury 15-6 and moved on to the second day of the tournament placed second in its pool.
Andover’s first match of the day on Sunday was the semi-finals match against Sharon High School, the team that placed first in the second pool of the division. Finally with a full team, Andover was able to run a full offense and defense, and won a decisive victory over Sharon High School, 15-6.
Next came the finals match between Andover and Andover High School. In the first match up between these two teams on Saturday, Andover was injured and exhausted, but on this day, it had a full rested team. This time Andover was able to control the game, running a smooth offense and solid defense, and defeating AHS 15-4.
On Wednesday, Andover played against the always tough Masconomet High School team. Andover started off the game slow, falling behind 8-3 at half, then 10-4 in the early time of the second. With a combination of adapting to Masco’s offensive strategy on the defensive side, and making an amazing run on the offensive side, Andover was able to make a huge comeback and win the game 15-11. “It was a truly epic comeback and one of the most memorable moments of the season,” said Armstrong.
