Led by a balanced offense and the outstanding defensive play of Sam Clark ’09, Andover Football defeated the Tufts University JV team, 27-18. In the first quarter, Andover took it to the Tufts defense by scoring twice. Andover first scored on a three-yard connection from Dan Hussey ’09 to Luke Duprey ’10. An electrifying 74-yard run from Eddie Houghton ’09 increased the Andover lead to 14. Kevin Paul ’10 added extra points after the two scores. Opening up the third quarter, Tufts scored a touchdown to make the score 14-6. Tufts then scored again to bring themselves back to within 2 points. Andover answered right back, however, as Hussey threw his second touchdown on the day on a 43-yard pass to Sam Auffant ’09. After Paul converted the extra point, Andover took a 21-12 lead. In the fourth quarter, Andover built up their lead once again. The offense sustained a long drive down the field, as Houghton punched the ball in from the one yard line for his second touchdown of the game. Andover’s lead stood at a commanding 27-12. Tufts appeared to be on the verge of coming back when Sam Clark ’09 intercepted a Tufts pass in the red zone to put the game away for good. During the prior week of practice, Andover focused on getting its passing game in a rhythm. “This week we worked on letting Dan roll out more often and utilize his speed,” said Coach Leon Modeste. He continued, “He’s very effective both running and passing when he gets out of the box and near the sideline.” A lot of extra work was put after practice as well. “We had a lot of days where us receivers and Dan would stay after practice just to work some more on routes and timing,” said Duprey. These changes to the passing game proved to be successful. Hussey threw for 224 yards and ran for over 50 yards, along with those two TD passes. His receivers played very well, as Duprey and Auffant had 88 and 106 yards receiving respectively. The offensive line’s protection was solid again this week. The defense also played impressively at Tufts. Andover forced five turnovers, three on fumbles and two on interceptions. These were decisive in the outcome of the game, as several Tufts drives were halted deep in Andover territory. Sam Clark was the star on an Andover defense that held a college offense to only 18 points. He amassed nine tackles, three of which came on sacks. He also had both a clutch interception that sealed the game and a fumble recovery. John McKenna ’10 pitched in with five tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. “We blitzed a lot, especially from the LB positions, which put a lot of pressure on the quarterback,” said Clark. This week, Andover prepares for a very tough game at Choate. Andover won last year’s game, a 11-8 thriller, and this season’s match-up should be close as well. With Choate coming off a loss to rival Exeter, they will be gunning for the undefeated Andover team
