Clay Cleveland ’10 once again led the Andover scoring party with three touchdowns in the team’s 47-12 trouncing of Worcester last Saturday. The Seniors played their final home game wearing the Andover jersey, and it could not have gone better. The team looked sharp throughout the game, giving the team some confidence going into Andover-Exeter. Coach Leon Modeste said, “We’re getting better, but we have to keep it going. It has taken a few games to get in sync and get rid of the growing pains, especially with the cancellations this year. It was a good win for us right before the Exeter game.” The Andover offense was unstoppable with Cleveland running rampant all night, gaining 165 total yards. Cleveland attributed his success to great blocking. He said, “Against Worcester, we were able to pound the ball behind our great offensive line. Also, Zack Boyd [’10] and the wide receivers Eddie von Kuhn [’10] and John McKenna [’10] did an awesome job blocking. I just tried to keep my legs moving and follow the blocks, and we were successful.” Andover scored early in the first quarter on a touchdown from Malcolm Mason-Rodriguez ’11. The defense then shut down the Worcester offense. On the next drive, quarterback Andy Vailas ’10 squeezed through a pile of bodies on the goal line into the endzone, putting Andover up 14-0. Andover’s offense continued to march down the field at will, as Cleveland then scored one of his two rushing touchdowns in the second quarter, allowing Andover to go into the half with a commanding 21-0 lead. Following the half, Andover continued to dominate the Worcester defense. In the third quarter, Vailas connected with Cleveland for a 29 yard touchdown pass, which smothered all hopes on the Worcester sideline. Andover didn’t look back, going on to win the game 47-12. The lopsided score allowed Coach Modeste to give some players with less expierience some playing time. Among these players was Joe Kruy ’12, who took advantage of this opportunity by burning the Worcester defense along the sideline for a fifty yard touchdown run. Andover looks to continue its winning streak against a talented, undefeated Exeter team. This year, Exeter has dominated the competition, averaging 37 points per game. It will certainly be a challenge for Andover to shut down the Exeter offense, but the team is confident in their capabilities. Captain Zack Boyd ’10 explained, “It’s going to be a hard fought and game we know that. I think we’ll keep things simple. They’ll have a lot of swagger and I think we can use that to our advantage. We’re the underdogs and that’s where we want to be. On Saturday we will be able to show all of our work and progress as a team.” The team has been working hard all week, planning on how to contain the prolific Exeter offense. Coach Modeste explained, “We need to pressure the quarterback and shut down the running backs early. They are just great all-around players and we can’t allow them to get in a rhythm.” Coach Modeste truly believes the game will be won in the trenches. He said, “If our line can beat their line, then we will have a very good shot. We need the line to show up on both sides of the ball and play well. On Saturday, our line has to be better to win.” The team is very excited to take on Exeter, and expectations for the game are high. Cleveland continued, “I think we are ready. We watched film on them and we know who their key players are and what we need to do to stop them. It will be a tough task, but there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re more than ready for Exeter.”
