Co-Captain Joe Kruy ’12 sprinted 46 yards to the three-yard line on a running play and then punched the ball in on the very next play during Andover’s game against Loomis on Saturday. Unfortunately, this was one of few highlights for Andover, as the team suffered a disappointing 33-13 loss in its home opener.
The game started off slowly for both teams, as the only score in the first quarter was a field goal by Loomis. Andover came out strong in the second quarter, as quarterback Tyler West ’12 dashed down the sideline on a keeper for a 44-yard touchdown run, giving Andover a 7-3 lead.
However, the lead didn’t last for the whole quarter, as Loomis quickly retaliated at the end of the first half. Loomis recovered a muffed fumble for a safety and returned Andover’s following punt for a touchdown, then intercepted an Andover pass and scored a touchdown on the next play. After Loomis’ 15 points in the final two minutes of the half, Andover headed to the locker room down 19-7.
Regarding Andover’s collapse in the closing minutes of the half, Coach Leon Modeste said, “The reason was a lack of concentration. We had two miscues where the ball went right through our players’ hands.”
The third quarter wasn’t any better for Andover, as the breakdown on both offense and defense continued. Loomis returned the opening kickoff for another touchdown to make the score 26-7. Later on in the third quarter Loomis scored another touchdown on a huge 47-yard pass, the fifth unanswered score for Loomis.
Andover’s only other touchdown happened in the fourth quarter, when Kruy ran 46 yards and then got the touchdown from the three-yard line. The PAT attempt failed and the game finished with Loomis on top 33-13.
Overall, special teams were the main problem for the team. “We put people who aren’t starters on specials. We wanted to rest our starters, but now we’ve seen we don’t have that luxury,” said Modeste.
On a positive note, Andover’s defense played extremely well, only allowing two touchdowns, one of which was after Loomis picked off a pass and returned it to the 6-yard line.
“Our line was able to get good penetration, and they were able to fill up a lot of gaps, which made it easy for the linebackers to react and fill the holes they needed to,” said John O’Brien ’12, a middle linebacker for the team. O’Brien was all over the field on defense, recording a team high 20 tackles.
On Saturday, Andover will try to improve its offense and special teams in its game against Cushing (1-1).
