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Andover teams earn wins in football, boys’ soccer,
and girls’ cross country
November 12, 2007
ANDOVER—As the morning of Saturday, November 10 dawned crisp and bright, five Andover team buses rolled north toward Exeter, NH for the 127th edition of the classic fall rivalry between the Blue and the Red. Along with the PA soccer, field hockey, volleyball and football teams, 14 buses carrying 650 boisterous, blue-clad students plus hundreds of cars filled with parents, alumni, friends, and faculty fans invaded the Exeter campus for the festivities.
The boys’ soccer game kicked off the day’s schedule at 10:30 a.m., and it proved to be a well-played, fast-paced game between two skilled teams. Strong defensive play by both teams kept the game scoreless for much of the first half until an Andover breakaway resulted in a Mike Donelan blast from the right wing to put the Blue up 1-0. In the early minutes of the second half the offensive pace quickened as a goal by Exeter and two from Andover’s Zach Dixon made it 3-1. When the Red scored to make it 3-2, Dixon responded with his third goal of the game to seal the victory. This game capped a fine 10-3-4 season for the Blue.
Meanwhile inside the gymnasium, two of the top girls volleyball teams in New England were facing off for the second time this season. In the October match, host Andover got the better of the visiting Red 3-0 (30-17, 30-13, 30-23), but Exeter turned the tables in front of their enthusiastic home crowd, edging PA 31-29 in the hard-fought first game and then rolling to a 3-0 victory by winning the next two games 30-22 and 30-9. There were numerous highlights and excellent play on both sides, but on this day the Exeter squad was more consistent and played topnotch volleyball. Both teams have qualified for the post-season tournament and could meet once more. The Big Blue, last year’s New England champions, are seeded fourth and will play Loomis this Wednesday.
Saturday’s field hockey game perhaps best typified the throw-out-the-record-book-anything-can-happen nature of the Andover-Exeter rivalry. The Andover team brought a record of 9-1-3 into the contest and looked like a strong favorite to defeat the 4-5-1 Exeter squad. But it was Exeter that held the lead 1-0 until Andover tied it late in the first half on a goal by Kaitlyn McInnes assisted by Steph Clegg. Andover dominated possession and had numerous scoring chances throughout the second half but simply could not find the back of the net. It’s the nature of the game that, even on turf, goals can be hard to come by. At 1-1 the game went to overtime, and the teams played 7-on-7. Again, Andover had the upper hand in time of possession and scoring chances but couldn’t convert. Just over 7 minutes into the extra period, the Red slipped one past the Andover defense and came away with a 2-1 win. Despite the loss Andover’s girls have earned a #5 seed in the NEPSAC tournament and will take on #4 Deerfield Wednesday.
Another contest that didn’t see much scoring was the tightly contested girls soccer game. The two teams battled end-to-end, each turning away bid after bid throughout the first half and much of the second. Finally, Exeter broke the ice when a crossed ball was headed nicely up and over the reach of Andover goalie Alex Farrell. With one of their top offensive threats, Shannon Neschke, out of action due to injury, the girls in Blue responded beautifully with strong team soccer, generating several excellent scoring chances until Emily Little knotted the score on a blast from close range. Down the stretch Farrell made several fine saves, and her defensive teammates held the Red at bay while the offense continued to generate shots. The game ended in a 1-1 tie. The PA girls have finished their regular season at 9-4-2 and will advance to post-season play, taking on Kent School at Loomis this Wednesday.
Following tradition, the day’s competition culminated with the Andover-Exeter football game, and the stands were packed on both sides of Phelps Stadium. It was a good thing fans arrived on time, because Andover started things off in a big way when Charles Hollis, taking advantage of several key blocks, took the opening kick-off 98 yards for a touchdown. In a flash Andover had a 6-0 lead that would become 17-0 before the end of the first quarter as they dominated the early action, scoring on an 8-yard run by Dan Evans and a 32-yard field goal by Bryan Farris.
Strong defense by both teams and turnovers, including an Exeter fumble right at the goal line, kept the second quarter scoreless. Big Red took the second half kick-off and, with a strong running game, moved quickly down the field for their first score to make it 17-7. The momentum of the game might have shifted dramatically at that point, but the Andover defense, the epitome of a bend-but-don’t-break unit all afternoon, played with passion and determination every time Exeter threatened to score. The Blue offense was not able to maintain the kind of steady ball control that it had enjoyed in several previous games. However, they came up with some key first downs on the running of quarterback Bryan Farris and then capitalized on a long strike from Farris to wideout Mike Ciummei that set up PA’s final touchdown, a burst up the middle by Thane Sanford that extended the lead to 24-7. A late Exeter touchdown made it 24-14, but it couldn’t hold back the wave of blue fans that stormed the field to celebrate as time expired. The 7-1 PA football team has earned its third straight appearance in the Division I prep bowl and will take on powerful Trinity-Pawling this Saturday at the Williston Northampton field.
While much of the day’s attention was focused on the games at Exeter, PA’s powerful boys and girls cross country squads were competing at Interschols hosted by Choate in Wallingford, CT. The Andover boys knew they were in a battle with the formidable St. Paul’s and Exeter teams, and would need several things to break their way in order to have a shot at the title. The young PA squad, somewhat hampered by injuries, raced well and finished third overall in the field of eleven schools, with three Andover runners - Charles Ganner, Eli Howe, and Mike Discenza – placing in the top fifteen to earn All-New England honors.
Meanwhile the Andover girls continued their recent dominance of the New England Prep School cross-country scene as they earned their third straight interscholastic championship trophy. Andover’s Abby Levene ran beautifully and finished first overall, but the strength of the PA squad is its tremendous depth. Along with Levene’s first, the Andover pack claimed 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 9th, 11th, and 14th places with Jen Downing, Stephanie Moroney, Berol Dewdney, Sarah Cohan, Aubrey Zimmerling, and Sara Ho each earning All-New England honors for finishing in the top fifteen. Coach Nancy Lang always urges her girls to look around themselves during a race and to be inspired by their teammates’ efforts. She could not be prouder of how well they worked together and helped each other throughout the season as well as in this big race. The girls now look forward to competing in the Northeast Regional championships on November 24th in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Report submitted by Andy Cline
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