Andover defeats rival Central

Disregarding the fact that Andover lost a fumble and had a major defensive breakdown in the final two minutes Friday night was impossible for Andover football coach Mike Lee — despite the Trojans’ 31-24 win over rival Andover Central to improve to 2-0.

Moving along from the fact that Andover Central had scored 14 unanswered points, cutting a three-touchdown deficit to seven points, well, Lee couldn’t do it.

“We made a couple of mistakes, and we didn’t react well,” he said. “… We didn’t handle the bad moments real well.”

Lee added: “I don’t think we handled ourselves at the end. Those are good lessons for later.… Hopefully we learned a lesson on finishing games.”

Lee isn’t necessarily a negative man. He just couldn’t get past the final minutes when his team took a game that was in hand and nearly gave it away.

But there were good points. Really.

“I’m going to have to remind myself of that,” Lee said. “It’s easy to look at the end. It’s easy to look at the mistakes. But we did a lot of good things tonight.”

Cole VanEpps ran for three touchdowns and 127 yards, while quarterback Coen Rasmussen had 145 passing yards.

With Andover trailing 3-0, quarterback Rasmussen found Eli Renoux for a 78-yard touchdown pass with 5:18 to go in the first quarter.

Andover Central retook the lead on a one-yard run run by Jace Brown, and then had a chance to go up in the final five minutes of the first half. But the Jaguars turned the ball over on two straight incompletions at the Andover 15.

“I thought we had an opportunity in the first half,” Andover Central coach Tom Audley said. “And (receiver) Darraja (Parnell) had a great play at the end. He just didn’t go up to the highest point. He felt bad about it. I told him at halftime, ‘at some point, you’ll make a big play.’”

Parnell did, but Andover responded first by driving 85 yards for a 17-10 lead on a 5-yard touchdown run by VanEpps.

VanEpps was a bright spot. After missing the season-opening win due to an injury, he scored three straight touchdowns of 5, 39 and 5 yards to help Andover take a 31-10 lead with 8:03 to go.

“(Cole’s) one of those guys who was really, really prepared,” Lee said. “I think after sitting last week, he wanted to make a statement tonight. He did some really good things.”

But after VanEpps’ final touchdown — and final play, as he hurt his left ankle — Andover Central answered. The Jaguars’ six previous possessions ended in two punts, two interceptions, halftime and a turnover on downs.

Andover Central’s struggles were in large part to the Andover defense, which had four sacks for minus-27 yards.

The Jaguars moved the ball well against Andover, going 70 yards on seven plays as quarterback Peyton Huslig hit Tyler Harris for a 33-yard touchdown.

“We kind of fell asleep,” Lee said. “You’ve got to keep playing. They’re going to keep playing. Andover Central is always going to keep playing.”

And Andover Central did. Garrett Farha, who ran for 85 yards, was filling in for the injured VanEpps and fumbled at the Andover Central 17.

Two plays later, Huslig found Parnell at the 37. Parnell made one move and went up the left sideline for an 83-yard touchdown to get within one touchdown with 1:18 to go. Parnell had four catches for 114 yards.

“Shouldn’t have happened,” Andover senior defensive lineman Anthony Jackson said. “Eli (Renoux) should have had the tackle or better defense is what it was. That shouldn’t have happened.”

Suddenly the previous two seasons’ close wins seemed about to be repeated. Andover won by one in 2013 and needed a last-second field goal to beat Andover.

The final 1:18 had a little drama, with penalties by both teams, but two late Farha runs sealed the win.

“It’s frustrating,” VanEpps said about the last few minutes. “But in a game like this, you know they’re going to be battling with you, and you take the win.”

Even Lee agreed.

“Tonight I want to enjoy the win. I want them to enjoy it. They’re high school kids. It’s a big rivalry, and they’re ringing the bell right now,” he said, motioning to the oversized bell at the north end of the football field. “They’re happy.”

This story was originally published September 12, 2014 at 11:51 PM with the headline "Andover defeats rival Central."