Andover stays unbeaten by beating Valley Center

VALLEY CENTER – Review every touchdown Andover’s offense posted in a 36-14 win over Valley Center and there won’t be much in the way of big-play highlights. The longest score came on a looping 12-yard toss from quarterback Coen Rasmussen to Dante Butler midway through the first quarter.

But every short touchdown came with a significant drive and each was capped by big plays in a lopsided win.

Before Rasmussen found a wide-open Butler in the first quarter, he first connected with Eli Renoux for a 42-yard gain on a deep pass down the middle of the field. He hit Renoux again later in the half for a 29-yard completion that set up first-and-goal and a 1-yard quarterback dive for another score.

A 30-yard pass to Zach Seabrook with 1:36 left in the first half jump-started a quick scoring drive that saw Andover march 68 yards in 76 seconds for a 22-7 halftime lead.

“Andover made big plays, and we didn’t,” Valley Center coach Caleb Smith said. “That was the difference in the game. When it comes down to it, to beat teams like Andover you’ve got to play well, and we didn’t play well.”

Andover’s defense provided the top scoring highlight of the night. After a fumbled punt return forced Valley Center to start a third-quarter drive on its own 1-yard line, a tipped pass was up for grabs at the line of scrimmage. Andover linebacker Anthony Jackson snagged the ball out of the air and dove one yard for a defensive touchdown.

The Andover defense, which gave up only one score until the final minute of the fourth quarter, highlighted a strong all-around effort from the visiting Trojans.

“I thought we played our first really complete game of the year,” Andover coach Mike Lee said. “We’ve seen moments. We’ve seen good things in some games. But this one was our best overall performance.”

Rasmussen, who rushed for a touchdown, spread the ball evenly among his three receivers, completing 10 of 17 passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns. His four longest passes went for 29, 30, 42 and 53 yards yet none were touchdowns. On a night when Andover improved to 4-0, the big play set up the scoring play.

“In previous games we’ve had some missed opportunities, so it felt good to have those big plays tonight,” Rasmussen said. “I trust my linemen to give me time and my wide receivers to go get the ball in those situations.”

Valley Center’s mistakes were costly. A fumbled kickoff return stopped the Hornets’ first drive before it even started. It was one of three turnovers that plagued the home team, along with a physical game that turned controversial in the second half when Smith used a timeout to dispute a no-call after contact in the backfield away from the play.

Valley Center was flagged for sideline infractions twice earlier, and the game saw 17 penalties for more than 160 yards.

“Everything seemed like it didn’t go our way,” Smith said. “We weren’t able to make those plays, and that’s frustrating. And the only reason it got chippy was because of the way the game was called.”

Valley Center quarterback Dylan Scheer, who was named homecoming king at halftime, completed 7 of 12 passes for 78 yards but threw an interception. Scheer scored the lone rushing touchdown for Valley Center but finished the night with just 41 yards on 17 carries. Four Hornets ball carriers combined for 127 yards on 27 carries but none found the end zone.

This story was originally published September 27, 2014 at 12:49 AM with the headline "Andover stays unbeaten by beating Valley Center."