Andover Central takes advantage of Eisenhower mistakes

ANDOVER — While Eisenhower was finding spectacularly chaotic ways to end its possessions on Friday, Andover Central was reveling in the simplicity.

Eisenhower’s two touchdowns – one in the first quarter, one in the fourth – bookended a series of agonizing mistakes as one disastrous drive led to more miserable possessions.

Central was happy to pick up the pieces, scoring 23 straight third-quarter points in a 37-13 home win to improve to 3-1.

Eisenhower found every way to painfully halt progress, as consecutive second-half drives ended on a turnover on downs, a punt, a fumble, a safety, a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, and an interception.

“It was a little bit sloppy and the ball bounced our way,” Andover Central coach Tom Audley said. “Coming out (of halftime) down by seven, we needed a couple of good bounces.”

Central’s good bounces were a ceaseless string of bad fortune for Eisenhower, which led 7-0 at halftime before an ominous start to the third quarter that didn’t immediately reveal its doom.

The Tigers turned the ball over to Central after a failed fourth-down play from their own 30-yard line. But Central didn’t score on the following possession, so it seemed as if Eisenhower may have avoided catastrophe.

Even a punt on the following possession didn’t seem too dangerous, but after a 31-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Huslig to Cole Taylor that allowed Central to tie the score, hindsight was in play.

“That gave us a lot of momentum,” Taylor said. “It definitely helped bring us toward the win.”

Eisenhower fumbled during its next drive and wasn’t granted a reprieve when Central responded with its own fumble. On the next play, Eisenhower quarterback Mason Madzey struggled to handle the snap, and by the time he grasped the ball, he was tackled in the end zone.

Central never lost the lead, partly because Eisenhower wouldn’t let it happen. Central scored next after two penalties put the Jaguars on Eisenhower’s 8-yard line.

Andrew Rafferty’s fumble-return touchdown and Jordan Birch’s second of three touchdown runs turned it into a runaway.

“Everything on the field is coachable,” Eisenhower coach Marc Marinelli said. “What happens on the field is the product of coaching, and right now we’ve got to coach our kids better. The mistakes that happened shouldn’t have happened.”

Eisenhower’s mishaps awakened Central’s offense. Huslig, usually an effective passer, misfired on 13 of 18 attempts, but had two long completions.

Birch became the workhorse in light of an inconsistent passing game. He doubled his rushing total to 116 on the final 10 of his 28 carries and scored all three of his touchdowns in the same span.

“I knew (Eisenhower) would play for the pass and it would open up the run,” Birch said.

This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 11:47 PM with the headline "Andover Central takes advantage of Eisenhower mistakes."