This Wichita area team just swept its crosstown rival for the first time in 12 years
.JPG "Andover’s Kaleb Gaddis")
Andover has been down by 17 and 15 points this season in two separate games and won them both.
In fact, the Trojans have won them all and sit a game away from their first undefeated regular season since 2007-08, also the second most recent time Andover swept crosstown rival Andover Central as of Tuesday night.
Second most recent because Andover beat Central 56-54 on Tuesday night after topping the Jaguars on Jan. 14. Andover junior Jack Johnson hit a three-pointer with 1:45 to go, and the Trojans held on defensively against the Jaguars and senior guard Xavier Bell, a Top 5 selection last season.
Central had its chances late, but Bell was called for a travel with 36 seconds left, and Andover senior Austin Henry came up with a game-sealing steal with 5 seconds to go. The Trojans were trailing 31-16 at one point.
“When you look at your schedule before the season, there are always certain games you highlight,” coach Martin Shetlar said. “These Andover Central games are definitely on that list. It’s almost like you could have a great season but if you lose those games, you remember it.”
Andover is a home win against Arkansas City (10-9) away from a flawless regular season, and it’s starting to feel eerily similar to that 2008 team that finished 24-2 and went down as the best in school history.
In 2008, Andover started 24-0 and reached the Class 4A semifinals before falling to Girard and Hesston in the third-place game. It was a disappointing end to a team that was four points from playing for the first state championship in school history.
But this year’s Trojans want to do better.
“It’s defense and focus,” Johnson said. “We can’t just assume that we’re gonna make it to the state championship.”
Andover has already wrapped up its league title and the No. 2 seed in Class 5A West behind only 20-0 Bishop Carroll. The Trojans’ goals are lofty, especially considering they hadn’t finished better than 11-10 in six years. But Tuesday was another example of why those goals are achievable.
Last season, Andover Central won the Class 5A state championship. The Jaguars seemed poised for another deep state tournament run and still might have that in the cards. But after a trip to the state championship game in football this fall, the Jags got out to a 3-5 start.
But Central, even in its down seasons, could bank on at least one win against its crosstown rival.
In 2016-17, Central finished with nine wins. The Jaguars lost their first meeting with Andover and went on to lose eight of their next 10 games, including three straight leading into the second rivalry game.
Central somehow won that second meeting by 12 points in its final victory of the regular season, a sign of how challenging getting a sweep in Andover has been for the Trojans.
But Central has turned its 2019-20 season around.
The Jaguars’ only two losses entering Tuesday since Jan. 17 came against Eisenhower (No. 3 in 5A West) and Campus (No. 1 in 6A West). They won their midseason tournament and have found their championship form from last season.
That didn’t matter to Andover.
Bell dropped 20 points in the first half Tuesday night, including a half court heave at the buzzer. He was held to eight in the second half. Andover didn’t flinch once for the first time in 12 years.
“It’s not even about a sweep,” Johnson said. “We just love beating Andover Central.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM.