ANDOVER — It looked as if the curse would finally be broken.

After nine straight losses to Chelmsford, Andover High had the Lions on the ropes. The Golden Warrior defense was dominating and, with 5:43 left in regulation, Andover scored the go-ahead touchdown.

But Chelmsford responded by running the following kickoff back for a touchdown and beat Andover 16-9 Friday night in a game that had been moved to the artificial turf of Eugene V. Lovely Field.

Since The Eagle-Tribune began keeping complete records in 1984, Andover is 4-20-1 against Chelmsford, the No. 10 team in Eastern Mass.

"I think we outplayed them," said Andover coach Ken Maglio, "but they broke a few big plays and that was it. Our kids did a great job."

The Golden Warriors surrendered 211 yards for the game with just 71 yards and only three first downs in the second half. Nick Sylvester led Andover with nine tackles, while Andrew Lebowitz made five tackles, Jake Lebowitz had four stops and a sack, and Matt Newton made a diving deflection.

"We played very well," said Andover defensive back Yogi Layne. "We had a few lapses, but we swarmed to the ball and held them to just eight points (on defense)."

But the Golden Warriors were hurt by the big play. The Lions notched their only offensive touchdown with 2:35 left in the second quarter on a 58-yard run by Evan Sheridan.

The Golden Warriors responded with nine seconds left in the half on a 20-yard field goal by Matt Murray.

They then took the lead with 5:43 left in the game on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by John Hennessy. But Mike Aronian ran back the following kickoff 85 yards for the winning margin.

With the heavy rain, Andover relied on the run. Senior Tucker Devine tallied a career-high 107 yards on 25 carries and Hennessy added 71 yards on 10 carries, 64 in the second half on QB draws.

Chelmsford 16, Andover 9

Andover (1-2, 0-1 MVC):0’Ç0’Ç3’Ç6 — ’Ç9

Chelmsford (3-1):0’Ç8’Ç0’Ç8 — 16

Second Quarter

C — Evan Sheridan 58 run (Mike Crafts run), 2:35

A — Matt Murray 20 field goal, 0:09

Fourth Quarter

A — John Hennessy 1 run (pass failed), 5:43

C — Mike Aronian 85 kickoff return (Sheridan pass from Aaron Everleigh), 5:27

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: A (36-179) — Tucker Devine 25-107, John Hennessy 10-71, Ryan Peek 1-1; C (23-151) — Evan Sheridan 13-108

PASSING: A — John Hennessy 10-19-0, 69; C — Mike Crafts 4-10-0, 46, Aaron Everleigh 1-4-1, 15

RECEIVING: A — Chris McConnell 3-28, Sean Ehlbeck 2-24, Ryan Peek 3-18, Brian Miller 2-(-1); C — Andy Carpenter 4-38, Sheridan 1-23