ANDOVER — Andover was in the midst of a stellar comeback.
Quarterback John Hennessy and receiver Chris McConnell, in the best game of their young varsity careers, had just connected on their third touchdown of the day to bring the Golden Warriors to within a touchdown late in the fourth.
Then, the Golden Warriors had unbeaten Billerica at fourth-and-10 with 2:11 left to play near midfield. But despite heavy pressure by Andover, the Indians completed the pass and ran out the clock for a 35-27 win on Friday.
"I thought we outplayed them in the second half," said Andover head coach Ken Maglio. "We can play with any team in the MVC if we are focused. But we need to work on focusing. We didn't come out to play early."
It was a breakout game for juniors Hennessy and McConnell. The quarterback was 18-for-35 passing for a career-high 255 yards and four touchdowns, also a career best. Those numbers would have been better had it not been for a few drops, and a long pass that was called back for a block in the back.
McConnell, on the receiving end of three scores, set career highs in catches (7) and yards (101). He also showed stellar moves, faking out a number of defenders. His previous career highs were six catches for 62 yards in Week 2 against Boston College High School. Ryan Peek also stood out, catching four passes for 63 yards including the first score.
"They are very athletic and very quick," said Billerica coach Peter Flynn. "I lost a lot of sleep worrying about that offense. They have speed and ability."
Star defensive lineman Andrew Lebowitz led the Golden Warriors with 10 tackles. Matt Washburn was next with eight, Jake Lebowitz had six, and Nick Sylvester, Kevin Baroni and Steven LaFortune each made four stops.
"We came out in a funk in the first half, but we were a different team in the second half," said Maglio.
Billerica 35, Andover 27
Billerica (4-0, 2-0 MVC):14âÇ14âÇ7âÇ0 — 35
Andover (1-3, 0-2 MVC):âÇ7âÇâÇ6âÇ8âÇ6 — 27
First Quarter
B — James Sorenson 5 pass from Nicholas Laspada (kick failed), 6:02
A — Ryan Peek 13 pass from John Hennessy (Matt Murray kick), 1:30
B — Bryan Higgins 79 pass from Laspada (Sorenson pass from Laspada), 0:29
Second Quarter
A — Chris McConnell 14 pass from Hennessy (kick failed), 7:53
B — Higgins 3 run (Wayne Bolz kick), 5:15
B — Higgins 2 run (Bolz kick), 1:15
Third Quarter
A — McConnell 6 pass from Hennessy (Tucker Devine run), 7:21
B — Sorenson 16 pass from Laspada (Bolz kick), 0:55
Fourth Quarter
A — McConnell 17 pass from Hennessy (kick failed), 3:16
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: A (26-98) — John Hennessy 15-57, Tucker Devine 11-41; B (28-181) — Nicholas Laspada 16-100
PASSING: A — Hennessy 18-35-2, 255 yards; B — Laspada 7-14-0, 145 yards
RECEIVING: A — Chris McConnell 7-101, Ryan Peek 4-63, Sean Ehlbeck 2-52, Brian Miller 5-39; B — Bryan Higgins 1-79, James Sorenson 5-55, Greg Orekoya 1-11
