SOMERVILLE — Just a week away from a crucial battle against a longtime nemesis, Andover wanted to be sure to avoid a slipup on a rain-soaked night.
And the Golden Warriors did just that in their warm-up for their MVC Division 1 opener, easily rolling over winless Somerville 34-6 on Friday.
That made Andover 7-0 heading into its battle with league rival Chelmsford, a game that could be a major factor in the Golden Warriors’ quest for their second playoff berth in three years.
“Oh, man, Chelmsford is a big game,” said quarterback C.J. Scarpa. “We are heading into the most important part of our season with four huge games, especially Chelmsford.”
Andover will be traveling to Chelmsford on Friday to face a Lions team that has given the Golden Warriors fits over the years.
“They beat us as freshmen, then beat us sophomore year and junior year (on varsity),” said linebacker Jake Flaherty. “As seniors, if we can get a win against Chelmsford it would be huge. It is going to be an intense week.”
In fact, the Lions have been a thorn in the Golden Warriors’ side for decades. Last season’s 48-28 Chelmsford win marked the 12th time in 13 years that the Lions defeated Andover, and since The Eagle-Tribune began keeping complete records in 1984, the Golden Warriors are 5-22-1 against Chelmsford.
“We’re not worried about that,” said Golden Warriors coach E.J. Perry. “We’re worried about 2012 and how we are playing now.”
Chelmsford is coming off a near upset of Central Catholic on Saturday, falling 28-21 after the Raiders scored with less than a minute to play. The Lions also had a last-second Hail Mary that was stopped at the Central 18.
“Chelmsford is a very good team,” said Scarpa. “As seniors we have worked so hard to finally beat them. They are tough, but we feel like we can beat them.”
Beating up on Somerville
The Andover starters played just one possession in the second half against Somerville, building the 34-0 advantage and letting the backups finish the job.
Scarpa again led the way, tossing a pair of touchdown passes to Will Heikkinen in the first half, then adding a score to Andrew Deloury before the starters were pulled early in the third quarter. He also rushed for Andover’s first score of the day.
Jack Sylvester added 116 yards rushing, all but 10 in the first half, and in his first serious action of the season at running back, Jesse Greaves also ran for a score. Chas Heseltine led the defense with 12 tackles.
“We played pretty well,” said senior lineman Andres Christopulos. “There were a few things we could have done better, but we came out smacked them on offense and smacked them on defense. Everyone was hitting.”
Andover, 34 Somerville 6
Andover (7-0): 14 13 7 0 — 34
Somerville (0-8): 0 0 0 6 — 6
First Quarter
A — C.J. Scarpa 6 run (Will Heikkinen pass from Scarpa), 7:39
A — Heikkinen 55 pass from Scarpa (pass failed), 5:08
Second Quarter
A — Jesse Greaves 10 run (Charlie Wilson kick), 10:52
A — Heikkinen 22 pass from Scarpa (kick failed), 5:19
Third Quarter
A — Andrew Deloury 29 pass from Scarpa (Wilson kick), 9:37
Fourth Quarter
S — Andre James 36 pass from Phoenix Huertas (kick failed), 4:10
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: A (36-218) — Jack Sylvester 11-116, Adam Enxing 4-49, Jesse Greaves 5-23, Connor McCullough 11-12, C.J. Scarpa 4-10. Brandon Marti 1-8; S (24-154) — Anderson Jupiter 10-71, Phoenix Huertas 8-42, Troy Martini 4-34, Matt George 1-5, Andre James 1-2
PASSING: A — Scarpa 7-18-0, 170; S — Huertas 14-26-1, 103
RECEIVING: A — Will Heikkinen 4-96, Andrew Deloury 2-59, Evan Singleton 1-15; S — Andre James 1-36, Assad Abraham 3-22, Richard Guerrier 2-14, Matt George 3-8, Jupiter 3-9, Jonathan Santana 1-9, James Marin 1-5
