Final
Andover 48
Salina Central 21
The previously unbeaten Salina Central Mustangs fell to the Andover Trojans 48-21 on senior night. Andover controlled the game from the onset and never trailed. The Trojans scored a touchdown on every drive of the game. While Salina Central started to find a groove on offense, they couldn’t slow down Andover.
Salina Central started with the football on offense and on the first play of the game, a high snap went over QB Griffin Hall’s head and set the tone for the entire night. The Mustangs were forced to punt on that drive and Andover capitalized by running the football. QB Will Quinn ran his first touchdown in from 3 yards out to make it 7-0 Andover. Salina Central would start to find their footing on offense on their next drive but still were forced to punt. Andover had a big pass play to WR Gatlin Tilson that set the Trojans up 1st and goal from the 1 yard line. Quinn would rush in the touchdown to make it 14-0.
Salina Central would strike back. The Mustangs converted a 4th down to WR Noah Peck that led to a 10 yard touchdown run by Hall to make it 14-7. Just before halftime, the Mustangs forced Andover to a 4th down field goal, but a couple penalties on Salina Central moved the ball closer to the goal line. Quinn would then rush into the end zone on another 1 yard touchdown run to make it 21-7 at halftime.
Coming out of halftime, Andover was set to get the football but a surprise onside kick recovered by the Mustangs stole a possession away from the Trojans. Salina Central would capitalize on a 33 yard touchdown pass from Hall to Abram Owings to pull the Mustangs closer. However Andover would answer with a 35 yard touchdown pass of their own from Quinn to WR Ben Reynolds. This extended the lead for Andover 28-14. Mustangs used the ground game to their advantage on their next drive. Hall made plays happen with his legs and this drive led to a 2 yard touchdown run by Cooper Reves.
While Andover would still continue to score on their next two drives, the Mustangs were turned over on downs on their drives. The scores for Andover included a 53 yard touchdown pass from Quinn to WR Barrett Hill and a 2 yard touchdown run by RB Pete Vega. This made the final score 48-21 in favor of Andover.
The Trojans ran the ball against Salina Central and Vega was the workhorse for them. A few big pass plays also opened up the offense for Andover and the Mustangs defense did not have an answer all night. Andover controlled the game from the beginning and while the Mustang offense began to find their stride, it still wasn’t enough against the Trojans.
With the loss, Salina Central dropped to 6-1 on the season and now sit at 4-1 in Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division II. Andover improved to 5-2 on the season and now sits atop AVCTL Division II with a record of 5-0.
