Andrews – Wildcats football head coach James Phillips gets anxious about playing homeschool teams like North Georgia. Their rosters are always fluid, throwing potential game plans out the window.
While the opponent provides some worries, Phillips can take comfort in his team’s consistency. Andrews (5-0 overall) took care of business again Friday night, crushing the Falcons 62-0.
“They came out focused,” Phillips said. “We knew we should have superior power. But as a head coach, you never know. They’re unpredictable, but our bunch is pretty predictable. They’re going to be pretty consistent.”
After starting strong last week at Mitchell and taking the Mountaineers’ best punch before pulling away in the second half, the Wildcats did whatever they wanted against an overwhelmed North Georgia (0-4). The Falcons had only nine yards w offense. Andrews picked off three passes in the first half, then the second string recovered three fumbles in the second half.
“We can put in a new offense and defense, and they’re pretty good,” Phillips said. “I was happy they got to come out here and play two-thirds of the game.”
Despite not having Isaac Weaver due to a broken hand, Andrews averaged 1.72 points per play. After a North Georgia punt on the opening drive, the Wildcats went 24 yards in three plays, with Donovan Bateman hitting Cole Anderson for a 10-yard touchdown to put the Wildcats on the board with 8:34 remaining in the first quarter.
The Wildcats would add two more scores in the opening frame. Austin Martin ran for a six-yard touchdown with 4:43 to go, then Anderson caught a short pass from Bateman and did the rest for a 29-yard touchdown with 1:09 left on the clock.
Martin added another touchdown on a 24-yard run on the first play of the second quarter following his own interception. Andrews then stopped North Georgia on fourth down, and Andy Tatham capped off the ensuing drive with his first touchdown of the year on a five-yard run with 7:55 to go in the quarter.
On the Wildcats’ next drive, Eli Aguilar took a handoff around the right side, juking multiple Falcons defenders on a 34-yard touchdown run with 6:06 to go in the quarter. With Weaver out, Aguilar took advantage of his increased role, running for 127 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries.
“He’s proven that he’s a weapon in the open field.” Phillips said. “Because North Georgia’s got a lot of quick, fast kids, and Eli’s a shifty kid. He’s slowly becoming more of a weapon for us.”
Samuel Preston would score his first varsity touchdown on an 11-yard run with 2:51 to go in the second quarter to extend the lead to 48-0. Aguilar found the end zone again on a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter, and Holden Todd added his first career varsity touchdown on a six-yard run later in the frame.
So far this year, the Wildcats have lived up to what Phillips emphasized in the offseason. He wanted his team to clean the table every time they took the field, and they’ve done that.
Now comes the hard part, and Phillips knows it. Once again, the Smoky Mountain Conference looks like the toughest 1A conference schedule in the state.
However, the Wildcats have the best running back duo in the league in Weaver and Martin, even though Weaver will play while wearing a cast for the next few weeks. He has an incredibly physical and opportunistic defense. And he has a senior class that’s motivated to make sure this season has a different ending than in 2021.
Last year, Andrews also started 5-0, but some players said the Wildcats got a little too confident. That, along with some injuries, led to a 2-4 finish. This year, Andrews has been dialed in every week, and the team knows it needs to stay that way.
“Every week, the stakes are a little higher,” Phillips said. “And every team in the Smoky Mountain Conference is pretty good. So we’ve got our work cut out for us.”