Andrews – As Andrews football moved to its postgame huddle, senior quarterback Donovan Bateman started counting. He got up to nine, then threw up a “W” sign with his fingers that needed no explanation.
After nine games in 2022, the Wildcats have nine wins, including a gritty 28-12 win over Robbinsville on Friday at Hugh Hamilton Stadium.
“It was a gutty performance, and it was one that we needed,” head coach James Phillips said. “You have to be able to win this type of game.”
Andrews (9-0 overall, 4-0 Smoky Mountain Conference) jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and looked ready to roll to another win. But Robbinsville (6-3, 2-2) didn’t quit, showing more fight than they did during a 48-16 loss to Murphy the previous week.
They made the Wildcats grind out drives. Andrews needed 50 carries to gain 182 yards on the ground, but Bateman stepped up when the running game faltered, completing nine of 13 passes for 165 yards.
Andrews’ passing game added another wrinkle this week, as Isaac Weaver was able to play without a club on his right hand. He caught four passes for 46 yards, while Bateman’s nine completions went to six different receivers.
“Passing, they had him bracketed most of the night,” Phillips said of Weaver. “Just the respect opened up other kids to catch some passes and be able to do some things.”
That difference showed
on the Wildcats’ first drive of the night, when Bateman hit Weaver over the middle for a 19-yard gain on third and 11 to move the ball down to the Black Knights’ 2 yard line. Three plays later, Austin Martin punched it in from one yard out on third and goal, capping off an 18-play, 66-yard drive to give Andrews a 7-0 lead.
On Robbinsville’s next drive, Weaver picked off Robbinsville’s Bryce Adams and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead. Samuel Preston would follow that by recovering an onside kick for the Wildcats, who looked ready to run away to another win.
However, Bateman was intercepted by Cuttler Adams at the Robbinsville 26-yard line with 9:25 to go in the second quarter. After both teams punted, Adams got the Black Knights on the board on a 26-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 14-6 with 4:21 to go in the quarter.
Andrews, though, had a quick response. Bateman snuck out of the pocket and hit Austin Martin up the left sideline, and Martin shook off and ran around defenders on his way to a 79-yard touchdown.
“I came to the sideline, and they told me I looked like a track superstar out there,” Martin said. “I didn’t think I was going to score, but here we are.”
The Wildcats would add another touchdown on its first drive of the second half, with Weaver scoring from four yards out to push the lead to 28-6 with 6:00 to go in the third quarter. Adams would take a handoff 71 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 28-12 with 49 seconds to go in the third quarter for the final score of the night.
Adams would finish with 158 yards and two touchdowns, but the rest of Robbinsville combined for just 37 yards of offense. Andrews, despite not executing the way it liked at times, was able to rely on various playmakers.
It’s the same approach the Wildcats have used all year, and it’s gotten them to the de facto Smoky Mountain Conference championship game at Murphy this Friday. It’s an approach that allowed them to, in Phillips’ words, “clean the table” nine times this year. They have a chance to do it one more time in the regular season for the school’s first conference title since 1983.
“We’re going to have to come out and execute, play well,” Weaver said. “But, I mean, you can’t (get) any better than at Murphy, conference championship.”