Andrews – After last week’s historic win over Murphy, it was business as usual for the Wildcats this week.
In the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A West Playoffs, No. 10 seed Andrews had no trouble with No. 23 seed Bishop McGuinness, defeating the Villains 34-6.
The Wildcats (7-3 overall) will travel to No. 7 seed Starmount (7-4). The Rams demolished No. 26 seed South Stanly 65-8 in the first round.
“I felt like we were efficient in what we needed to do,” Andrews head coach James Phillips said. “We needed to get them early, and we did that.”
Last week’s postgame huddle was filled with emotion, while this one was short and sweet. Andrews had control of the game after scoring on the opening drive, and never let go. Though the Villains (2-8) were able to have a bit of success running a bunched single-wing offense early, their only touchdown was in garbage time.
It took Andrews just five plays to go 59 yards to the end zone on the opening drive, which ended with Bateman finding an open Isaac Weaver for a 10-yard touchdown with 8:52 to go in the second quarter.
For the second straight week, Bateman had a solid night passing the ball. The junior completed eight of 14 passes for 71 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. His eight completions went to five different receivers.
“Especially the last 3-4 weeks, I feel like he’s getting better every week,” Phillips said of Bateman. “He made some really good throws tonight. I was proud of him, and we’re gonna need that. If we’re trying to meet the goals we’ve got, we have to be able to throw the football some.”
After Weaver picked off Noah Nagle on Bishop McGuinness’ opening drive, Andrews marched down the field again. Bateman capped off the drive with a 6-yard strike to Andy Tatham.
The third Wildcats drive was more of the same. Andrews went 61 yards in seven plays, with Weaver running it in from 4 yards out with 3:35 to go in the second quarter for his second touchdown of the night.
The Wildcats recovered the opening kickoff to start the second half, and cashed in on the next play with Bateman finding Weaver again for a 26-yard touchdown. With Andrews
up 28-0, Phillips rested Weaver and Austin Martin on offense for almost the rest of the night. The duo combined for 127 yards on 15 carries, with just one carry in the second half.
The lopsided score allowed freshmen Eli Aguilar and Kegan Ellis to get carries, and both ran well. Aguilar, a junior varsity call-up, ran for 71 yards on six carries, while Ellis ran for 22 yards and a touchdown on five carries.
“It’s great to get to see your backups shine,” Weaver said. “They go in practice, scout team, they put in all this work for us and then they never really get to do anything on a game day. It’s a good time seeing them go out there and do what they can do.”
The Wildcats will make the 228-mile trek to Starmount next week, which is almost as many miles as the 231-mile trip they have made to Elkin in the playoffs the last two seasons. In Phillips’ last season as an assistant at Swain County, the Rams trounced the Maroon Devils 42-14 in the 2014 1AA West playoffs.
“It’s an Elkin-type ride that we’ve had the last couple years, and I feel like we know how to handle that,” Phillips said. “But they’re all business. They’ve got goals, and they’re going to work toward those.”