Andrews coming off of big year
Andrews – It’s hard to believe, but fall sports can start practicing for the 2023 season in just five days. In Andrews, that means officially turning the page on last year’s historic football season.
The Wildcats finished 13-1 and won their first Smoky Mountain Conference championship since 1983 before falling to Draughn in the fourth round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A playoffs. The loss closed the book on a senior class that powered Andrews football’s best three-year run since the 1960s, and provides an opportunity for this year’s team to try to continue the program’s recent run of success.
There are some excellent lineman returning, led by All-Conference seniors Tyler West and Dalton Rose, but the Wildcats will have to replace almost all of their skill production from last year. Juniors Eli Aguilar and Everett Tatham and senior Samuel Preston look ready to fill those roles, and the non-conference schedule should give players some time to settle in before conference play begins.
Andrews will scrimmage Franklin for the third year in a row on Aug. 11, then opens with a familiar foe in Rosman on Aug. 18. The Tigers were Smoky Mountain Conference members from 1993 to 2021 before being moved to the Western Highlands Conference in the most recent round of realignment.
Rosman has lost 33 straight games, with only one by single digits. Murphy alum Tyrea Allen took over the program in December, and the Tigers could be better after graduating just three seniors.
Following the season opener, Andrews will make its first road trip of the year to East Henderson on Aug. 25. The Wildcats trounced the Eagles, 46-14, last season. The Eagles finished 2-8 last year with wins over winless Rosman and North Buncombe.
Like Rosman, the Eagles also have a new head coach in Colton Brackett, a 2010 East Henderson alum who played on their 2008 2AA West Regional runner-up team. East Henderson ran a spread offense team last year, and lost many of their top contributors on both sides of the ball. However, it’s unknown if Brackett will continue with the same scheme or the Eagles will have a different style of play this fall.
Andrews will return home on Sept. 1 to face New Faith Christian Academy. The Riverdale, Georgia, school is in its second year as a program, and are playing nine games this fall after playing just two last year. They’ll also play Murphy on Sept. 22.
The following week, the Wildcats will have their final home non-conference game against Mitchell. Andrews has beaten Mitchell each of the past two seasons, including a 44-27 win in Bakersville last year. The Mountaineers went 8-4 last year, falling in the second round of the playoffs to Draughn a year after advancing to the 1A state championship.
The Mountaineers graduated players like Ty Turbyfill, Gage Young and Dalton Hollifield who helped power their offense the past two years, though what Mitchell loses from its skill position it makes up for by returning some defensive contributors. Losing that much talent could mean a potential rebuilding year, but the Mountaineers have won at least eight games in each of Travise Pitman’s eight full seasons as a head coach.
After a bye week, Andrews will finish its non-conference slate by facing the Hickory Hawks at Lenoir-Rhyne University on Sept 22. After playing at a subpar facility at the N.C. School for the Deaf last year, this should be a better experience for the fans and players. Andrews has beaten the homeschool, Christian-based team each of the last two seasons.
Then it’s time for the five game conference slate. Home games last year will be away games this year and vice-versa, meaning the Wildcats will have two conference home games and three away games.
The schedule is slightly different than the past two years, with the opponent from the conference opener, now dropping down to the final game of the regular season. The four other regular season games will now move up a week.
This means that on Sept. 29, Andrews will open conference play with a trip to Swain County. The Wildcats beat the Maroon Devils 33-7 last year, and Swain eventually advanced to the second round of the state playoffs under first-year head coach Sherman Holt. The Maroon Devils graduated a few key seniors, and could take a step forward with returning playmakers all over the field.
The conference slate continues on Oct. 5 with a home game against Cherokee. The Braves have a new head coach in Tim Hawkins, and he has a lot to replace after the graduation of eight seniors and the transfer of All-Conference running back Chase Calhoun to Robbinsville.
Last year, Cherokee was probably better than their 3-9 record, though might be headed for a true rebuild year this fall. Andrews prevailed 42-21 at Ray Kinsland Stadium last year.
Next up is a trip to Robbinsville. The Wildcats’ 28-12 win over the Black Knights was their first over the Graham County school since 1998, but beating them again will be a much stiffer challenge. With the addition of Calhoun alongside Cuttler Adams and Kage Williams along with the return of quarterback Donovan Carpenter, Robbinsville is the heavy favorite to win its fourth conference championship in five years.
After Robbinsville is the final regular-season home game against Murphy. Andrews beat the Bulldogs twice last season, first a 42-12 rout to clinch the conference championship and then again 50-23 in the third round of the state playoffs. Just like the Wildcats, Murphy has plenty of questions on both sides of the ball after graduating 16 seniors.
The Wildcats wrap up the regular season with a trip to Hayesville. The Yellow Jackets finished over .500 for the first time since 2019 last year, and their third-round playoff run was the program’s best since 2013.
Senior Taylor McClure will be the player to watch for Hayesville on both sides of the ball, as he has picked up several Division I offers in recent months. Andrews’ 50-7 win over Hayesville was their third straight against the Yellow Jackets, and they haven’t won four straight against the Clay County school since 1983-85.