Boonville – It ended in an instant. With just one play, everything that Andrews had worked for all season, even rallying to tie the game and force overtime against Starmount, it all evaporated.
After the Rams scored on their first play of overtime to go up 27-20, the Wildcats fumbled on their first play. In the playoffs, the losses hit harder. Instead of getting a chance to bounce back next week, it’s a nine-month wait until August.
“I felt like we left some things there out on the table, and that’s what hurts the most,” Andrews head coach James Phillips said. “You have to dwell on that in the offseason, and I hate the way it ended, not even having a chance in overtime.”
The game didn’t have a lot of action for most of the first three quarters. Luke Kimmer hit Jalyn Adams for a 45-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to go up 7-0, while Zach Dezern’s two-yard run late in the third quarter put the Rams up 14-0. In between those two scores, No. 7 seed Starmount (8-4 overall) stymied the veer offense of No. 10 seed Andrews (7-4) by stacking the box.
However, after Dezern’s touchdown, a switch seemed to flip. Kegan Ellis took the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to put Andrews on the board. Starmount returned the following kickoff to the Wildcats 12-yard line, and Dezern’s five-yard touchdown run extended the lead to 20-6 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
On Andrews next play from scrimmage, Isaac Weaver took a handoff and sprinted 66 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 20-12. The Wildcats forced a Rams three and out, then Donovan Bateman hit Weaver on a short pass, and he did the rest for a 65-yard touchdown. Andrews went for two, and Austin Martin ran it in to tie the game with 8:25 to go.
The Wildcats had two more drives to win the game in regulation but couldn’t convert. Starmount fumbled while trying to punt, giving Andrews the ball at the Rams’ 20-yard line. The Wildcats got to the five before missing a field goal. After another Starmount three and out, Andrews drove to the 25-yard line before Bateman was intercepted with less than two minutes remaining.
“We just had opportunities we didn’t take advantage of,” Phillips said. “Starmount did.”
Despite putting together back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1966-67 and beating Murphy for the first time since 1981, those missed opportunities are what will linger in the offseason. Andrews four losses this year were by a combined 29 points; if just a few plays went differently, the Wildcats could’ve met their goal of winning a Smoky Mountain Conference championship.
That’s just more motivation for a team that loses only three seniors, and will return key contributors all over the field next year. The teams’ expectations this year were higher than what those outside the program expected, but that won’t be the case in 2022.
“Ultimately there were a couple bright spots, but I don’t think those were the goals I had or these players had,” Phillips said. “They left some things out on the table and they’re going to have some regrets about that.
“I hope these kids use this to fuel their fire in the offseason and motivate them, and not have regrets next year and not leave things out there when all is said and done. We need to take care of business all the time.”