Andrews – During the second half Friday night, Hugh Hamilton Stadium public address announcer Chucky Mathis proclaimed there was a new power in the Smoky Mountain Conference. That’s not something you’ll hear head coach James Phillips say, as he prefers to take the season one week at a time.
Instead, Phillips told his Wildcats postgame that he thinks they’re a pretty good football team. Swain County was the latest opponent to find out, as Andrews shook off a slow first quarter before bullying the Maroon Devils the rest of the way in a 33-7 win. The Wildcats are undefeated through seven games for the first time since 1967 and ranked No. 1 in the state’s Class A by MaxPreps.
“These kids, they’re a special bunch, and we all know that,” Phillips said. “They just want to keep getting better. I was proud of their effort and proud of their fight tonight.”
In what was expected to be a physical fight, Andrews (7-0 overall, 2-0 Smoky Mountain Conference) had its way. Swain County (3-4, 0-2) ran for just 50 yards on 21 carries, while the Wildcats grinded out 225 rushing yards. Isaac Weaver ran for 87 yards and two touchdowns, and Austin Martin ran for 72 and a touchdown.
With the Maroon Devils’ running game bottled up, Andrews made life miserable for quarterback Reese Winchester, who threw four interceptions. Swain County’s only touchdown came on a shanked punt in the fourth quarter that was run back by Cole Wikle.
“Seems like a lot of people want to talk about Swain’s defense. and rightly so,” Phillips said. “I feel like we got a pretty good defense ourselves, and I think that kind of spoke for itself.”
It wasn’t the prettiest start for Andrews for the second week in a row, as the Wildcats turned it over on downs in Maroon Devils territory on their first two drives. But Andrews’ defense held strong while the offense revved up, and an Andy Tatham interception put the ball at the Swain 33 in the final minute of the first quarter.
The Wildcats capitalized on the turnover, with Weaver’s four-yard touchdown run giving them a 7-0 lead with 9:25 to go in the second quarter. Winchester hit Joshua Collins for a 37-yard gain to get the Maroon Devils to the Andrews 26 yard line on the next play from scrimmage, but Andrews’ defense stopped Swain on fourth down at the 28.
Donovan Bateman would hit Cole Anderson for a 61-yard catch and run on the next play, and Martin’s three-yard score three plays later gave Andrews a 14-0 lead with 6:21 to go in the second quarter. The Wildcats had answers for Swain’s defense again on the next drive, moving 64 yards in seven plays, including 12-yard runs by both Martin and Eli Aguilar and a 35-yard run by Weaver.
Weaver finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to extend Andrews lead to 21-0 with 1:25 to go in the second quarter. Entering this game, Swain County had allowed just 12.7 points per game.
“Right before the second quarter, coach (Phillips and Jamie Martin) came up and told us we can beat them as long as we do our jobs,” Bateman said. “We started executing, and started moving the ball down the field.”
Bateman’s 52-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first minute of the third quarter basically ended Swain County’s chances of a comeback, and his four-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper with 3:25 to go in the third quarter put the nail in the coffin.
After avenging one of its conference losses to Swain County last year, the Wildcats will get a chance to avenge another this week when they travel to Cherokee (1-6, 0-2). Last year, Andrews scored just once in seven drives that ended in Cherokee territory during a 12-9 loss. Two years ago, the Wildcats pulled out a wild 30-28 win at Cherokee.
That’s why despite the Braves being down this year, Andrews knows it needs to keep the same businesslike approach it’s had all season next week.
“We have to go up there and make sure we come out firing,” Bateman said. “We can’t start off slow, (we need to) make sure we come out, score some early touchdowns, get some stops, do our jobs.”