Andrews – After there were issues with the visiting team, the Andrews varsity football team canceled its second scrimmage of the season, which was scheduled to take place Friday night.
Instead, the Wildcats are looking ahead to their first regular season game of the year at 7:30 p.m. Friday, when they travel to take on Madison. Andrews head coach Jason Johnson said they will study film and adjust for Friday night’s game.
“We’ll watch the film on Madison. The defense will adjust to what they do, and the offense will adjust to what they do defensively. We’ll try to find the best matchups and try to exploit their weaknesses,” he said.
On who will likely make an impact, Johnson said to watch out for the Wildcats’ line.
“They’re going to have to have a big game. I think Gabe [Aguilar] and Cooper Orr and those guys upfront are going to have to play big,” he said. “Also, our linebackers LaDannien Rattler and Aiden Garrett. Those guys are going to have to play big. They’re going to have to get their keys and fly to the football.”
On what it will take for them to come home victorious, Johnson said, “We’re going to line up and be physical. I think being physical is the key. We’re going to have to be sound, solid tacklers and make plays on offense, take care of the football, be sound in our special teams, and not make mistakes and not turn the ball over.”
Last season, Madison went 2-6 overall, 2-2 in the Western Highlands 1A/2A conference. Their two wins came against Rosman and Owen, with the loss to Rosman coming after losing the first four games of the season to teams such as North Buncombe and Mitchell.
Madison’s win over Owen came in the final week of the regular season against a team that were coming off of their only win last season. Despite that, Madison missed the playoffs.
Madison is a 3A school this year while playing in the same conference as last season, which puts them in a similar situation to Andrews.
Andrews will look to replicate the start the Wildcats had last season. Last year, they started the season with wins over Rosman and a non-conference matchup over Hayesville. They then lost a nail-biter against Mitchell on the road by one point.
The Wildcats went on to defeat Calhoun Falls Charter and Swain County. Despite the strong start, the Wildcats went on to lose their last four regular season games and first-round playoff game against Starmount.
The good news for Andrews is that after reclassification, the 1A football conference has been blown wide open.
Three of the four teams that made the final four in the 1A bracket last season have been reclassified to 2A or 3A. The remaining team – Wilson Prep – remained 1A and will likely be a force in the classification come playoff time.
In MaxPreps preseason rankings, Andrews is ranked No. 3 in 1A at press time Tuesday morning. Madison is ranked No. 49 in a stacked 3A classification.
Ahead of Andrews in the preseason rankings are Robbinsville at No. 1 and Wilson Prep at No. 2. Rosman – the other Smoky Mountain Conference team in 1A– is ranked No. 14 at press time.