Andrews – Even after two long touchdown runs by senior Dalton Rose in the first quarter, Rosman was still playing with energy.
Andrews wasn’t quite as solid as it would like to be on offense, and the Tigers got in the backfield at times. But the Wildcats continued to just pound away, and eventually the energy from Rosman turned more into pointing fingers than hyping each other up. It wasn’t always clean for Andrews, but was enough to open the season with a 35-0 win. It’s Andrews biggest margin of victory in a season opener since a 47-0 win over Copper Basin, Tenn. in 1990.
“I thought if we could just be methodical offensively and do what we do and be sound with it, that tends to take some of that hoopla out,” head coach James Phillips said. “But they continued to play hard to their credit. But I’m proud of our kids. I’m proud they started with a good win.”
There are plenty of spots to fill after the Wildcats (1-0 overall) graduated an excellent senior class that led the program to its first Smoky Mountain Conference championship since 1983, and Dalton Rose and Eli Aguilar filled two of those spots with some solid play at running back.
Rose continues to excel after transitioning from offensive line to running back, running for a 29-yard and 58-yard touchdown in the first quarter on his way to a 136-yard and three touchdown night. Eli Aguilar joined Rose in crossing the century mark, running for 104 yards and a touchdown.
“I thought it was pretty easy transitioning,” Rose said of the position switch. “You know what the line’s doing or supposed to hit and the line does a great job of blocking this year. So I know where to go.”
Rosman was able to have some success on their opening drive as Andrews linebackers struggled to contain quarterback Jayden Renaldo on some option plays. Once the Wildcats switched from a 5-2 defense to a 4-3, they kept the Tigers in check. Rosman (0-1) had just 89 yards of offense.
“They ran a lot of buck and fullback trap, stuff like that in the scrimmage and not as much as veer,” Phillips said. “Tonight they were trying to come out and run veer and run option a lot and we’ve got three new linebackers there replacing three seniors. Primarily their responsibility is quarterback. When it’s coming at you fast, it’s a little different than practice.”
After Rose’s two touchdown runs in the first quarter, he and Kencade Watkins tackled Tigers punter Quintin Forbes in the end zone for a safety with 1:07 to go in the quarter. Following the safety free kick, Andrews methodically drove 58 yards for another score. The Wildcats converted a third-and-9, a third-and-13 and fourth down on the drive, and Rose’s three-yard touchdown run extended the lead to 22-0 with 5:29 to go in the second quarter.
Andrews scored again before the end of the half. A 33-yard completion from Everett Tatham to Graham Burch moved the ball to the Rosman 15-yard line, and Aguilar extended the lead to 28-0 with a one-yard touchdown run with 1:07 to go in the second quarter. The Wildcats scored again to start the second half, with Samuel Preston’s one-yard run capping off a 10-play 85-yard drive.
Andrews heads to East Flat Rock next week to take on East Henderson. The Eagles opened their season with a 47-36 loss to North Buncombe, which was the Black Hawks first win in three years.
The Eagles struggled with North Buncombe’s physical running game, but present some challenges with a spread offense.
“We got a lot of work to do on Monday, Phillips said. “But we’ll get in there and get it done.”