The Andrews varsity football team will travel to Boonville for the first round of the 1A N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs on Friday.
The Wildcats, who are the No. 24 seed, will travel to take on Starmount High School, the No. 9 seed.
Andrews ended the regular season with a 4-5 overall record and went 1-4 in the Smoky Mountain Conference. Their only conference win was over Swain County, who went winless in the SMC this season.
Their win over Swain was the opening game of their conference schedules, then they went on to lose the remaining SMC matchups.
They will head east on Friday to take on the No. 9 seed Starmount Rams. Starmount went 9-1 overall in the regular season and 5-1 in the Northwest 1A Conference. Their only loss was to Mount Airy, who had a record of 10-0 overall and is the No. 1 seed on the 1A West side of the playoff bracket.
During the regular season, the Cats were 2-2 at home and 2-3 on the road. Starmount went 5-1 at home and 4-0 on the road.
The Wildcats scored 151 points this season, but had 167 points against them. Starmount scored 475 points and only had 78 points scored on them.
Andrews’ biggest win this season was against Calhoun Falls Charter on Sept. 20 when they won 49-0. Starmount’s biggest win was against North Stokes on Oct. 4 when they won 65-0 for their first conference win. Starmount’s closest win was against. Their loss to Mount Airy was by only three points when they lost 17-14. Their loss to Mount Airy was also Mount Airy’s only one-score victory this season.
Starmount shutout their first four opponents of the season, then lost to Mount Airy, then they shutout North Stokes to get their first five wins as shutouts. Their closest conference win was against East Wilkes when they won 35-20.
In the regular season, Rams quarterback Luke Collins through for 1,604 yards with 26 passing touchdowns and threw five interceptions. Collins also rushed for 433 yards and eight touchdowns, which is tied for the most on the team.
On the ground, Collins tied with Kinston Crater and Jymir Billips with eight touchdowns each. Crater rushed for a team-leading 849 yards and Billips rushed for 573 yards.
In the air, KJ Allen had 463 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Colton Allen also had nine touchdowns and 359 receiving yards. KJ Allen also had 112 rushing yards on 10 carries with two rushing touchdowns.
On defense, Evan Shore had four sacks and 73 total tackles this season. Kevon Propst led the team with 88 total tackles and also had three sacks. Collins, who along with being the quarterback is also a defensive back, had a team-leading three interceptions.
The Rams are a dual threat that can move their way down the field through the air or on the ground The week of rest last week should help the Cats be healthy for thier matchup Friday night in Booneville.
The Wildcats will face the tough task of going head-to-head with the Rams at 7 p.m. Friday night for the first round of the NCHSAA 1A playoffs.