Welcome to the third and final part of our series looking back on the 2011 Andover High School fall athletic season.

Today we look at the football team. Yesterday we featured the field hockey and volleyball teams, and on Monday we featured the soccer teams.

Football

Comments:

Dubbing this team average would be simply criminal considering the talent on the team and the results they had.

One thing is for sure, and that is the team did not live up to the expectations they set for themselves.

A team that was eyeing a Super Bowl berth in Foxborough went only 7-4 and fell to some very beatable teams. After last year’s playoff berth, the Warriors took a step back.

In week three, the Warriors dropped a ten-point game to Tewksbury, a team that they have been able to handle in recent years.

A midseason loss to Chelmsford was tough, but expected by many pundits. Then came a puzzling 26-10 loss to Dracut in week eight that essentially ended Andover’s playoff hopes.

Then on Thanksgiving, the meltdown occurred.

Andover led their rivals from Central 27-7 in the third quarter. The lead simply did not hold up.

Central scored four touchdowns in a row before Andover was able to tie the game and force overtime. The Warriors fell thanks to a two point conversion by Central quarterback Matt McDermott.

Andover’s superstar senior Andy Coke will be playing his football at Brown University next September, so the Warriors will have a lot of rebuilding to do.