Andover scored on the opening kickoff and went on to defeat Franklin 56-21 in the MIAA Division 1 football tournament Thursday, Nov. 5.
Senior Kyle Olson returned the kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, according to a scoring summary published by Franklin Matters. The ninth-seeded Golden Warriors improved to 6-3 and advanced to face top-seeded St. John’s Prep in the quarterfinals.
DeJesus scores five touchdowns
Marcus DeJesus accounted for five Andover touchdowns, catching a scoring pass from John Stadler and adding four rushing scores.
Stadler also connected with Ryan Moriarty on a 15-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. Combined with Olson’s return and the DeJesus reception, that gave Andover a 21-0 lead.
DeJesus scored on an 18-yard run in the second quarter. Franklin answered with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Edmunds to Ben Scullin, leaving Andover ahead 28-7 at halftime.
A 58-yard DeJesus touchdown run extended the lead to 35-7 in the third quarter. After another Edmunds-to-Scullin touchdown, DeJesus reached the end zone on a 9-yard run.
Franklin scored once more in the fourth quarter when Edmunds found Iyad Fraifer for a 16-yard touchdown. Andover finished with a 10-yard touchdown run by DeJesus and a 12-yard scoring run by Stadler.
Henry Belscher converted all eight extra-point attempts.
St. John’s Prep awaits
Franklin fell to 6-3. MaxPreps’ Andover results page confirms the Thursday victory and final score.
Andover now moves on to a Division 1 quarterfinal against No. 1 St. John’s Prep, according to the official MIAA bracket.
