Football Versus Wellington
By: Dayden Cunningham

The Andover Central Jaguars faced off against the Wellington Crusaders last Friday, with the winner moving on to sub-state. The game was expected to be a nail-biter, but the Jags exceeded that expectation. The Jags put up more points in the first quarter than the Crusaders did in the entire game. The offense was firing on all cylinders with the defense putting them in a great spot to put points on the board. The standout player from this game was none other than senior running back Maddox Archibald. Archibald averaged 6.5 yards per rush along with four touchdowns.

    The key for the Jaguars in this game was to come out strong and keep the momentum going. They did exactly this, with Archibald scoring his first of many rushing touchdowns on the first drive of the game. Then the defense used this fuel to force and recover a fumble putting the Jags in a scoring position. Archibald got another touchdown with this one being a five-yard rush. Clouse made both PATs putting Central up 14-0. It was deja vu as the defense forced a fumble and the offense had another rushing touchdown. This one was by senior quarterback, Jace Jefferson. The Jags ended the first quarter with a 21-0 lead, and the scoring did not stop there. The Crusaders finally answered back with a touchdown of their own, but Jefferson went to the air and completed a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Jace Adler. Wellington also came back with a passing touchdown, but this would be their last game score. Senior kicker, Andrew Clouse drained a 40-yard field goal to increase the lead to 18 points. Archibald was not the only multiple-touchdown scorer this game as Adler caught another touchdown pass. Unfortunately, Clouse missed his first PAT of the year after this score, but the Jags had a comfortable lead heading into halftime. 

    The Jags came out of the half firing with Jefferson getting his third passing touchdown of the night and this one was to senior wide receiver Brandt Stupka. The game was sealed but the offense wanted more. Archibald got two more rushing touchdowns in the last quarter and extended the lead to over 40 points. The final score of the game was 58-13. 

    The Wellington football coaching staff was talking trash before the game, so this win was even sweeter. On the other side of the bracket, Buhler upset Wamego, so that means the Jags get to host sub-state. If the Jags can replicate their performance against Buhler, they will have no problem heading to state.