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Coke's career night sinks Billerica

Friday, November, 05 By David Willis
Staff writer

BILLERICA — Even offensive lineman Lyle Baker couldn’t help but do his own Andy Coke impression.

“Did you see the juke on (reigning Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year) Nick LaSpada?” said Baker, giving a shimmy as if he was carrying the ball. “We got Andy to the next level, and he juked left, juked right and just ran past LaSpada. It was crazy.”

Coke’s first carry of the day was a 75-yard touchdown, his second was a 40-yard run to set up his second score, and he was on his way to a stellar 289 yards and five touchdowns as Andover topped Billerica, the preseason favorite in the MVC Large, 36-20 last night.

“This was awesome,” said Coke. “It’s a night I’m going to remember my whole life. It feels great, and the win is amazing.”

The 289 yards on 30 carries were a career high for Coke, and the fourth time this season and the second straight week he surpassed 200 yards in a game. It is the most rushing yards in a game for an Andover player since The Eagle-Tribune began keeping records in 1998. The next most was Matt Hennessy’s 243 yards against Wachusett in 2002.

Coke now has 1,413 yards and 20 touchdowns for the season.

“Andy was incredible,” said Andover coach E.J. Perry. “From the first long run and every run after, he just made it count. We beat Billerica at the line on both offense and defense.”

The Indians opened the game by marching 80 yards on 10 plays, with star quarterback Nick LaSpada finishing off the drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass.

But, on the first play of Andover’s first possession, Coke flew through a gaping hole and scamped 75 yards for a score. Mark Zavrl hit Michael Galietti for the two-point conversion to put Andover ahead to stay.

Coke totalled 153 yards in the first half, and 126 and two scores in the third quarter alone. He carried just five times in the fourth. With an offensive line paced by Baker, Connor Clancy and T.J. Leeman dominating the much smaller Billerica front, nearly all of Coke’s yards game on runs straight up the middle.

“They were light in the middle,” said Baker. “So we worked them the whole game, I was pulling blocking people up. We want to come out with a bang every game, and Andy does the rest.”

After playing almost exclusively running back last week, Coke took all but 11 snaps at quarterback, and completed three passes for 73 yards, two in the fourth to ice the victory.

The Golden Warriors did allow superstar LaSpada to throw for 317 yards and rush for 98. But LaSpada was limited to 92 through the air in the second half, and was picked off by linebacker Will Keller in the fourth.

Linebacker Ned Deane continued his tremendous season with a team-high nine tackles, while Mark Zavrl had seven tackles and Matt Crush had five stops. Freddie Scribner (30 rushing yards) added a sack and Andrew DeLoury had four stops and knocked down two passes.

“We know that if we win out we go to the playoffs,” said Clancy, whose Golden Warriors take on Lowell on Friday before facing Central Catholic on Thanksgiving. “But we aren’t the hunters now. We are the hunted. It’s two more games to decide everything.”