Football Tops Avon for 3rd Straight W
Looking to extend its win streak to three before E/a, Big Red football traveled to Avon Old Farms School last Saturday in high spirits. Exeter took an early lead on Avon, scoring 19 points in the first half while holding Avon to one touchdown. The opposing team, however, made a comeback in the second half, keeping the match close. In the end, Exeter prevailed 29-27, moving their record up to 3-4, identical to Andover’s.The seniors on the team found this game to be especially important, as it would be their last road game at Exeter. According to senior and captain Jeff MacArthur, the older members of the team played especially aggressively throughout the match. Despite struggling at certain points throughout the game, these players displayed the motivation needed to make key plays.Lower Hans Fotta praised senior Mykel Miller for his physical presence and numerous solo tackles on the defensive line. He also noted senior Mike Mancini as a key player, repeatedly leading offensive drives with his work running the ball.Fotta went on to explain that the game was also extra energizing as it is Avon’s biggest of the season, and the majority of its student body attended, as well as several alumni. This presented a challenge to the Exeter team, who had to work to block out the distracting crowd and concentrate on winning.“There were no big surprises,” he said. “We knew the crowd would be crazy, so we just played our game and ignored it. Despite challenges such as this, the offensive line has been doing a great job this season, especially this week against Avon.”
“We have a good chance, and it should be a good game.”
According to post-graduate Brycen Yarmo, the team also demonstrated a strong “focus” throughout the game, as they “never stopped pushing.” However, he also noticed that “while the team played well, they could have played a lot better,” especially considering their strong start.Going forward, Yarmo expects to continue to see this team’s strong drive as they battle the Smurfs in the biggest game of the entire season.“We are on a three-game win streak, so the team is hyped and ready for the challenge,” he said. “It should be a big game.”MacArthur agreed with Yarmo, noting the team still has lots to improve on. “We still have a lot of work and a lot of potential,” MacArthur said. “However, when we play Andover, I expect us to win.”As the team moves into the last week of the season, they will devote all their attention to this last game. Fotta explained that while the game between Andover should be a close match, if the team stays focused and practices hard, they can pull of an exciting win for the fans.“We have a good chance, and it should be a good game,” Fotta said. “Andover has lost to a few teams that we have beat, but the game shouldn’t be a blowout either way. We’re just going to keep practicing and making sure we’re as good as we can be.”Exeter will play Andover at 3:30 p.m. this Saturday at home in the last game of the season.