Choate students and faculty alike place a tremendous focus on our athletic rivalry with Deerfield Academy. However, a longstanding tradition that is less regarded is Andover Day, the annual day where Choate and the Big Blue face off in a variety of sports. Like previous years, Andover challenged our forces across the board, with Football, Cross Country, Volleyball, and Water Polo battling to the final ticks for their respective results.
Football: 27-15 W
The Wild Boars got off to an uncharacteristically slow start, being held scoreless through the first quarter. Things got even tougher for Choate when postgraduate quarterback Steven Genova ’16 sustained an injury that ultimately kept him out of the game. However, in the ranks, Pat Piscatelli ’17 came on in relief of Genova and filled the absence brilliantly. Running the offense down the field, Piscatelli ran 15 yards to the end-zone to put the first points up on the board. There was no looking back for the Gold and Blue, as they responded each time Andover began to gain momentum, including a huge kickoff return by Abu Daramy ’16 after an Andover touchdown: his second of the game. This widened the Choate margin to 27-8. As was expected, football continued their unbeaten streak, improving to 4-0 on the year.
Boys’ Cross Country: Varsity 34-21 L, JV 15-43 W (low score wins)
The Choate harriers came confidently into the day, hoping to grab a win after a slow start to the season. Last year, this race was a near-disaster for the Wild Boars, who were almost shutout by an older, more talented Andover squad. This year was a different story, however, with Choate in position to potentially win through the first 1.5 miles. However, the older Andover squad began to pull away at this point, taking 3 of the top 5. Huge performances from Joe Berrafati ’17 and co-captain Matt Burlage ’16 kept Choate in the race. Griffin Birney ’18 led the Class of 2018’s “Legion of Zoom” (Birney, Elliot Sawyer-Kaplan ’18, Matt Kim ’18, and Jackson Elkins ’18) with a strong performance as well. Junior varsity was simply sensational; the first seven runners across the finish line were all Wild Boars.
Girls’ Volleyball: 2-3 L
This was a huge contest for Varsity Volleyball going up against Andover, as the teams have a combined 5 New England Championships since 2009. However, with Choate down two starters, this was going to be a tough bout for the Wild Boars. The match was dead even through four sets, as each squad had two sets a piece. Amassing a 10-3 lead early in the final set, the smallest mistakes ended up making the difference, with Andover going on to take the final set and the match 15-12 and 3-2, respectively. However, the girls in Gold and Blue have nothing to hang their heads over, as they nearly defeated a championship contender, down two starters, a sign of obvious success to come. The Wild Boars take on Taft this coming Saturday night.
Water Polo: 14-12 W
Saturday was a test for the aquatic-loving Wild Boars, coming off a sudden death loss the previous week to Exeter. After three quarters, the scoreboard read 10-9, in favor of Andover, going into the final quarter of play. Choate eventually evened up the score to 12-12 with 5:00 to go in the 4th, when Co-captain Omar John ’17 played the role of hero, scoring twice to give the Wild Boars the 14-12 victory over Andover. The game was highlighted not only by John’s play, but also by that of goaltender Jake Mackenzie ’17, who played the entire game in both ends for the Gold and Blue. Stefan Kassem ’17, an absolute offensive weapon for the Wild Boars, scored not once, not twice, not thrice, but eight times over the course of the game, annihilating the Big Blue defensive scheme and propelling the aquatic Wild Boars to a much-needed victory.
Tomorrow, several varsity Wild Boar teams head off to Taft. Stay tuned!
