HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Andover Central's combination of Jace Jefferson and Jace Adler was too much for Hutch High on Friday night at Gowans Stadium. The Jaguars picked up the 37-7 win over the Salthawks in the season opener.
The Jaguars took the opening kick off and marched down the field on a 14-play, 80-yard drive as Jefferson connected with Adler for a 22-yard touchdown with 6:37 left in the first quarter.
After the opening Salthawk drive stalled, Andover Central took advantage of a Salthawk penalty to keep the Jaguars' second possession alive. Jefferson found Adler for another 22-yard touchdown pass to cap a 47-yard drive with 39 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Andover Central scored again in the second quarter to take a 21-0 lead at the half.
The third quarter was more of the same with Andover Central scoring on a 69-yard pass to Adler as well as two Maddox Archibald runs of 43 yards and three yards.
The Salthawks did get on the board with a Levi Kepler to Taishaun Williams 28-yard strike with 5:10 to go in quarter three.
The Jaguars topped off the night with a 24-yard field goal by Andrew Clouse with just under three minutes remaining in the contest to make the final score 37-7.
One bright spot for the Salthawks was the running of senior Kade Smith who bowled through the Jaguar defense for 100 yards on 20 carries.
Jefferson was 15 of 21 for 215 yards and three passing touchdowns. Adler hauled in eight catches for 171 yards.
Kepler was 5 of 14 for 100 yards for the Salthawks. Sophomore Brodie McCuan led the Salthawk defense with eight tackles while senior Carter Morgan shined with seven tackles.
Andover Central will take on Newton next Friday while Hutchinson will host Valley Center. Both Newton and Valley Center are 0-1.