Andrew turns the tables in blanking Eisenhower

Updated: October 28, 2011 11:44PM

Sitting at 1-3, few people expected Andrew to garner a piece of the SouthWest Suburban Red title.

Even fewer expected to see Andrew advancing to the second round of the Class 7A playoffs.

But that’s the road the Thunderbolts have traveled during a six-game winning streak that includes a 14-0 win over Eisenhower in a Class 7A opener Friday night in Blue Island.

Andrew (7-3) advances to host St. Rita (8-2), which drubbed Shepard, in a second-round tilt.

How far has Andrew come? It absorbed a 41-21 loss to Eisenhower in Week 2. What a difference eight weeks can make.

“Confidence,” Andrew coach Jim Malec said of the difference between his team now and then. “We’re playing with more confidence on both sides of the ball. The offense is more experienced and the defense has been doing a great job.”

Eisenhower coach Travis Moore benched three starters for the first quarter, including quarterback Justin Geiter, for disciplinary reasons.

The Cards weathered that storm behind Geiter’s backup, Lavantis Lewis (6 carries, 29 yards), and the running of Leo Okeke (20 carries, 78 yards). The Cardinals opened the game with a 14-play drive that ended with a punt. However, the drive ate 9:21 off the clock, leaving just 2:39 before Geiter would enter the game.

But Geiter’s return didn’t provide much spark for a Cardinals offense that sputtered all night.

Not even a pair of running into the punter calls against Andrew in the first-half lifted Eisenhower.

“I think we came out and executed our game plan initially,” said Moore, whose Cards finished 7-3. “Unfortunately, we fell short of getting into the end zone.”

Andrew had no such concerns.

Quarterback Tyler Hook’s 1-yard plunge with 33 seconds remaining in the first-half capped a 13-play, 88-yard drive and 7-0 lead after Mike Ehlers point-after kick.

Hook (7-of-12, 112 yards) completed four passes on the drive, including three to Joe Sanfilippo that covered 36 yards. The big play, however, was a three-yard run by Jarvis Franklin (20 carries, 114 yards) on fourth-and-1 at the T-bolts 49-yard line.

Andrew took the opening kickoff of the second half and needed just three plays to hit pay dirt. Franklin’s 2-yard burst at 10:37 of the third upped the lead to 14-0 after Ehlers PAT. Franklin set up the score with a 55-yard run on the previous play.

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