No. 2-seeded Huskies will face tough Elk River team
by Malik Mitchell
The Andover Huskies received the No. 2 seed in Class 5A Section 7 playoffs despite handing the No. 1 seed Elk River Elks their lone loss and playing a tough schedule.
“I am proud of our kids. It is one of those weird things where we get through our section opponents and we are 4-0 beating everybody in our section, but somehow, we still got the number two seed,” head coach Tom Develice said. “I am proud of how they keep their heads high and just keep working.”
The Huskies (7-2) beat the Elks (8-1) 47-31 in Week 4. Andover went neck-and-neck against Elk River’s sound Power-T offense, while spoiling the Elks’ homecoming.
Andover’s fast-paced offense raced to 27 points in the first half while holding Elk River to 12. Junior dual-threat quarterback Joseph Mapson threw for 152 yards and ran for two touchdowns.
“It is not just me. It is our offensive line and our receivers having great blocks,” Mapson said. “My coach had trust in me to go out there for my second-ever start. It was just a fun game. There was a lot of energy on both sides of the ball.”
Elk River had a chance to make it a one-score game late in the 4th quarter before fumbling at the goal line. Junior linebacker Gage Roeder scooped and scored a 98-yard touchdown to effectively put the game away for Andover.
In the section semi-finals Andover dismantled No. 3 seed Sauk Rapids-Rice (5-4) 58-21. The Huskies have a rematch with the Elks for the Section 7 Championship on Nov. 1. Going back to last year’s regular season and post season matchups, Andover defeated Elk River 63-56 in Week 4 and 65-32 in the Section 7 Championship.
This season Andover’s two losses came in week one to defending Class 5A state runner-up St. Thomas Academy (6-3) and #4-ranked Robbinsdale Armstrong (9-0) in a double-overtime thriller 57-56. While Mapson did not appear in the game against St. Thomas, he made his mark versus Armstrong throwing for 207 yards yards, 144 rushing yards, and six total touchdowns.
Despite seeing little playing time with the varsity last season, Mapson picked up tips from quarterback Chase Pemberton, who holds the school’s record for pass completion rate at 73.5%.
“It was great watching him do that,” Mapson added. “It can definitely teach you a lot learning from older kids like that.”
Mapson currently has more than 700 passing yards, 500 rushing yards, and 18 total touchdowns despite operating under a run-heavy offense and sharing time with senior quarterback Hudson Maynard. Maynard is averaging 108 passing yards, over 70 rushing yards, and two touchdowns per game.
“We are both weapons. We both know we can go out there and do something,” Mapson said. “It is hard to game plan against two quarterbacks so I feel like we have the edge on a lot of other teams being able to do that. He has been a great teammate all season. What makes me stand out is more of my athleticism and being able to move.”
Last year, Andover lost to the defending 5A champions Chanhassen 54-46 in the State Semifinals, ending their season. The Huskies will have their hands full preparing for their final test in Sections, but they still have their sights set on returning to the bank (US Bank Stadium).
“The reality is our section is tough. We must get through Elk River and that is not easy. We cannot put the cart before the horse,” Develice said. “We will see how everything sits and just do our best and compete and let the scoreboard take care of itself.”
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