You don't often get a chance to redeem yourself twice in the same game, but that's exactly what Toshi Hayashi did for the Andover Trojans in their last-second 17-14 win over arch-rival Andover Central.
This game started ordinarily enough with Andover punting on its first two posessions while Andover Central was also forced to a three-and-out on their first series. However the Jaguars got on the board first when Blake Meier hooked up with Taylor Brown in the first quarter to make it 7-0.
Cole Guneringer was a force to be reckoned with at quarterback for Andover. Although he's not the biggest guy on the field, he's one of the fastest and he's definitely the shiftiest. Gunerginer carried the load for Andover in the middle of the second quarter setting up Alex Olson for the short touchdown run to tie the game at 7.
The Trojans defense held strong and forced a Jaguars' punt, but Hayashi let it slip through his hands, muffing the punt, and the Jags recovered with great field position. Just a couple of plays later Meier called his own number and Andover Central took a 14-7 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Hayashi wouldn't disappoint. His first redemption came in the form of a huge kickoff return with less than 2 minutes remaining in the half that set his team up on the Jaguars' 20-yard line. Gunerginer kept the drive alive and Mason Biberstein finished it off to tie it at 14 heading into the break.
The second half wasn't so much the battle of Andover as it was the ultimate turnover battle. There were some great defensive plays in there as well but there were many more penalties on both sides of the ball that kept both teams out of the end zone for the entire second half.
After forcing a three-and-out Andover Central started its drive barely in its own territory with 2:09 left to play in the game. On the very first play of the drive, Meier went with a pass but it was intercepted by Miles Starks and the Trojans were suddenly back in control.
They worked the ball all the way down inside the 15 with just three seconds left on the clock. Andover Central took its final timeout to try to ice the kicker and it worked. Hayashi shanked the kick wide left but there was no celebration for the Jaguars. A player had hurdled the center and roughed Hayashi, meaning he got yet another chance to redeem himself. And of course, he did just that.
Hayashi nailed the chip-shot field goal with no time left on the clock to give the Trojans a 17-14 win over the Jaguars.
Andover now sits at 4-1 on the season, and will host Goddard on the 5th of October. The Jaguars of Andover Central fall to 2-3, and will take on Salina Central in Salina next Friday.
