At Andover, it's the end of an amazing football era
Dec. 8—At one point, shortly after Andover's Thanksgiving Eve win, Lincoln Beal may not have been in shock, but at the least there was some confusion. The emotions of the event nearly overwhelmed him.
Reporter: So, what's next, Lincoln?
Beal: "Um, I don't know ... Oh yeah, basketball season starts Monday."
Andover's sensational Beal had plenty of reasons for momentarily blanking on that question. He's not the only one that finds it hard to believe that this crazy Lincoln Beal/Scotty Brown Era of Andover High football had come to an end on the Walsh Stadium turf with the Warriors prevailing in their annual rivalry game.
"It was just amazing to coach them," said coach EJ Perry. "It's really hard to lose those two after going, whatever it is, 44 or 45 games with them. It's been a heck of a ride."
All totaled, the numbers are pretty darn staggering for these two four-year varsity guys.
Brown, the quarterback, finished with 5,314 passing yards and 2,092 yards on the ground. With 11 touchdown runs and 22 TD passes (to only three INTs) this year, he's amassed 86 total touchdowns total.
"We've had a great four years together. Scotty is the best," said Beal.
"Scotty's determination, every single game, he just wants to win more than anyone. It's awesome playing with him."
Forced to miss time with a foot injury over the summer, Beal, the bruising running back, ran 91 times for 775 yards and caught 18 passes for 315 yards, scoring 21 TDs. For his career, Beal ran for 2,740 yards and covered another 1,996 yards through the air as a receiver. He finished with 58 total touchdowns.
"Lincoln is a great player. There's nobody else I'd want to have shared this with," said Brown of his backfield mate.
"Our freshman year we ended up making the D-1 quarterfinals, and we played Saint John's Prep. We looked around the field, and I saw me and Lincoln returning kicks together. I just thought with two freshmen returning kicks, it's going to be a bright future for the program and it sure was."
Along the way, the Warriors piled up the wins, sweeping to the MVC large title and a 10-1 mark this year. That was coming off the disappointment of 2021, in which the Warriors went 5-7.
"When you look back, after their sophomore year, I felt like I had a Super Bowl team here because I had two leaders that really were unbelievable as sophomores," said Perry. "We hit the road block last year, with some injuries and mental lapses. We had to sit down with those two, and said it's time to recalibrate, but not just yourselves, you have to recalibrate the whole program. They went to work and did it."
Neither is by any means done athletically. As Brown, the UMass Lowell outfield recruit said, "It's baseball season now."
Beal is riding a huge sports hot streak, coming off history-making league championship seasons in hoop and on the gridiron. He'll hit the hardwood for coach David Fazio this winter and ponder college offers for his next football stop.
As Brown said, "I'll be going to his games on Saturdays from now on."
