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Family and friends of Andover senior running D’Mario Davenport gave their expected postgame love after he scored five touchdowns in a 42-7 blowout at Armstrong.
Unexpected praise followed him toward the high school building. A voice shouted, “D-Mo, D-Mo,” and Davenport turned and slowed his pace to greet an Armstrong player who offered his hand and said simply, “You were out there killing it.”
Davenport flashed his megawatt smile. He supplied a similar power source to the ruthless Huskies offense, which entered Wednesday’ regular-season finale as the highest-scoring team in Class 5A (43.1 points per game).
Section playoffs begin next week. Andover, ranked No. 5, clinched the No. 1 seed in Section 7 and a first-round bye before Wednesday’s kickoff.
No. 8 Armstrong still has a strong case for the top seed in Section 5. The Falcons’ opening drive gave the impression a shootout would emerge. Quarterback Dawson Franke connected with Gideon Breker on fourth down for a 15-yard TD and the home team enjoyed a 7-0 lead.
Turns out Andover had other plans.
“Our offense has this mentality that they want to go out and score 40 points,” Huskies coach Tom Develice said. “Our kids didn’t blink an eye.”
Blinking might cause one to miss Davenport, a speed merchant who twice scored on plays covering at least 60 yards.
“He’s dynamic,” Develice said. “Every week he’s been a spark for us. We talk on the offensive line about how he makes us look really good. Sometimes we don’t block the right guys, but he finds a way to get through all of it.”
Davenport returned the praise to his big guys up front.
“Without them I wouldn’t be able to do what I do,” he said.
Davenport helped Andover close the first half with four unanswered touchdowns, and the rout was on.
Davenport’s talented counterpart, Armstrong junior running back Kevon Johnson, missed the game because of an injury. Johnson has run for 1,153 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.
The ability to remain healthy throughout the season has Andover optimistic about a deep playoff run.
“Our section is tough,” Develice said. “Sauk Center and Elk River — those are tough teams. We can’t afford to take a rest right now.”
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