(11/06/2023) The Andover High School football team (9-1) will make its seventh state tournament appearance in school history after winning the Section 7AAAAA Championship on Nov. 3, defeating Elk River High School 65-32 on its turf at Husky Stadium. 

The MSHSL Class AAAAA State Football Tournament will begin Nov. 9 and run through the Prep Bowl Nov. 24-25. The Class AAAAA quarterfinals will be played at neutral sites on Nov. 11 while the semifinals (Nov. 17-18) and championship (Nov. 25) will be held at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. 

The Huskies will face Robbinsdale Armstong in the quarterfinals of the state tournament on Saturday, Nov. 11 at Osseo High School. Kickoff for the state tournament opener is set for noon. All tickets for state tournament games must be purchased online. Visit the MSHSL tournament website for more information.

Andover enters the state tournament winners of eight straight, with its only loss coming back on Sept. 8. The match-up with Robbinsdale Armstrong will be the second meeting between the two teams this season. The Huskies defeated the Falcons 42-7 in the regular season finale on Oct. 18. 

The Huskies enter the state tournament having out-scored their opponents 492-230 on the season, averaging 230.8 passing yards and 199.3 rushing yards per game. 

Defensively, Andover has allowed just 76.7 passing yards per game and has forced 26 turnovers, including 17 fumble recoveries and nine interceptions.

Junior quarterback Chase Pemberton returned to the lineup after missing four games due to injury and is poised to help the Huskies. Pemberton is averaging 207.3 passing yards per game and has tossed 12 touchdowns. In Pemberton’s absence this season, junior Hudson Maynard stepped in and threw for 1,066 yards and 12 touchdowns. 

Senior running back D’Mario Davenport has racked up 1,499 yards of offense and a team-leading 29 touchdowns in 2023. Davenport has rushed for 901 yards and has one kickoff return for a touchdown. The senior back became the program’s all-time scoring leader in the section final win over Elk River. 

Davenport is also a receiving threat (598 yards and 8 touchdowns) for the Huskies alongside 1,000-yard receiver, junior Cameron Begalle. Begalle has 1,064 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on 58 catches this season. Senior two-way player Luke Dehnicke ranks third on the team with 342 receiving yards on 30 catches with two touchdowns. 

Dehnicke has recorded 60 tackles, two forced fumbles, and three interceptions on the defensive side of the ball. Junior linebacker Kaleb Weikel leads the team with 121 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss to go along with four fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles.