Godby's Andrews spoils Indians' home opener (SLIDESHOW; VIDEO)

 FORT WALTON BEACH – For as well as the Choctawhatchee defense played at times Friday night at Joe Etheredge Stadium, Godby quarterback Dennis Andrews found a way to spoil everything.

View a slideshow from the game »

Andrews, who has already verbally committed to Georgia Tech, threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another to almost single-handedly deliver Godby a 26-9 win over Choctaw.

“It’s hard to get to him,” Choctaw coach Greg Thomas said. “He buys time and hits open people down the field.”

Trailing 7-6 at the half, Choctaw (1-1) took its first and only lead of the night less than two minutes into the third quarter after Godby fumbled the ball on the opening kickoff. A jarring hit sent the ball flying into the air and onto the turf where Choctaw’s Chad Harlan recovered it at the Cougar 13. But a chop blocking penalty and a couple of offensive misfires ultimately stalled the drive, forcing the Indians to instead settle for a 38-yard field goal by Skyler Feckner that gave Choctaw a 9-7 lead.

That’s when Andrews took over.

On Godby’s ensuing drive, Andrews capped a tidy four-play, 46-yard drive with a 28-yard touchdown run that made it 13-9 Godby after a failed two-point conversion try.

After another Choctaw offensive drive stalled, Godby (2-0) took control of the game for good with a marathon-like 18-play, 80 yard drive that drained over five minutes off the clock and ultimately ended with a touchdown when Godby tight end, and Univ. of Oklahoma commit, Laith Harlow out-leaped a Choctaw defender on a high-arching pass in the endzone for a 13-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-2 play. It was the third fourth-down conversion of the drive.

“Again, our defense was out on the field way too long,” Thomas said. “Offensively, we’re not getting much production. We have to fix some things next week.

“We had a rough week of practice, a lot of kids out. In hindsight, it might wake us up a little bit.”

A tight, defense-dominated first half saw the Cougars take a slim 7-6 lead into the half after Andrews – on a fourth-and-8 from the Choctaw 30 – lobbed what at first glance appeared to be a sure incompletion towards the back of the endzone. Only Godby receiver Jamal Vickers out ran a pair of Choctaw defenders to haul in the pass for the game’s first points at the 6:28 mark in the second quarter.

Choctaw would answer, though, just before the half, with a four-play, 48-yard drive that was helped by a 15-yard personal foul penalty against Godby as well as a 33-yard run by Indians’ running back Josh LeMay, who led the Indians with 85 yards on the ground. Clark then capped the drive with a 31-yard run around the left end in which the senior high-stepped his way over a pair of would-be defenders.

Choctaw’s ensuing point-after try was no good, though.

Choctaw hosts Washington next week.