By James Biggam
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NORTHFIELD, Vt. — Running back Jed Lober and quarterback Griffin Waryas helped No. 3 Bellows Falls eliminate No. 2 U-32 for the second straight year during Friday’s 26-14 victory in Division II football semifinal action.
Lober piled up 125 yards on 26 carriers, while Waryas completed 8 of 11 for 83 yards on the turf field at Norwich University. Dylan Clark recorded two touchdown receptions for the Terriers (8-2), while Lober and Waryas added rushing touchdowns.
Nathan LaRosa and Crosse Gariboldi scored touchdowns for U-32 (8-2). LaRosa completed 8 of 21 passes for 56 yards, and he also ran the ball 25 times for 124 yards. Gariboldi picked up 58 yards on eight carries and teammate Anthony Engelhard added 34 yards on eight carries.
Engelhard (three catches, 20 yards), Max Fair (four catches, 19 yards) and Carter Pelzel (one catch, 17 yards) were the top receivers for U-32, which was plagued by seven penalties that added up to a loss of 47 yards.
Bellows Falls (8-2) will travel to play No. 1 Brattleboro (10-0) on Nov. 11 in the championship. The Colonels earned a 41-6 victory over Fair Haven during Friday’s semifinal. The Terriers are 11-8 in title games, while Brattleboro is chasing its first title since 1973.
U-32 received the ball on the opening kickoff and punted after the first three plays. The Terriers responded with a 47-yard scoring drive. Lober ran 10 yards up the left side and burst into the end zone with 8:25 left in the first quarter.
The Terriers drove toward the red zone at the end of the first quarter but U-32 forced a fumble to regain possession. At the start of the second quarter the Raiders went for it on a fourth-and-4 situation and LaRosa surged ahead for a first down. However, the Terriers intercepted the ball on their own 15-yard line with 7:12 left in the first half.
A big defensive stop put the ball back in the hands of LaRosa, who quickly made the Terriers pay. He broke a few tackles up the middle on a keeper play with 4:13 left in the first half, racing up the field for a 50-yard touchdown. The Raiders’ extra-point attempt dipped below the uprights, leaving Bellows Falls with a 7-6 advantage.
Waryas connected to Logan Lisai up the right side for a first down with 1:49 left in the first half. A holding call disrupted the Terriers’ momentum, but Lisai made a big catch with 1:20 left to play to move the ball to the 20-yard line. On the next play, U-32’s Sully O’Hara sacked Waryas for an 8-yard loss. But a few moments later, Waryas found Clark on the right side of the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown reception. The extra point gave the Terriers a 14-6 halftime lead.
Bellows Falls punted on a fourth-and-1 situation at the start of the second half and then watched Gariboldi power his team during a long scoring drive. The freshman running back ran for a first down and then LaRosa sprinted up the field for a 20-yard gain.
Bellows Falls defensive standout Dominic Kendall made a tackle for a 6-yard loss, setting up a second-and-16 scenario. LaRosa was unfazed, connecting to Gariboldi on the left side on an option play with 6:12 on the clock. Gariboldi danced around a defender for another first down and then ran up the middle for a 6-yard touchdown with 5:44 left. Skyler Flood rushed toward the left pylon on the two-point conversion, tying the score at 14.
Clark beat close coverage up the middle to haul in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Waryas with 1:19 left in the third quarter. The Raiders blocked the extra-point attempt, leaving Bellows Falls with a 20-14 advantage.
The Raiders opted to go for it on a fourth-and-6 situation with 10:20 remaining and they came up short, giving Bellows Falls the ball at the 50-yard line. Waryas kicked off the drive by airing it out for a 19-yard pass to Lober. On the next play, Lober used a combination of fancy footwork and brute strength to move the ball to the 19-yard line.
The Terriers didn’t mess with a good thing, giving the ball to Lober again for a 9-yard gain to the right side. Bellows Falls let some time run off the clock before Lober ran the ball all the way to the 4-yard line for a first down. A pitch to Lober gave the Terriers a 2-yard gain, but on second-and-goal, U-32’s Anthony Concessi tackled Lober at the line of scrimmage. Luckily for Bellows Falls, solid blocking allowed Waryas to carry the ball into the end zone with 4:44 left to play. The scoring drive chewed up over four minutes of playing time.
U-32 went for it on fourth-and-6 and LaRosa scrambled for a first down. Hunter Smith stymied the comeback bid with 2:39 remaining, picking off a deflected pass at the 43-yard line to put the Terriers in total control.
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