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Windsor claims CVL championship

By Christopher Shaban
[email protected]
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — In this year of scheduling defined and confined by the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, this wasn’t supposed to be a typical season. But it sure turned out to be one that won’t soon be forgotten as the Yellow Jackets football team was met with parking lots full of fans and cars stacked along the sides of the road in Ascutney to begin their championship parade back to town after defeating Brattleboro 42-21 on Wednesday.

“If anybody tells me this doesn’t matter, I’d look them in the eye and tell them it does,” said Windsor head coach Greg Balch.

With firetrucks leading the way and cars lined as far as the eye could see this did mean something to this town as Balch’s team prepared and won and kept winning until there were no more games to play.

In a throw back to the Connecticut Valley League days, this season was special because it featured teams from Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, Springfield, Woodstock and Hartford in a regional match-up with 7-on-7 games played twice a week in a year when football players weren’t even sure they would play at all.

The championship game was played on Brattleboro’s home field and the usual excitement with fans packing the bleachers was limited to only a few but it didn’t matter because the action was on the field. The Colonels jumped out to a 7-0 lead but Windsor came right back with a Place to Austin Gould TD. Windsor would take a lead when Maison Fortin would find Place along the sideline in the end zone where Place made a great catch while dancing with the sideline paint. Brattleboro’s Gavin Howard hauled in a rainbow from Henry Thurber to make it 14-14.

With what Balch called the best coaching staff in Vermont, the Yellow Jackets kept to their game plan and grabbed a lead with a Logan Worrall TD catch. Ben Gilbert, Owen Abrahamsen, Kaleb Swett and Jordan Hart would all make interception grabs for Windsor as Brattleboro had little success against the athletic Yellow Jacket defense for the remainder of the game. John Cook and Worrall found pay-dirt while Jackson Davis would have a huge defensive effort in the final quarter.

“My coaches expected nothing but the best from us, they fire us up and we play hard. This is the best feeling to be champions,” said Davis after the game.

Abrahamsen would cap off the game with a 26-yard TD off the fingers of Fortin and the celebration was underway.

“This season had some solid competition,” said Abrahmsen after the game. “There are some really good teams and we gave it our all every game. It didn’t matter who we played, we just wanted to win. It’s good to be the best.”

“We’ve been playing together since the third grade and we were just so glad to play the game we love this year,” said senior Jordan Place who had never been a quarterback until this year, “and as the season went on, we kept working hard, we played whoever was on the schedule and played Windsor football.”

“This is an unbelievable feeling,” Place said.

“This is a tremendous team, a determined team,” said Balch, chocked up during the post game speech with the players focused on his every word. “It is a championship, we played up and took on everyone. The seniors had that look in their eyes, the look of winners and the whole team wanted it bad, you had heart and a fantastic attitude all season, you are champions.”

Windsor would end the night with a 42-21 win as the players rushed to meet the limited number of fans along the sidelines unaware of what was to meet them about an hour later as they exiting the interstate.

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