By Adam Aucoin
RUTLAND HERALD
RUTLAND, Vt. — Rain pelted Rutland’s Alumni Field for much of the Division III state championship game between No. 1 Windsor and No. 2 BFA-Fairfax/Lamoille, but the Yellow Jackets provided their fans with plenty of sunshine.
Windsor dominated from start to finish, beating the Bullets 53-7 to win the D-III title and cap off a perfect 11-0 season.
From Week 1 to Saturday’s finale, it seemed like these two clubs were on a collision course to meet in the D-III title game. Both high-powered offenses rolled over much of the competition put in their way this year.
The teams met during the regular season, which saw Windsor win 54-35.
That game’s start was similar to Saturday’s. The Yellow Jackets were dominant in the early stretches of the regular season contest, before Fairfax/Lamoille made it a game again.
Windsor had a 34-7 lead at halftime of Saturday’s contest, but this time around, there was no letting the Bullets back into the game.
“We were up on (Fairfax/Lamoille) 34-7 in the first game and then a couple minutes later, it was 34-28. That wasn’t lost on us,” said Yellow Jackets coach Greg Balch. “Thirty-four to 7 didn’t feel like anything this time around, having been there before. We had to stress to not let up.”
There was no let up in the Windsor defense that caused six turnovers on Saturday, recovering five Bullets fumbles and intercepting a pass.
“It’s huge. We really pride ourselves on our defense,” Balch said. “We tell the boys that it’s about playing defense first and then offense will take care of itself. We were putting a lot of pressure on and causing them.”
The turnover bug hit Fairfax/Lamoille early and often.
Windsor opened the game with a seven-play drive that was capped by a 7-yard touchdown run by Ben Gilbert, and on the ensuing drive, the Yellow Jackets stripped the ball to take over in the red zone.
Two plays later, Travis McAllister rushed one in from three yards.
Deja vu on the next drive, as Windsor’s Kaleb Smith recovered a Bullets fumble. Jacks quarterback Maison Fortin found McAllister for a 37-yard TD pass within two plays.
Fairfax/Lamoille turned the ball over on downs on its next drive, before Fortin and Gilbert connected for a 14-yard score.
The Bullets scored their lone points on a 13-play drive that was capped by 15-yard TD pass from Cooper Harvey to Kenny Salls.
Fortin found Austin Gauld for a 21-yard TD pass to cap the first-half scoring.
Windsor continued to put the game out of reach in the second half, getting rushing scores from Fortin, Gilbert and Logan Worrall.
Gilbert rushed for 111 yards and Worrall had 74 yards.
Windsor never took anything for granted during its championship season and that makes the championship feeling even more sweet.
“I didn’t think we’d beat them by this much, but we played our heart out,” Gilbert said. “We kept with it and played hard all year.”
Balch’s squad has just 26 players, but they were as dominant as they come across the state.
“We have players that worked out all summer so they could go both ways and play special teams,” Balch said. “That’s just heart and determination. I give a lot of credit to the guys that don’t play as well. We ended up with 26 on our roster, so you have kids that are on the prep team and don’t get a lot of glory. When you only have 26, it truly is a team effort.”
The rain continued to pour as the Yellow Jackets collected their championship hardware Saturday afternoon, but they surely didn’t mind. They were champions.
adam.aucoin @rutlandherald.com
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