By Adam Aucoin
THE RUTLAND HERALD
Sunday afternoon will feature elite quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert taking their first snaps of the 2022 National Football League season. Thousands of miles away in North Clarendon, Anthony Cavalieri will also be under center.
Cavalieri and the Mill River football team have their home opener in a rare Sunday game where Division III rival Otter Valley comes to town.
The Sunday contest is brought on by an officials shortage that has hit that state’s high school athletics at every level. In football, it’s caused many games to shift between Friday and Saturday, and a few moved to Thursday and Sunday.
No matter the day of the week the ball is kicked off, the rivalry between the Otters and Minutemen is always an intense battle. The teams met twice last year, once in the regular season and another time in the playoffs where Otter Valley edged Mill River 12-6.
The Otters will be looking to get on the board. Something they didn’t do in Week 1, where they fell to newly-Division III Rice 16-0. Otter Valley ran the ball fairly well in that game, but never cracked the end zone.
Mill River is hoping for a 2-0 start at the expense of its rivals. The Minutemen jumped out to a 26-point lead against Oxbow in Week 1, but had to sweat it out after an Olympian comeback nearly erased the advantage.
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. in North Clarendon on Sunday.
Windsor continues its state championship defense against Missisquoi Valley Saturday afternoon. The high-powered Yellow Jackets edged BFA-Fairfax/Lamoille 40-33 in Week 1, meanwhile Thunderbirds were blasted 44-8 against Milton.
Fairfax/Lamoille searches for its first win, playing at Springfield Friday night, The Cosmos didn’t produce much offensively, but held an always strong Woodstock offense to just 19 points in an opening loss.
The Wasps are the next team to take a shot at Rice. The Green Knights host Woodstock Saturday afternoon.
Elsewhere in D-III, Milton and Mount Abraham look to improve to 2-0 when they square off in Bristol on Saturday.
Defending Division I champion Essex fell in a nail-biter in against Rutland in the opening week. The Hornets look to get into the win column, hosting Hartford on Friday.
Essex is a lot younger than it was last year, but saw plenty of bright spots in Week 1, among them the showing from running back Tanner Robbins, who was a threat on the ground and the passing game in the opener.
Rutland hopes to improve to 2-0 when the Seawolves come to Alumni Field Friday night. RHS showed a lot of fortitude in Week 1, responding after giving up 22 straight points to the Hornets.
Burr and Burton Academy will be looking to do something Mount Mansfield couldn’t last week, which is containing BFA-St. Albans’ offense. If anybody could do it, it’s BBA. The Bulldogs allowed just 12 points to the Seawolves in Week 1. BBA hosts the matchup on Saturday afternoon.
St. Johnsbury hopes to stay hot after last week’s dominant effort against Hartford. The Hilltoppers welcome Middlebury to town Friday night.
CVU is playing out of state on Saturday, heading to play Exeter, New Hampshire.
Both clubs had dominant opening week showings and figure to be contenders in their respective states.
In Division II, Bellows Falls hosts Fair Haven Friday night.
The Terriers dominated their matchup last fall, but the Slaters are a much more experienced club this time around.
Bellows Falls’ opponent in Week 1 was Brattleboro, who proved it could play with the elite Terriers.
The Colonels host Colchester Friday night.
The Lakers are trying to find their way in Division II, moving into the division this fall.
Mount Anthony had a dominant opening week win against Colchester. The Patriots look to be keep it rolling against Spaulding Friday night.
The Crimson Tide will look for a better result than last year’s D-II semifinal where MAU shut them out.
After a rough showing in Week 1 against Fair Haven, U-32 will play at Lyndon Institute on Saturday afternoon.
The Vikings were idle last week.
North Country and Mount Mansfield finish the Week 2 slate. The Falcons hope to go to 2-0 on Saturday afternoon.
adam.aucoin @rutlandherald.com
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