Sports

On the Brink of Perfection

By Adam Aucoin
THE RUTLAND HERALD
Death, taxes and Bellows Falls and Windsor playing elite football. There are some things that are certain in life.

The Terriers and Yellow Jackets churn out dominant season after dominant season and this fall has been no different.

For the second straight season, Bellows Falls and Windsor have a perfect regular season it their sights.

The Terriers haven’t lost an 11-on-11 game since their 46-7 loss to Brattleboro in the Division II state championship game in 2019.

Division II looks stronger than ever this season, but Bellows Falls may be a step above the rest once again in pursuit of its 13th state title. The Terriers improved to 7-0 with a 49-15 victory against rival Springfield in a series that started all the way back in 1894.

Bellows Falls has scored less than 30 points just once and gone over 40 points four times. A punishing running attack led by Caden Haskell has been impossible to stop.

The Terrriers should be massive favorites on Friday, hosting one-win Mount Mansfield to finish the regular season.

The last time Windsor lost was a Division III state semifinals loss to eventual state champion Poultney in 2019.

Since a tough game against BFA-Fairfax/Lamoille in the opening week of the regular season, the Yellow Jackets have been pretty dominant otherwise.

The only team to hold Windsor to less than 40 points was Springfield, who kept the Yellow Jackets to 34 in Week 6.

Woodstock stands in the way of Windsor and regular season perfection.

CVU may have a loss on its resume, but that came to New Hampshire power Exeter. In state, the Redhawks haven’t been beaten.

CVU has taken on the best the state has to offer and come out victorious every time. Their last two wins, coming against fellow state title contenders Burr and Burton Academy and Essex, may be the most impressive of the bunch.

The Redhawks stay atop the throne in the final Rutland Herald/Times Argus football power rankings ahead of the playoffs.

Let’s jump into this week’s rankings. A team’s previous week ranking is in parentheses.

1. CVU 6-1 (1). The Redhawks got through a huge challenge in Essex on Saturday, getting an interception to secure a one-touchdown win. If they take care of business on Saturday, hosting BFA-St. Albans, the No. 1 seed in Division I is theirs.

2. Bellows Falls 7-0 (3). The Terriers continue to dominate with a running game that nobody in the state has been able to stop. They’ve taken on the best in a really deep Division II and come out on top every time. They are the favorites to win a second state title in a row until someone proves otherwise.

3. BBA 6-1 (3). The Bulldogs won in a different kind of way on Friday than they have all season, coming out on top of a defensive struggle with rival Mount Anthony. They came up with a big 4th down stuff at the line of scrimmage to secure that win.

4. Essex 4-3 (4). The Hornets played top-ranked CVU well in Saturday’s showdown and had the ball late with a chance to tie. It’s too early to anoint the D-I state title game being between CVU and BBA. Essex is one of the teams that wants a say in that.

5. St. Johnsbury 4-3 (5). Quinn Murphy is something special. The quarterback did it all in the Hilltoppers’ dominating win against a very solid Rutland team on Friday. St. Johnsbury is another team that has challenged CVU and BBA this season.

6. Mount Anthony 5-2 (6). The Patriots were in the red zone with a chance to knock off rival BBA on Friday. They are the only team to hold Bellows Falls to less than 30 points this season. If they really want to make a statement, a showdown with fellow contender Brattleboro on Friday is a perfect chance.

7. Brattleboro 5-2 (7). The Colonels have been of the hottest teams in the state in recent weeks and Spaulding wasn’t going to cool them off on Saturday. After two weeks in a row of playing non-contending clubs, how will they fare against the elite of the elite playing MAU on Friday at home?

8. Middlebury 4-3 (8). The Tigers grabbed their fourth win in their last five tries on Friday, beating a Seawolves team better than their record lets on. If Middlebury truly wants to stamp its place among the elite, playing BBA on Friday could be its chance.

9. Fair Haven 5-2 (10). The Slaters have rattled off three straight wins after a four-point loss to Brattleboro in Week 4. Led by breakout junior quarterback Joe Buxton, Fair Haven could be as dangerous as any in the D-II playoffs.

10. Windsor 7-0 (UR). The Yellow Jackets have been in a class of their own in Division III for most of the season. The most recent reminder of that was a dominating win against a strong Otter Valley team on Saturday.

On the bubble: Rutland, Hartford, Lyndon, North Country, Fairfax/Lamoille.

TOP FIVESDivision I: 1. CVU; 2. BBA; 3. Essex; 4. St. Johnsbury; 5. Middlebury.

Division II: 1. Bellows Falls; 2. Mount Anthony; 3. Brattleboro; 4. Fair Haven; 5. Lyndon.

Division III: 1. Windsor; 2. Fairfax/Lamoille; 3. Rice; 4. Mill River; 5. Woodstock.

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