By Adam Aucoin
THE RUTLAND HERALD
Getting to the top of the mountain is one thing. Staying there is a whole different story.
All three of last year’s Vermont high school football state champions still have hopes of repeating as they remain alive heading into semifinal weekend.
Each basically find themselves in the same position they were this time last year.
For Bellows Falls in Division II and Windsor in Division III, dominance has been the story of their last two seasons. Bosh southern Vermont powers went undefeated last year and are still unblemished in 2022.
In Division I, Essex enters semifinal weekend for the second straight year as an underdog at the No. 4 seed, but just as the Hornets showed last year on this stage, seeds don’t always matter.
Those three schools would love to be on top again, but nine other squads want a say in the matter.
DIVISION I
Both Division I semifinal matchups, being played on Saturday, have a distinct flavor of anything can happen.
No. 1 CVU and No. 4 Essex are well-acquainted with each other, having met three weeks ago on the Hornets’ home field and being the two squads going at it in the state championship game last year.
There are holdovers from last year’s state championship game, but there are tons of others that have come to the forefront this fall.
CVU quarterback Ollie Cheer has filled the shoes of the injured Max Destito very well, making sure the Redhawks haven’t had a drop in play. His many experienced weapons, among them Alex Provost and Jack Sumner, have been valuable as he got accustomed to the role.
Essex’s offense has really hit its stride, scoring more than 30 points in five of its last six games. The lone game during that stretch the Hornets did reach 30 points was the one-touchdown loss to CVU.
Second-seeded Burr and Burton Academy knows the state championship stage very well, having won back-to-back state titles in 2018 and 2019.
The Bulldogs would love to get another look at Rutland High School’s Alumni Field turf, but have a tough test in front of them to make it happen.
BBA hosts No. 3 seed Middlebury in Saturday’s semifinal at Taylor Field.
The Tigers were one of two teams to beat the Bulldogs this year, doing so in the final week of the regular season 42-36.
Middlebury is playing some confident football coming in, having won four straight and six of its last seven games.
The Bulldogs’ two losses came by a single score and all but one of their wins were by more than a touchdown.
BBA quarterback Jack McCoy has broken out as a dual-threat option for the Bulldogs and he has a ton of weapons, like running back Michael Crabtree and wide receivers Trevor Greene, Conor McMahon and Nate Smilko.
DIVISION II
It’s an all-southern Vermont affair in the Division II football semifinals Friday night.
Top-seeded Bellows Falls and No. 2 Mount Anthony look to be in position to have their state championship rematch, but No. 3 Fair Haven and No. 4 Brattleboro won’t make that job easy.
It’s been a long time since the opening week matchup between the Terriers and Colonels, where BF came out on top 56-40, but both squads have been battle-tested since.
That 56-point outing became par for the course for the Terriers this season as they’ve scored more than 30 points in all but one game.
Bellows Falls’ running game has remained dominant this season with senior Caden Haskell leading the charge. Haskell was one of five Terriers selected to play in the North-South game, which is being played on Nov. 20 at Norwich University.
On top of Haskell’s three touchdowns, Walker James, Jamison Nystrom and Jesse Darrell also scored in last week’s dominant quarterfinal against Spaulding.
Brattleboro had more of a battle on its hands with No. 5 Colchester in the quarterfinals with the Colonels winning 21-14.
Brattleboro has had its share of blowout wins, but always seems to come out on top of close games. The Colonels had two games decided by less than a touchdown in the regular season and won both times.
Second-seeded Mount Anthony was dominant in its quarterfinal win against No. 7 North Country and welcomes No. 3 Fair Haven to Spinelli Field for the semifinals on Friday.
It wasn’t just one guy doing it all for the Patriots in the win as four different players racked up rushing touchdowns, along with a passing TD and defensive TD.
Tanner Bushee threw for his one touchdown to Carter Thompson, but it was in the running game where he truly shined, finding the end zone three times on the ground with 131 yards. Josh Worthington, Ayman Naser and Tatum Stratton also rushed for scores.
Fair Haven had a much tougher battle on its hands in the quarterfinals with Lyndon Institute, but the Slaters still found a way to earn a three-point victory.
Junior quarterback Joe Buxton dazzled once again, but Tim Kendall came up with a massive defensive play, forcing a fumble in the fourth quarter that helped secure the win.
The Slaters boast a very balanced offensive attack around Buxton, with Bill Lussier and Kenall providing a presence in the running game and Carson Babbie, Trey Lee, Phil Bean and Kahnai Gill all being great pass-catchers.
DIVISION III
Third-seeded Mill River was blasted in Week 3 against BFA-Fairfax/Lamoille, but the Minutemen get their shot at redemption on Saturday in the Division III semifinal hosted by the Bullets.
Mill River has had a renaissance of sorts under first-year coach Phil Hall and are playing with confidence.
The Minutemen cruised to a 32-7 quarterfinal win last weekend against Woodstock. Anthony Cavalieri makes it all go with his play under center and his multitude of weapons, like running back Phil Severy and receivers Mason Boudreau, Adam Shum and Toby Pytlik make Mill River super dangerous.
Fairfax had a challenge on its hands with No. 7 Otter Valley in the quarterfinals, but key stops defensively turned the tides and allowed the Bullets to pull away late.
Top-seeded Windsor looks to keep its run at perfection intact, hosting No. 5 Mount Abraham on Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets have been incredibly dominant, but the Eagles are coming in playing some of their best football.
Mount Abraham is riding a three-game winning streak that was started by a comeback victory over Mill River. The Eagles inched out a three-point win against Rice in last week’s quarterfinal, getting revenge for a regular season loss to the Green Knights.
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