The 2020-21 high school sports season in Vermont was marred by COVID and the lack of an atmosphere that rocked the venues every night. In the fall of 2020, the season was shortened and so was the amount of fans who could be in attendance; no fans were even allowed in the wintertime and, while things had gotten back to normal during the spring, it was still complicated.
That may be why the fall of 2021 was more important than any season in a long time...for all of us.
This fall, I went to more sporting events than I can remember going to since I left high school (that was in 2007; yes, I'm that old). Over a dozen soccer games, two field hockey matches and a single game in Volleyball and Football. At the same time, I followed the entire season up and down, including championship Saturday. So with that in mind, here's my take on the Fall 2021 season.
Volleyball
I would like to call Vermont high school volleyball the "Redhawk/Hornet" invitational as those two teams have won every boys and girls state championship since it became a varsity sport. So if you were to tell me that one of the two teams I saw on October 7 were going to win the title this year, I would've been 99% certain it was Essex.
But that's what you get when you have a small sample size.
While the Essex and CVU girls met for the state title (won by the Hornets), The boys from Burlington showed up and took down both the Hornets (semifinal) and Redhawks (title game) and won their first volleyball state title. Seeing the team win on Saturday night in such an impressive fashion, along with the number of varsity teams in both boys and girls volleyball (10 boys, 15 girls), I have a feeling there will be more students looking at the sport in future years.
Field Hockey
As I mentioned, I went to two games this season. The first, a tie between Essex and Burr and Burton; the second, my pick for the game of the season between two teams who would become state champions in their respective divisions: Mount Abraham (D2) and South Burlington (D1).
Both teams looked strong in their October 19th showdown and paved the way for their success in the playoffs, though we never got to figure out which one was better that day. The Wolves took care of Bellows Falls for the D1 title and the Eagles got by Hartford in D2. I also have to give a shout out to the D3 state champs Windsor who defeated Lyndon in their title game on Saturday.
Girls Soccer
Due to working on Saturday, I couldn't have made it out to Burlington for the D1 state title game between CVU and South Burlington and I really wish I had been there. I had followed the Wolves girls since the start of the season, been to at least 4 of their games (regular season and playoffs) and have a player on the team who is a relative of mine.
Just so happens that young lady is also the goalkeeper who helped bring the title to SB for the second year in a row.
Was I hoping that game didn't go to PKs? Yes. Was I worried that CVU were going to come out on top? Definitely (the RedHawks took the first two meetings 1-0 in Hinesburg and 2-1 in South Burlington). But when I saw the final and the video of Mercedes Rozzi making the final save, I was so elated. Not that I had any doubts that Rozzi would do what she did (and she didn't either if you saw the highlights), but it was an amazing moment for those girls and I was glad to be part of some of it this season.
NOTE: Shout out to the Rice (D2), Stowe (D3), and Proctor (D4) girls who also won state titles on November 6th.
Boys Soccer
So I might have been a bit bias on the girls side and my hope is that I won't be as bias when talking about the boys D1 season. I mean, I've seen a bunch of matches involving both South Burlington and Essex this season that I had a feeling those two teams would meet for the state title at Buck Hard Field and it actually happened. Then again, I was part of the 2006 boys soccer program at Essex (as a manager/statistician), so let's see how I play this out.
During the season, I was at both regular season contests between the Hornets and Wolves. The two teams were evenly matched throughout the season; at Essex, it was two goals in less than a minute that propelled the Hornets to victory. At Munson Field, both teams scored less than 5 minutes apart in a 1-1 tie, and at Burlington, the same thing happened; two goals in a span of 5 minutes. You couldn't script how even these matches have been.
Then came what happened with 30 seconds left in the game.
I've seen the replay, and what happened between SB goalie Chandler and Essex's Salkic, and I'm reminded of a moment between the Hornets and BFA-St. Albans in 2018 when a similar play happened. The goalie goes to make a play and runs into an offensive player. The official called a foul on the goalie on that play and, unfortunately, the same thing happened here. Should it have been a red card to a player who is making his second varsity start? Probably not. But based on history, the right call was made.
I know the SB fans might not like what happened and the call did lead to the title-clinching goal from the Hornets, but the bottom line is it doesn't take away how great of a year these boys had. Having seen them more than any other team this season, I was impressed with their hard work and determination throughout the season. Nenninger had a great year and while he wasn't in goal at the end, Bertmann did enough to help his team get to the top of the division. So while the season didn't end the way it did, it definitely wasn't a lost season and I'm glad they were able to get to the title game.
As for Essex, I guess you can say this year was a redemption year. After losing the title in 2020 (controversial or not) to Burlington, they came back and nearly dominate the division, it just shows how hungry they were to get back to Buck Hard Field. Keeping up with them all season, I was impressed with how their goalie Seavers looked, nearly shutting out every team they faced. The offense was amazing with Marquardt leading the way and their defense in front of Seavers made certain there weren't many chances for their opposition. Congrats to the Hornets boys on their first state title in over a decade.
NOTE: shout-out to Milton (D2), Enosburg (D3) and Mount St. Joseph's (D4) on their boys soccer championships.
Football
Most of the dominant teams in Vermont high school football this season came from the southern part of the state. Rutland and Hartford were the top 2 teams in D1, Mount Anthony and Bellows Falls met for the D2 title (won by the Terriers) and Windsor defeated Fairfax in the D3 title game to finish an undefeated season.
Now, notice I mentioned the D2 and D3 title games, but not D1. That's where the term "Any Given Sunday" comes in.
I have followed the high school football season all year, though I have only been to one game. But this brings up another one of those if you were to tell me moments: If you were to tell me what the D1 state title game would be this year, then I probably would've made the trip to Essex for the Hornets' regular season finale vs. CVU than stay close to home in SB for the Seawolves/MMU game. After both teams pulled off major upsets on Nov. 6 (28-14 Essex over Rutland and 14-13 CVU over Hartford), we had an all-Chittenden county title game in D1, though the game was played in Rutland...which, in turn, became a winter wonderland.
Through the snow, Ben Serrantonio, Oliver Orvis and the Hornets came out to play as they have done over the last five games (all wins) and stopped the Redhawks when it mattered most (a 2-point try that would have tied the game and a four-and-out following an onside-kick recovery) and took the D1 title for the first time since Air Burnett (named after coach Charlie) in 2009.
Congrats to Essex (as well as Bellows Falls and Windsor) on their state title run and getting it done with a new head coach (Mr. Richards, who was at MMU before).
Controversy
While this season was so special in many different places, I can't leave this situation untouched. Over the course of the fall, we saw a few instances of racial, sexist and other hate comments and actions make their way to Vermont high school sports. No matter what people believed happened in Winooski (Boys Soccer), South Burlington (girls volleyball) or in other parts of the state where these claims were made, no one should be discriminated based on race, gender or sexual identity. To the people affected by this, know you are loved by all of us and make certain you don't allow these situations to affect the rest of your year (whether you play sports or not).
Conclusion
The Vermont high school fall sports season was truly one of a kind, no matter which sport you follow. The soccer seasons ended with a lot of nail-biting finishes that had a lot of people pacing or on the edge of their seats. The boys volleyball championship proved that anyone not named Essex or CVU can find success in the sport. Field hockey saw South Burlington and Mount Abraham find success en route to their state titles in D1 and D2, respectively. High school football has seen a lot of championship contenders in the south, but with CVU and Essex in the D1 title game, it goes to show that every game matters.
Fall has officially wrapped up (and you can tell based on how cold it is getting in the state). Now the question is how does the winter sports season look during these trying times. But that's a question for another time.
For now, let's enjoy what we've seen from August to November and congratulate the champions of the fall sports season.
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