For the first time ever, I had the opportunity to be a part of a day-long extravaganza in high school sports. Well, first time may be an understatement as I was at the baseball finals at Centennial Field back in June, but I wasn't going to miss out on this occasion. I heard so many people talk about the experience of being at Rutland for championship Saturday in football, but never had a chance to get down there (work or transportation issues). But this year, I knew I needed to get down there.
I left my place at around 6:30AM yesterday, got to St. Johnsbury at 8AM and had breakfast at Anthony's Diner on Railroad Street. The food there was delicious, and it definitely felt like an old-school diner experience. After that, it was a walk down memory lane (as a grad of Lyndon State College) heading to Fairbanks Field for the 3 title games taking place. Meeting so many people before and during the games (media, coaches, officials, administrators) was such an exciting experience and made it feel like an event.
The Division 2 final between Rice and Fair Haven was first off. The Knights got off to a great start with 2 long TD passes from Dallas St. Peter, but the Slaters responded with a prolific defensive game and a running game that could not be stopped. The game was close throughout, but Fair Haven put it away late with a time-consuming final drive and an INT late to secure their first title since 2017.
After that was the D3 final and it was all Woodstock from the opening kick. The Wasps pulled away to a 65-14 win over Otter Valley to secure their 12th state title, tying the record for most in the sport (Hartford and Bellows Falls also have 12). The 65 points were the most all time in a high school football championship game.
Then came the main event: The D1 title game, which featured CVU and Rutland. The Redhawks have been the most dominant team in D1 post-Covid, making the title game for the 3rd time in 4 years and looking for their second title in this run. Not only did they do just that, but it was another dominant performance for a team that has done just that during their undefeated season.
Nolan Walpole shined all game long (even after suffering an ankle injury late in Q2) and Orion Yates was able to find his receivers all game long for an impressive 41-14 win that gave CVU their 6th state title in the fall season (Girls XC, Boys and Girls golf, Boys and Girls soccer).
There have been talks as to whether or not this team is the best D1 team ever and it's tough to go against them. The Redhawks outscored their opponents by nearly 400 points! Some may say that 2009 Essex is up there as well and, while I knew most of the players on that team (2007 EHS alum), 2024 CVU has a run for that top spot after Saturday's performance.
At the end of the day, the scores didn't matter to me. It was being at St. Johnsbury, being part of something that was so special and meeting people who put their heart and soul into Vermont high school football. Thanks to all of you who were nice enough to let me talk about the game. Thank you to St. Johnsbury Academy for being an amazing host after 12 years at Rutland. Thanks to the officials who did a great job during their games. Thanks to the fans who were able to make this even more special (no matter how far they had to travel to get there).
Thank you to everyone who made this day one I will never forget! The fall sports season is over and winter is coming.
You know what that means? 🎳
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