5 Things from #vthsfootball week 7

     The final week of the 2025 Vermont high school football regular season is a few days away and the best teams in the state have solidified their spots in the playoffs.  But there are still some seeding questions left to be answered as we head into this week.  Those seeding scenarios (with the help of our friend Pat Lynch of WCAX) are the five things from week 7.

1---Bellows Falls/Woodstock for D3 regular season crown?

    While the Terriers are undefeated in 2025, Woodstock have dominated their opponents since the week 1 loss to U-32.  But even if the Wasps knock off BF on Friday night, they need a multi-team "Parlay" to have any shot of the #1 seed.

2---Milton could be passed by 1-win teams after week 8.

    I mentioned it last week, but the QPR system hasn't helped the Yellow Jackets one bit in an attempt to make the 2025 D2 playoffs (but neither has their play as I saw in their 40-12 loss to Rice on Saturday).  

    Milton could beat Springfield on Friday night and still finish outside the postseason if MMU knocks off BFA and both Poultney and Missisquoi lose on Saturday.  If North Country can knock off Brattleboro Friday night, MMU only need one of those Saturday results to happen for them to make it.

3---Rutland, Essex and a D1 home playoff game

    One of the greatest rivalries between teams on both sides of the "Middlebury-Dixie Line," The Hornets and former Raiders battle in week 8 for not just bragging rights, but also to host a playoff game in the Quarterfinals.

    An Essex win guarantees them #4 (#3 if 7 different games go right); a loss forces them on the road if BBA wins.  A Rutland win and "The Game" between LI and SJA might determine #2.

4---VFN shines in 2025

    As we head into the final week of the season, I have to applaud Eric Berry and the crew from Northeast Sports Network who have been the driving force of getting to as many games as possible during the high school football season.

    Berry, Alan Ruggles, Ken Wells and Paul Wheeler are among the main crew who have called their fair share of games during the 2025 season (mostly involving NCU, LI and SJA).  Last week, NSN covered 7 of the 8 Friday night games that took place (the only one they missed was Seawolves/Colchester) and have become the must-have app/website to watch future sporting events for the rest of the school year and hopefully beyond.

    While their playoff coverage may move to NFHS (a subscription-based service), it won't take away from how important they have been to covering the student-athletes who make every Friday night and Saturday afternoon (and sometimes Thursday nights) must-see.

5---Week 8 Slate

Mount Anthony (3-4) @ Fair Haven (3-4) (Thursday @ 6:30PM)

Mount Mansfield (1-6) @ BFA-St. Albans (2-5) (Friday @ 7PM) (NSN)

North Country (0-7) @ Brattleboro (0-7) (Friday @ 7PM) (NSN)

Champlain Valley (2-5) @ Burr and Burton (4-3) (Friday @ 7PM) (NSN)

Essex (4-3) @ Rutland (5-2) (Friday @ 7PM) (NSN)

Middlebury (6-1) @ Burlington/South Burlington (0-7) (Friday @ 7PM) (NFHS)

Colchester (5-2) @ Hartford (7-0) (Friday @ 7PM) (NFHS)

Springfield (4-3) @ Milton (2-5) (Friday @ 6:30PM) (LCATV)

U-32 (3-4) @ Spaulding (3-4) (Friday @ 7PM) (CVT)

Bellows Falls (7-0) @ Woodstock (6-1) (Friday @ 7PM)

Otter Valley (4-3) @ Rice (4-3) (Saturday @ 1PM)

Windsor (2-5) @ BFA-Fairfax (5-2) (Saturday @ 1PM)

Mill River (3-4) @ Missisquoi (0-7) (Saturday @ 1PM) (NSN)

Mount Abraham/Vergennes (6-1) @ Poultney (0-7) (Saturday @ 1PM) (NYVT)

Lyndon (6-1) @ St. Johnsbury (6-1) (Saturday @ 5PM) (NSN)

5 Things from #vthsfootball week 6

     2 weeks remain but still a lot to be determine as far as who will make the playoffs and where those teams will be seeded.  Also, another underclassman has found his way into the race for Vermont's top player, and while a couple of divisions have their playoff hopefuls, one could be determined by who loses in week 8 instead of who wins.  Here are this week's 5 things:

1---Bobwhites, Yellow Jackets pull ahead in respective 8-seed battle

    On a chilly Thursday night at Munson Field, BFA-St. Albans defeated Burlington/South Burlington 10-7 to take a 2-game lead in the race for 8th place in Division 1.  Saturday, Windsor came back to defeat Poultney 29-20, improving to 2-4 and likely solidifying their spot in 8th as well.

2---Maddox, Hilltoppers ruin Essex's homecoming & senior night

    It's been an amazing season for St. Johnsbury Academy, and they can thank Sophomore Maddox McFarland for their 5-1 record.  

    The Hilltoppers have relied on McFarland's arm in most of their games.  But on Friday night, it was Maddox's running that contributed the most with 4 rushing TDs and a game-sealing 74-yard carry to outlast the Hornets on their homecoming and senior nights.

    McFarland's recent success puts him in the same category as Jaden Bazin as far as underclassmen who can help lead a program to success down the line.

3---Another week, more D1 wins for Colchester, Hartford

    The Lakers knocked off defending D1 champs CVU 20-7 in a very complete game on both sides of the ball, while the Hurricanes won at home 37-7 to Burr and Burton in a game that was competitive at the start until Hartford pulled away in the second half.

4---A wacky scenario in D2 playoffs

    On Friday night, Milton and Mount Mansfield both lost in convincing fashion against MAV and U-32, respectively.  The Yellowjackets are 2-4 and the Cougars are 1-5, but when you look at the QPR rankings, a unique scenario has come into play.

    Both teams have an identical number of points (1.25), but it's MMU that is ahead in 8th place.  This means that even with losses in their final 2 games, the Cougars can make the playoffs at 1-7 if Milton loses their final 2 games (@ Rice and home to Springfield).  Easily put, we could see some chaos in week 8 depending on outcomes from week 7.

5---Week 7 Slate (streaming info unofficial)

Essex (3-3) @ BFA-St. Albans (2-4) (Friday @ 7PM) (NSN)

Brattleboro (0-6) @ Mount Anthony (2-4) (Friday @ 7PM) (NFHS)

Burr and Burton (4-2) @ Middlebury (5-1) (Friday @ 7PM) (NSN)

Champlain Valley (2-4) @ St. Johnsbury (5-1) (Friday @ 7PM) (NSN)

Rutland (5-1) @ Hartford (6-0) (Friday @ 7PM) (NSN)

Burlington/South Burlington (0-6) @ Colchester (3-3) (Friday @ 7PM) (LCATV)

Fair Haven (2-4) @ U-32 (3-3) (Friday @ 7PM) (NSN)

Lyndon (5-1) @ North Country (0-6) (Friday @ 7PM) (NSN)

Milton (2-4) @ Rice (3-3) (Saturday @ 1PM) (NSN)

Bellows Falls (6-0) @ Mount Mansfield (1-5) (Saturday @ 1PM) (MMCTV)

Spaulding (3-3) @ Mount Abraham (5-1) (Saturday @ 1PM) (NFHS)

BFA-Fairfax (4-2) @ Missisquoi (0-6) (Saturday @ 1PM) (NSN)

Springfield (4-2) @ Mill River (2-4) (Saturday @ 1PM)

Poultney (0-6) @ Otter Valley (3-3) (Saturday @ 6:30PM) (NSN)

Woodstock (5-1) @ Windsor (2-4) (Saturday @ 1PM)

5 Things from #vthsfootball Week 5

     In my last 5 things, I noted the strong performances from teams in the southern part of the Vermont high school football realm.  So, it wasn't any surprise that part of the state had the most dramatic and exciting performances from Week 5 of the season.  Here are this week's 5 things.

1---Rutland/MAU play offensive classic

    It was a back-and-forth matchup in Bennington as Mount Anthony had their homecoming game vs. Rutland.  Asa Reis and Grady Gallagher made big plays on offense, but it was Gio Spalleri finding Cellan Wood (a BFP breakout performer) for the go-ahead score late in the 4th quarter and an INT from Jon Crossman that gave the team formerly known as the Raiders a 42-39 win, spoiling the Patriots festivities.

 

2---This season's best player is...just a sophomore?

    Bellows Falls may be in D3, but after defeating the defending D2 state champions Friday night, they're 5-0 on the season.  One of the biggest reasons for their success is Sophomore RB/DB Jaden Bazin, who scored 5 TDs and came up with an INT on defense in the Terriers' 52-27 win over Fair Haven on Friday Night.  As the great Jack Healy of NSN noted, Bazin did "Everything except play in the band and sell popcorn in the stands."

3---SJA rebounds from Rutland loss in dominant fashion

    While they did face a rebuilding Seawolves team on Saturday, seeing St. Johnsbury up close gave me a chance to see one of the contenders in Division 1.  Maddox McFarland looked great both running and throwing the ball; Vincent Palmeri made guys miss all day and the defense kept Burlington/South Burlington under duress throughout their 49-7 win at Munson Field, a venue the Hilltoppers hope to get back to next month. 

4---D2 Hartford outplays D1 Middlebury

    It was a battle of undefeated teams in Middlebury, but it was Hartford who came out firing on Friday night en route to a 28-13 win over the Tigers.  Rex Baning had another great game with 2 total TDs while the Hurricanes D held Middlebury to 7 points in the first half.  At the moment, it might come down to Rutland in 2 weeks to try and stop Hartford from ending the year undefeated.

5---More realignment?  8-Man football?  The future of the sport.

    Every week, once the final games finish off (or in this case as BFA/Colchester was going on), I'll head on the X app to recap the week's action.  On the Week 5 Recap Show, we had a discussion about the future of the sport in the state of Vermont.

    This came after NSN's Eric Berry had posted on his blog (top post) his idea of realigning the teams into 4 divisions.  I encourage all who see this to look at Eric's post, then tap the other link to check out the space from Saturday for my thoughts on the situation.