12 teams down, 12 teams remain on the road to Munson Field and championship Saturday. Here's a recap of Quarterfinal/Wild Card week in Vermont high school football:
Division 1: OT thriller and a key injury
Burr and Burton and Essex went through an offensive struggle in the rain on Friday night with a late drive leading to the Bulldogs' game-tying TD that would force overtime. After Essex was stopped on their goal-to-go possession (HS OT rules in VT), BBA scored on a Sam Dowd TD Pass to Caleb Perry to knock off the Hornets in the Quarterfinals. The Bulldogs will travel to Middlebury in the Semifinals after the Tigers took care of BFA in similar conditions at home Thursday night.
In the other half of the bracket, Rutland pulled away from Mount Anthony in the second half of their contest while St. Johnsbury went wire-to-wire once again vs. CVU. The Hilltoppers did lose their star QB Maddox McFarland in the game with an ankle injury, leaving his status unknown for Friday's semifinal against Rutland.
Division 2: Baning dominance as favorites prevail
Hartford's undefeated run nearly came to an end against Colchester in week 8, but the Hurricanes left no doubt early against 8-seed MMU. RB Rex Baning had 4 rushing TDs on only 5 carries to lead Hartford to a 49-21 victory Thursday night. Up next for the top-seed Hurricanes: the defending D2 champs Fair Haven on Friday night after the Slaters took care of business at U-32 Saturday night.
Meanwhile, Lyndon and Colchester dominated in their Quarterfinal matchups against Spaulding and Rice, respectively, to set up their semifinal game at LI Saturday.
Division 3: Otters' run continues while top 3 shut out competition
While the top 3 seeds in D3 all advanced to the semifinals without allowing a point (WOOD and BF Thursday night; MAV on Saturday), Otter Valley's winning streak went to 6 with a 34-24 road win against Fairfax/Lamoille. While the Otters did lose starting RB Keegan Reid to injury in the game, Zac Dragon returned to form, finding Chase Razanouski 3 times for TDs on Saturday en route to their second straight playoff win at Fairfax.
Now Otter Valley will have the same route as last year: Beat the Bullets, face Woodstock in the next round. This time, it's in the semifinals on the road. Meanwhile, Mount Abe/Vergennes travel to Bellows Falls in the other semifinal. Both games at 7PM Friday night.
Stats and notes from BFP.
