Font ResizeBRATTLEBORO -- The initial BCS rankings just came out, leaving several of us surprised that the Florida Gators are second on the list.
But there’s no debate on which team is on undefeated Rice’s heels in Vermont’s Division 2 standings. Bellows Falls earned that spot by beating Lyndon, 28-14, on Friday.
And now it’s on to rivalry weekend in the Green Mountain State, as Brattleboro will host MAU on Friday at 7 p.m. and Lyndon will visit St. Johnsbury on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Colonels are coming off of a 26-7 victory over Spaulding, behind 26 carries and 135 rushing yards from Elliot Gragen. Gragen had a 17-yard run to the house, while burner Noah Simeon caught a pair of touchdown passes.
Mount Anthony Union, on the other hand, lost 49-13 to Rutland in their latest. Tyler Mattison (9 carries, 103 yards) and Conner Rawling (13 carries, 45 yards) did the damage for the Patriots, who gave up 273 passing yards and five scoring strikes to Rutland signal-caller Nick Boles.
If you’ve never checked out the historic showdown that takes place two hours north of here, you need to see it. Those with the green war paint on sit on the St. Johnsbury side, while those with the maroon on stay on the Lyndon side. And those fans are vocal.
Also on Saturday at 1 p.m., the Terriers will play at Otter Valley. It’s hard to take the Otters lightly, considering they recently fell to powerhouse Rice 14-6.
Bellows Falls will likely try to overpower the Otters, after getting 119 rushing yards from Zach Rawling and 91 more from Carson Fullam in a crucial victory over Lyndon. Stewart Shaughnessy recovered a fumble and Mike LaBeau picked off a pass to lead "the Purple Gang" in that contest.
Rice forced eight turnovers in last week’s 54-0 trouncing of Fair Haven. Casey Tipson had player of the week stats, as he rushed for 135 yards and two scores, picked off two passes and also forced a fumble.
Hartford, which is the other undefeated team, survived a scare in Week 7 as quarterback Gregg Shinn’s fourth-down TD pass with less than two minutes to go allowed them to hold off Burlington 27-14.
But the Division 1 headliner was BFA-St. Albans’ 28-26 decision over Essex. Doug Saffo (223 rushing yards, 3 TD’s) and Lucas Kelsey (145 rushing yards) powered the winners, while Joey Picard threw for 230 yards to lead the Hornets.
CVU’s Alex Bulla put up Heisman numbers on the other side of the ball, as he picked off two passes and also recovered a fumble in a 31-13 rout of South Burlington.
Shane Covey can be reached at scovey@reformer.com or by calling 802-254-2311, ext. 163.
