By BOB FREDETTE STAFF WRITER

Fair Haven , Burr and Burton and Bellows Falls have been the Iron Three in Division II for years . Nothing has happened to change that as the 2018 season dawns .

There seems to be more chance of change in Division III , where Windsor and Woodstock have been a cut above the competition for years . There could be a number of party crashers , including Springfield , where enthusiasm for a big year is building , and Poultney , which returns a big veteran contingent .

Thumbnails of southern Vermont teams are given below .

BELLOWS FALLS

If the offensive line is good just about everything falls into place at Bellows Falls , where they have as old-school a philosophy as anywhere in Vermont . That is , run the ball . A lot . And yes , the offensive line is good . “ We ’ re really happy with where we are at ,” said longtime coach Bob Lockerby . “ There have been a few surprises . We ’ re returning a relatively veteran line and we ’ re going to have a relatively inexperienced backfield , but there ‘ s talent in the backfield .”

If you remember a former BF silver streak named Fred Waryas running the ball and wearing out cover teams on kick returns , you ’ ll get this name : Griff Waryas . He ’ s Fred ’ s son and calls the signals in the BF backfield .

“ He got some snaps last year ,” said Lockerby . “ He can see the field and has a decent arm and he likes to run .”

No surprise there .

Julian Christiansen is the fullback , Brady Clark and Jed Lober are the tailbacks and MacGregor Vancor the slotback . The tight end is Noah Rawling and Joe Terry is at split end .

The anchor of the line is Reno Tuttle , the 280-pound state shot put champion . Joining the third-year starter are Gunner Sawyer , Braden Maxfield , Jack Brown and Ethan Morey .

With only 30 players plenty of Terriers will go both ways . Others on defense will include Aiden Smith , Dylan Clark and Sam Melish .

Last year was a bit of a rebuild for the Terriers , but they managed to keep moving forward ; they knocked off an ailing Burr and Burton in the playoffs before falling to Fair Haven in the Division II finals .

“ If we can stay away from injuries and the backfield matures quickly I don ’ t see any reason we wouldn ’ t be one of the more competitive teams in D-II , and I can see us having a shot at getting back to ( the state championship game ),” Lockerby said .

No surprise there either .

BURR AND BURTON

Quality quarterbacks have kept Burr and Burton among Division II ’ s elite for a decade , and even though the position was vacant when camp began , don ’ t look for BBA ’ s success to suffer .

Coach Jason Thomas had Joey McCoy , John Morgantini and Jake Baker as candidates to fill the quarterback ’ s slot , and whomever isn ’ t taking snaps will be chipping in big at receiver .

All three bring different things to the QB position ; McCoy , a junior , is an intelligent leader , classmate Morgantini has the best arm , and Baker , a senior , is the best athlete and would be a beast to bring down at nearly 200 pounds .

All three top 6 feet and could create matchup problems at wideout for an offense that is one of the state ’ s best , year in and year out .

BBA has a good group of athletes once again and will be relying on 15 upperclassmen to bring along the 24 freshmen and sophomores .

Thomas expects Olivier Cazaudumec to have a big year on the offensive line , where four players are back . Logan Morgan and Chevaughn Brownie return to work at running back and wideout . One of last year ’ s linemen , Owen King , moves to tight end .

“ This is one of my top three teams in skills ,” said Thomas . “ We have a lot of athletes who can run and swarm to the ball on defense .”

The biggest issue will be depth and the Bulldogs ( there are 34 players in the program ) could still be smarting over that very thing . A late-season injury to Jay McCoy last year crippled BBA on both sides of the ball and they lost to Bellows Falls in the semifinals . McCoy was having an outstanding year at quarterback and linebacker and was a player of the year candidate .

FAIR HAVEN

As if Fair Haven needed any extra help , several soccer players crossed over and now the Slaters football team has more receiving threats than ever .

Brett Huntley , Andrew Lanthier and Levin Ryan join a program that graduated 12 players from last year ’ s state title team and Parker Morse , formerly a part-time footballer , is all in .

Now strong-arm quarterback Cam Coloutti , who has at least one Division I college checking him out , has his pick among eight wide-outs . Most are at the 6-foot or 6-1 range and that is bound to create matchup problems .

Add that the Slaters boast a strong

returning line contingent and running back Aaron Szabo ( nearly 1,200 yards last year ) and defenses are really going to have to disguise their looks to slow down the Fair Haven offense .

“ I have never had this many athletes ,” said coach Brian Grady , who has coached for about 30 years .

The Slaters finished last year on a seven-game win streak after having their nose bloodied at Burr and Burton in Week 4 . They will open the 2018 campaign on Friday against visiting Mount Anthony . They host rival Burr and Burton on Sept . 21 and visit rival Bellows Falls on Oct . 12 .

Coloutti , in his third year as a starter , continues to progress . He has absorbed Grady ’ s extensive playbook so the Slaters could be moving on to schemes Grady used as a coaching assistant at Castleton University .

Fair Haven continues to have good numbers , with 48 players out .

That includes returning linemen Jake Grenier , Jake Heibler and Hunter Muzzy , and running backs Dylan Lee and Colby Murray (“ he ’ s super-quick ,” says Grady ).

Gabe Ellis is back at linebacker and runs the defense in front while safety Aubrey Ramey runs it in the secondary . Ellis did not become a starter until Week 4 last year and still amassed 101 tackles .

While all the offensive linemen weigh in at a hefty 230-plus pounds , the Slaters defense is a little smaller but much faster . Slaters wideouts will play a big role in the defensive secondary .

Grenier , Muzzy , Ellis , Szabo and Ramey will play key roles on the defense .

“ We have real good cover guys ,” Grady said . “ We have a lot of kids who can move .”

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