Rutland Herald Fall Sports Guide 2018 17
Football Continued from Page 16
MILL RIVER
“I think if everything clicks we could
have a really solid year,” said Mill River
head coach John Wallett.
Among other things, Wallett’s analysis
could refer to the bridge between Mill
River‘s veteran backfield and its near-
entirely green offensive line. That could
be the difference in improving on a six-
win season, and that ended with lopsided
loss to Woodstock in the D-III semis.
Veteran Ethan Stoodley leads a group
that includes Josh Ray, Spencer Ahearn,
Will Farwell and Marcus Rockwell up
front.
“There’s a lot of potential but we need
to sharpen things up a little bit,” said
Wallett, a lineman at Rutland High in his
time.
Mill River is in the mid-30s in
participants with an injection of 11
freshmen.
Junior Colby Fox is back at
quarterback (“He’s light years ahead
of where he was as a sophomore,” says
Wallett), with Josh Bishop at tailback,
Levi Tarbell at fullback, Tyler Shelvy
and Will Grabowski at wideout and Gary
Burnett at tight end.
Shelvy, Bishop, Tarbell, Grabowski
and Burnett will double on defense,
joining JoJo Cox, Chase Purinton,
Zach Farnham, Jerry Merrow and Peter
Carlson.
Mill River has a lot of players suited
to the linebacker position, so the
Minutemen will take advantage with
assistant coach Greg Lewis running a 4-4
defense this year.
MSJ
What a roller-coaster ride it’s been for
Mounties football this preseason, with
players coming and going and the team
relegated to playing 8-man games to
start the season because of a shortage of
numbers.
“I think at some level it’s helped the
kids to bond together,” said coach Tucker
Peterson, who believes the Mounties
have come to trust one another because
without the man next to them “there
would not be a team.”
MSJ starts with 17 players, including
some of the fine athletes area fans will
recognize from last season’s basketball
team.
MSJ joined with Poultney for the
2016 and 2017 seasons but split from
that cooperative effort in anticipation
of having the numbers to go it alone in
Division III. Since then, MSJ has been
granted permission to offer opponents
on its schedule 8-man games: contests
forfeited by MSJ, with the Mounties
playing out the schedule in order to
build the program.
Shortage of numbers has prevented
the Mounties from scrimmaging, so
Saturday will be their first test against any
competition.
Peterson feels MSJ will be able to play
11 games later in the year.
MSJ’s anticipated starting offense for
Saturday: sophomore Maddox Traynor
at quarterback, senior Jihad Prunty
at running back, sophomore Keegan
Chadburn at tight end, junior Deandre
Burns and sophomore Chance Passmore
at wide receiver, and sophomore Thomas
Harris, junior Zack Gelbar and senior
Roahan Magee on the offensive line.
OTTER VALLEY
The Otters are eager to start the new
year after going winless in 2017 and
giving up a lot of points with a very green
defense.
The Otters could be a team that rings
up big numbers this year.
They have a potentially explosive
backfield, some big kids up front and a
seasoned quarterback who is throwing
the ball well.
“I’m looking forward to this year,” said
first-year head coach Kipp Denis. “We’ve
got potential. When the kids start getting
it together we can win some football
games.
“The kids are upbeat. This year it’s
night and day as far as attitude. They’re
excited and they want to play. Not a kid
has missed practice.”
Senior passer Rowe has had a couple
years now to put some polish on his
skills, and is throwing a real nice ball,
and speedy junior Nate Blake presents
a big target at split end. But he might
be just as well off handing off to speedy
tailbacks Dylan Mackie and Nate Hudson
or fullback Chandler Corey, who will run
behind a big line using multiple schemes.
Defenses are just as apt to see elements
of the Wing-T as the Veer, which will call
on Rowe’s savvy and agility and ability to
run when the chance presents itself.
Jared Denis, Marcus McCullough,
Matt Fox, Kam Strickland and Spencer
Pelkey give OV an average of around 220
pounds up front and Anthony Gabriel,
Jacob Owen and Charlie Noble add
depth and big bodies to go both ways.
“We’re scrappy, is what I’d call us,” said
Denis.
With Strickland and Denis at defensive
end and Mackie and Hudson playing
outside linebacker, teams might have a
hard time running outside against the
Otters. If they go inside they meet up
with Fox, who was an all-league lineman
last year playing for Poultney/MSJ.
POULTNEY
Poultney was on the upswing last year
and with nine players back on offense the
Blue Devils hope to be more than a one-
and-done playoff team in 2018.
Poultney teamed with MSJ last year to
beat Missisquoi for its one win and had
a one-point loss to Mill River and a two-
point loss to Springfield.
Jacob DeBonis, Jacob McMahon, Cam
Westcott, Mason Hutchins, Lane Gibbs
and Thomas Dunbar are back on the
offensive line and tight end, and best of
all, Westcott is the only senior.
Junior Caden Capman comes back
to quarterback a little wiser and bigger
than last year. He’s a better-than-average
passer, but in Poultney’s tradition of
running the football, will probably do
just as much damage with his legs.
“He’s smart; he knows what everybody
has to do on offense,” said coach Dave
Capman.
“I think this is a good group. They’ve
worked hard and have been together for
a long time. We saw major improvement
last year.”
Hard-nosed Jacob Allen will line
up at fullback and speedy Jacob Allen
at running back. Levi Haviland is the
wingback and Elizer Rosario, a transfer
from Fair Haven, is at wideout.
DeBonis, McMahon, Dunbar and
Hutchins will double at defense, where
Capman says Lucas Dupel, Grant
Schreiber, Dominic Izzo and Heith
Mason will also start.
Poultney has 32 players, so like many
others in their division, depth will be an
issue.
RUTLAND
Questions abound and only time and
a few games will begin to tell the story of
the 2018 Raiders, who return just a few
starters on either side of the ball and only
14 varsity players total. They’ll team with
the newcomers to try to get the Raiders
back to the playoffs after a rare miss in
2017.
Ryan Moore finished the year as
starting quarterback after a season-
ending injury to Jared Miglorie, and
tailback Dakota Peters also returns.
But starting positions are not cast in
stone and the bigger issue is who will
play up front after nearly every lineman
graduated.
“We’ll probably have seven or eight
new starters on each side of the football,”
said coach Mike Norman, who enters
his 25th season. “We’ll have 14 seniors
and 14 juniors for the most part who
will be in the mix, and a handful of 10th
graders.
“It’s going to take a few weeks before
we get it figured out. For the third year in
a row we will have a new quarterback.”
Moore is in the mix with a group
including Willie Goulette, Owen Perry
and Grady Kenosh, younger brother of
Andy Kenosh, who helped lead Rutland
to its last title.
“All four have done a nice job. We
have an idea (who will start) but I haven’t
walked up to anyone and said you’re the
starter,” Norman said. “That’s true with
any position. I believe in competition.”
The Raiders will carry 35 to 40 players
(grades 10-12) on varsity and have 60 in
the program.
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