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Tuesday October 23, 2007 Edition
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Tigers Unload On Rebels 31-7 And Stay Unbeaten

Tigers defensive tackle Eric Fifield hammers So. Burlington half back Taylor DeVarney on Saturday, October 20th, 2007. Fifield is a senior Tri-Captain on the underfeated Tigers team. Tigers won 31-7 at So. Burlington.
photo by Mike Cameron
Tigers defensive tackle Eric Fifield hammers So. Burlington half back Taylor DeVarney on Saturday, October 20th, 2007. Fifield is a senior Tri-Captain on the underfeated Tigers team. Tigers won 31-7 at So. Burlington.
So. Burlington Quarterback Ernie Bragg prepares to spring out against Middlebury behind offensive lineman Justin Sachs. Bragg is one of the reasons that the Rebels are in the post season hunt this year.
photo by Mike Cameron
So. Burlington Quarterback Ernie Bragg prepares to spring out against Middlebury behind offensive lineman Justin Sachs. Bragg is one of the reasons that the Rebels are in the post season hunt this year.

Tuesday October 23, 2007

By Mike Cameron

    The MUHS Tigers prowled into So. Burlington on Saturday afternoon for a rare mid-afternoon battle with the SBHS High School Rebels.

    The Rebs like their cross-town rivals at Burlington High have a state-of-the-art playing surface on the football/soccer field.  

    Unlike the new rug at Burlington, this one is made up of a compacted rubber pellet fill and is not completely solid.  

    The field we are told by some of the coaches at the school is the same surface used in the NFL and in pro soccer and is relatively labor free in its up-keep.

    The Tigers took to the synthetic grass surface at Burlington the week before like fish to a river.  Would this new artificial surface once again add to the Tigers team speed and agility?
Yes it did and so did the pass.

    SBHS was ready to play and marched the opening drive to the Tiger 8.  Penalties and a quick study Tiger defensive unit forced them into a key 4th down play.  Rebel quarterback Ernie Bragg passed and Sam Jones intercepted.  The Tigers were off to the races and the Rebels wouldn’t see anything resembling the end zone until this one was almost history.

    So. Burlington did an excellent job early in the game containing the Tiger sweeps and traps but assistant coach John Nuceder,  Middlebury’s ever watchful eye-in-the-sky helped the Tiger brain truss map out a way to move the ball with a series of air strikes.  The team responded and Sam Jones and company put the ball in the air for large yardage, catching the Rebs off guard.

    “Slamin”, Sam was 5-for-8 passing for 83 very important yards in this one.

    Jones added two TD’s with his quick feet and teammate Sean Harrison added two more while his brother Robbie, home for the weekend from college urged him on from the sidelines.

    Ben Almquist booted a 27-yard field goal and threw a nice halfback option pass to Jones in the second half.  The Tigers were 7 of 11 through the air for total passing yardage of 154 a fact that had scouts scratching their collective heads on the sidelines.

    The Rebels didn’t go quietly.  A 6 and 1 ball club coming into this one.  

    Head Coach Joe McDonald’s Rebels hit hard and had the Tigers over-reacting on defense early.  Senior running back Taylor DeVarney ripped through some big holes early but once the Tigers settled down the Rebel’s running game was figured out and stopped.  Still DeVarney one of the top high school running backs in the state managed to earn 98-yards on 22 lugs.  His average was much higher coming in.

    The Tiger’s wen to the intermission with a 14-0 lead after Almquist’s line drive field goal hooked around the right upright from 27-yards out.

    In the second half the Tiger linebackers continued to shoot up inside and force Bragg’s timing.  Ben Shaw and Harrison made some great defensive plays all game long as did the Tigers forward front.  Middlelbury has allowed the fewest points of any high school  team in the state.  They continue to stay calm and execute, listen to their coaches and stop opponents.

    Bragg was also a study in calmness for So. Burlington.  The junior signal caller is a very cool customer under pressure.

    So. Burlington’s Evan Cassidy also a junior had a strong day for the Reb’s in spite of the Tigers dominance in the second half and scored with less than two minutes left in the game.   Tigers win 31-7.

    They will host Bellows Free Academy at Doc Collins Field on Friday night, October 26th in the final regular season game of the year.  The Tigers are in the post season but they are not the kind of team that will be looking beyond the Bob Whites.

    The Division 1 playoff picture became a bit more focused over this past weekend.  Rutland defeated Brattleboro, Essex defeated Burlington and Hartford defeated St. Johnsbury.  They all had scouts at the game observing the Tigers.

    What they learned was not encouraging.  Middlebury can adapt on the fly and will change their game plan if they have to.  This is still a hungry football team.    

 


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