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Tiger Defense Stops Slaters 9-6 Now 10-0... D-2 Title Shot Next Against Rice

photo by Mike Cameron MUHS head football coach Dennis Smith talks with his team after the Tigers defeated Fair Haven and punched their ticket to the VT State Title High School Football Game in Division 2 against Rice. The Tigers remained undefeated with their win 9-6 on Friday night, November 5th, 2010 at Doc Collins Field.

Tuesday November 9, 2010

By Mike Cameron

    The Division 2 Vermont Principals Association High School football play-off game between the Fair Haven Union High School Slaters and the MUHS Tigers of Middlebury was “trench warfare” from start to finish.  Neither team would budge.   No one would give an inch of turf.

    The turf was a large part of the story in this game played before a packed Doc Collins Field on Friday night November 5th, 2010.  Rain had pounded the area for several days.  The MUHS ground crew volunteers had done a remarkable job to rid the playing surface of standing water before game time.

    The Tigers were the number one seed in the tournament and earned home field honors because of their 9-0 record going in.  

    It was evident from the opening kick off that the game would be a bruising affair.  Contact from the start could be heard far from the point of the blocks and tackles.  On the first series the Slaters let the Tigers know that they “had gone to school” on the game video taken when the two teams meet earlier in the year and the Tigers had to come back to win after trailing at the half in Slater country.  “We  were determined not to make the same mistakes twice,” Slater first year mentor and former Castelton College assistant football coach Ryan Audet remarked after the game.  

    The Slaters did play mistake free football for most of the game but one miscalculation may have cost them a shot at the title.  The misreading of a Tiger punt near the Slater 21 was quickly pounced upon by three Tigers led by the speedy Jordan Connor with 8:17 showing in the first quarter. It was Tiger ball first and 10.  Moments later Bryan-Ashley-Selleck knifed in on a counter and the Tigers were doing business as usual.  The point-after-kick was wide and it was 6-zip Middlebury.  Little did anyone realize that it would be the only touchdown the Tigers would score in the game.  Fair Haven's Neil Hier, Co-Captain Luke Lenway, and Co-Captain Nick Bruno would see to that with sure tackles and a big pass rush all night long.

    The Tigers would apply the same kind of pressure with nose-tackle Joey Zeno making big plays time and time again. He tallied 9 unassisted tackles and played like the motivated young man he is, all game long.   No small achievement against an offense that is very difficult to read.  Captain Pat Fifield, was also having a great night at defensive end and the Tigers linebackers would not let the Slater spread-no-huddle offensive get into high gear.

    This one was played in the trenches with both teams grinding away.  So much so that the field eventually became a quagmire the consistency of thick chocolate cake frosting.  The Tigers Steel White had his best game of the year on both sides of the ball.  “The Man of Steel,” totally caked in mud said after the game, “we knew that they would be ready and that we had a target on our backs.  We needed to do our jobs and we did,” he explained with a victory smile on his face moments after game.

    This one had one big play after another.  Alex Bowdish hit a 20-yard field goal with 4:19 left to go in the second quarter.  The boot was one of his best of the year and could have easily cleared from  another 15 to 20 yards out.  The Tigers were up 9-0 but the Slaters would not go away, they had just begun to show some muscle in this brawl and would shut out the Tigers the rest of the way.

    After a third quarter stand-off, Fair Haven went on a sustained drive in the 4th,  using their three quarterback system of Robert Coloutti, Nick Bruno and Dakota Euber they began to move the ball into Tiger territory on the ground and in the air.  14-plays and 63-yards later Dakota Euber ripped off tackle and scored from the 5.  The kick was wide, the Tiger lead was 3 and the stage was set for some frantic final 4th quarter minutes of football played before standing screaming fans on both sides of the field.  If Fair Haven and Middlebury didn't have a rivalry before this one, they have one now.

    With the score 9-6 both teams had opportunities in the final minutes but the Tigers would not let their ticket to the title game slip away in the mud of Doc Collins Field.  Tiger Quarterback Brendan Burrell missed most of the game with an early injury.  His status for the State Title Game was not disclosed as of press time.  

    The Tigers passed their biggest test yet and they are off to Castelton College for game two of the “Championship Day”series at Spartan Stadium of Saturday, November 13th with a 2 p.m. kick off scheduled.  Division 3 will be played at 11 a.m and Division will be the night cap at 6 p.m. under the lights.  The Tigers will play Rice Memorial a 29-0 winner over CVU at the state's newest and most state of the art sports venue.  It promises to be a dandy.    

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