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Tigers Overpower So. Burlington Rebels 42-3 Essex Next

photo by Mike Cameron Tiger Doug Delorenzo #81

Tuesday October 4, 2016

By Mike Cameron

It has been a difficult season for the Rebels and the coaching staff of head coach Joe McDonald.  South Burlington gridders, one of Vermont's most celebrated high school football programs over the decades, have not had much to celebrate in 2016.  The Rebels were 0-4 going in and set to host the visiting Tigers of Middlebury for a 7 p.m. Friday night lights kickoff in Chittenden County.
   In four games the Rebels had scored a total of 31 points while giving up a total of 142.  Still coach Dennis Smith wasn't taking anything for granted.  His Tigers were much better on both sides of the ball in their last outing, a home game against Colchester won by Middlebury 27-7.  Smith also knew that his opponent on this night had a long standing history of being competitive against his Tigers no matter what the numbers indicated going in.
Tigers and Rebels Battle in First Half
On this night Middlebury was spot on both defensively and offensively as the game progressed.  The Rebels held their own during the first 12-minutes as the first quarter ended 7-0.   Trey Kaufmann and Spencer Carpenter led the charge and Kaufmann broke the stalemate behind great blocking.  Delorenzo's kick was good out of the steady hold of Cody Pomainville and the Tigers were on their way.  Quarterback Andrew Gleason was shaken up on a Rebel blind side hit with 4:53 left in the half.  He came out, Pomainville came in and threw a pass on a 4th and 3 that the Rebels picked off.
Delorenzo's Monster Play Stops Rebel Momentum    
With the Rebels driving over mid-field into Middlebury territory, the Tigers two-way ace Doug Delorenzo made the defensive gem of the season so far.  Playing defensive end, Delorenzo put on a fierce pass rush, hammered the Rebel quarterback, stripped the ball and then two hopped it for a Tiger recovery stopping the threat and possible Rebel momentum.
The Tigers grabbed a 14-0 lead with a Carpenter blast behind excellent blocking. Carpenter and Kaufmann lugged the ball on this night for a combined 139 tough yards on 24 carries.  Almost 6-yards at a clip.  The first half ended Tigers-14 Rebels-0.
Tigers Surge in Third Quarter
Lane Sheldrick's kick-off return to start the second half was an omen of things to come.  The Tiger junior ended the drive with a nice misdirection slash off the left side for a touchdown and the kick was good by Delorenzo.  It was now a much taller climb for South Burlington trailing 21-0.
Carpenter picked off a pass on the next South Burlington drive just outside the red zone and Kaufmann capped the drive with a 15-yard blast up the middle to make it Tigers 27-0.  The Tigers added another when Gleason now back in the game found Delorenzo over the middle and Doug made a nice catch over his right shoulder and was off to the house, scoring and kicking the point to make it 35-0 Middlebury with 2:31 left in the 3rd quarter.  Coach Smith brings in plenty of new troops at this point and running time arrives in this one.
Cody Pomainville's 68-Yard Beauty
Enter the 4th quarter and the Tigers Cody Pomainville gives some of the local coaches scouting this game a jaw dropping display of raw speed.  Getting a nice lead block at the corner on a keeper, Pomainville took off down the right sideline not to be touched for the final touchdown of the night.  It was a 68-yard dandy.  The Rebels added a 25-yard field goal by McKenna Cooper to the scoring in the 4th quarter to prevent a shut-out, making the final score 42-3.  South Burlington is now 0-5 on the year and is playing with some freshmen and sophomores. This down-cycle will not last forever and they show great promise for the future.  The school and fans are very supportive of football and their youth program demonstrated that at halftime.  The school just installed a new synthetic playing field.  It is one of the best  athletic playing surfaces in New England, college or high school.  The Tigers will visit Essex next Friday night.  Middlebury is 4-1 and Essex is 3-2. This was key win for the Tigers.  Essex vs Middlebury is always a good ball game. Mark your calendar.

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