Serving the Vermont Champlain Valley Area for 45 Years
Tuesday November 1, 2016 Edition
Main Sections
Front Page SportsValley VitalsIt's in the StarsStarwiseArchivesLinksAbout The VoiceContact Us







Tigers Defeat Essex 17-14 On Strong Defense and Delorenzo Field Goal

Tuesday November 1, 2016

By Mike Cameron

There is an old axiom in high school football that claims it's difficult for a team to beat the same team twice in the same season, home-field edge not withstanding.  Essex almost made this happen.  Middlebury would have none of it.  
   The Tigers sporting their traditional post-season-Mohawk hair cuts were stoked and on the warpath as soon as they got off the team bus.  Essex fans had the Hornets buzzing and Tiger fans traveled from Middlebury on this drizzly night by the truckload.  You could tell early on that this would be a dandy.
     Essex won the toss and deferred.  The Tigers went with two tight ends and a tight wishbone and ran, ran, ran.  They ran the clock down as well. Middlebury went right down and scored with Gleason, Carpenter, Kaufmann, Deering and Fischer lugging the leather.  Paul Deering's off tackle blast lit the scoreboard at 52-seconds left in the first quarter and Doug Delorenzo, like he has done all year long put the p.a.t. right through the sticks for a 7-0 Tiger advantage.  Essex wasn't done by a long shot.
   On the ensuing kickoff, Jordan Hines, who is one of the fastest athletes ever to play football for Essex took Jakob Boeckermann's deep kick off at his own 14-yard line, veered to his right, beat the kick coverage to the corner and ran through two Tiger arm tackles.   Hines was off to the races down the side-line for an 86-yard TD.  The entire play took exactly 16-seconds off the clock.  The kick was good and the game was tied  7-7.
   Middlebury needed to reboot quickly and they did.  The Tigers went right back to their game plan.  Quick off the ball running plays were beating the Essex defensive front to the punch.  Tiger fullback Spencer Carpenter hammered the box for 2 and 3 and some times 4 hard earned yards at a clip.  Trey Kaufmann  also joined the test of wills with Simon Fischer and Paul Deering slashing back inside on counters.  The Tigers demonstrated that they can run plays against bigger opponents who are well coached and very talented.  At 5:24 in the second quarter the Tigers had driven to the Hornet 9, where they were called for a chop-block and  hit with a 15-yard penalty.  They were still able to claw back to the 13 where Carpenter got good traction on a quick hitter and ran in for the score to make it 14-7 after the point kick was perfect again by Doug D.
   The Hornets still had plenty of sting and they would prove it.  Hines, Crock, Coulter and Smith continued to test the Tiger defense with punishing runs.  The Tiger D, led up front by Messinger, Payne, Niemo, Devlin, Hotte and Delorenzo would not budge even while giving up 10 to 20 pounds per man to a team that controlled the line of scrimmage two weeks earlier on this very same field.  The Tigers would not allow the big game breaker this time around.
  The Tigers added a Delorenzo 25-yard field goal to their side of the scoreboard with 4 seconds left in the half after a long official game delay to synchronize the game clock.  That kick would prove to be the game winner.  The Tigers would threaten several times more but would not score again as the Hornets would shut them out in the second half while fashioning a solid 55-yard scoring drive early in the 3rd quarter to pull within 3 at 17-14 with plenty of game left.  
   The Tiger Defense would not let this happen even when late in the game Essex went to a spread formation and wanted to throw.   The Tiger blitz was spot on.  Fischer, Kaufmann, Pomainville, Gleason and Carpenter added more pressure and kept the coverage tight in the secondary.  Simon Fischer made a big hit on a wide open Jordan Hines at midfield in the 4th quarter.  It was a TD saver, because Hines had clear sailing if the scrappy Tiger sophomore didn't make monster of a play.   The Tigers were able to hold off a furious Essex come-back bid and seal the deal again, on the road 17-14.  Essex worked their hearts out and Coach Charlie Burnett and his staff deserve a tip of the hat for a season well played.  This was the 50th Anniversary of Essex High School Football.
As for the Tigers, they are continuing to gain momentum in the post-season.  Coach Dennis Smith knows the drill as his Tigers head for “Hurricane Hill” in Hartford next Friday night to take on the undefeated D-1 powerhouse.  Game time is 7 pm.  Need we say more?             


 Printer Friendly  Top
Advertisements


Search our Archives


· More Options



   

Agricultural Weather Forecast:

© 2006-18 The Valley Voice • 656 Exchange St., Middlebury, VT 05753 • 802-388-6366 • 802-388-6368 (fax)
Valleywides: [email protected] • Classifieds: [email protected] • Info: [email protected]