Week 5 Review

In the Vermont Football Insider game of the week, BFA-St. Albans traveled across the treacherous terrain of northern Vermont to challenge fellow Division 1 unbeaten, St. Johnsbury Academy. Not only are the Bobwhites and the Hilltoppers two of the top teams in the state, bad blood also exists between them. After their last matchup in 2014 resulted in a 42-9 shellacking by St Johnsbury, BFA proceeded to ban St. Johnsbury's coach Rich Alercio from its school and athletic grounds due to what BFA Athletic Director Dan Marlow referred to as inappropriate and disrespectful behavior. Further details of the incident were not shared, though Alercio was likely upset that when the game was suspended at 11:15 p.m. due to a lightning storm, BFA refused to end the game despite being behind 28-3 with 51 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter. This forced St. Johnsbury to make the 150-mile roundtrip drive again just weeks later in order to secure the victory. More information on the incident can be found on the Burlington Free Press website.

Today's game was a much closer affair. BFA jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead in the 1st quarter and went into halftime with a 21-14 lead. BFA struck first again in the second half to extend their lead to 28-14, but St. Johnsbury would go on to score 22 unanswered points. Ahead by one score, the Hilltoppers came through with a key interception with 1:20 left in the game to seal the victory.

Other highlights of the week included Burlington remaining unbeaten (5-0) with a convincing 27-7 victory over CVU, Middlebury defeating Rutland 28-27 in overtime, and in a matchup of winless teams, Rice stormed to a 35-6 win over Essex.

Next week's Vermont Football Insider game of the week will again see BFA-St. Albans on the road as they take on the defending state champions from Hartford.

Results
Division 1
St. Johnsbury 36, BFA- St. Albans 28
Hartford 56, Brattleboro 33
Burlington 27, CVU 7
Middlebury 28, Rutland 27 (OT)
Mt. Mansfield 32, Colchester 19
Rice 35, Essex 6

Division 2
Burr & Burton 56, Spaulding 24
Milton 41, Mt. Abraham 6
Bellows Falls 50, Otter Valley 6
U-32 28, North Country 9

Division 3
Windsor 66, Missisquoi 32
Woodstock 42, Mill River 14

Non-divisional games
South Burlington 12, Mt. Anthony 7
Fair Haven 49, MSJ/Poultney 7
Lyndon 15, BFA-Fairfax 3
Granville (NY) 22, Springfield 14

Week 5 Power Rankings
1) St. Johnsbury (5-0)
2) Hartford (4-1)
3) BFA-St. Albans (4-1)
4) Burlington (5-0)
5) Burr & Burton (4-1)
6) Middlebury (3-2)
7) Mt. Mansfield (4-1)
8) Fair Haven (4-1)
9) Milton (5-0)
10) Bellows Falls (4-1)

QPR Standings
You can visit Green Mountain Gridiron for updated QPR standings from Kevin Commo.

Division Standings (by record against VT opponenets, not QPR)
Division 1
1) St. Johnsbury (5-0)
2) Burlington (5-0)
3) Hartford (4-1)
4) BFA-St. Albans (4-1)
5) Mt. Mansfield (4-1)
6) Middlebury (3-2)
7) Colchester (2-3)
8) CVU (2-3)
9) South Burlington (2-3)
10) Rutland (1-4)
11) Rice (1-4)
12) Essex (0-5)
13) Brattleboro (0-5)

Division 2
1) Milton (5-0)
2) Burr & Burton (4-1)
3) Bellows Falls (4-1)
4) Fair Haven (4-1)
5) U-32 (4-1)
6) Lyndon (3-2)
7) Mt. Anthony (2-3)
8) Mt. Abraham (1-4)
9) Spaulding (1-3)
10) North Country (0-5)
11) Otter Valley (0-5)

Division 3
1) Windsor (4-0)
2) Woodstock (4-0)
3) Mill River (3-2)
4) BFA-Fairfax (2-3)
5) MSJ/Poultney (1-4)
6) Springfield (0-4)
7) Missisquoi (0-4)