BY ANDY KIRKALDY
Photo by Mat Clouser
BRANDON — The Otter Valley football team broke open Saturday’s Division III game against Mount Abraham-Vergennes with a three-touchdown second quarter on the way to a big homecoming win, 46-25. The result left both teams at 2-2.
The Otters dominated on both sides of the ball as they took a 26-6 halftime lead. They scored on senior quarterback Caleb Whitney’s first-period quarterback sneak, Whitney’s second-quarter TD passes to seniors Tucker Babcock and Richard Lafountaine, and senior back Keevon Parks’s eight-yard run.
The Eagles’ bright spot was a 72-yard hook-up from senior QB Zeke DuBois to towering junior wideout Ian Funke, who caught a slant pass 12 yards downfield, broke a couple of tackles, and raced to paydirt. Funke caught eight DuBois passes for 208 yards and three scores.
But DuBois spent most of the first half dodging OV rushers. He was sacked three times and hurried many more, and the Eagles struggled to get their running game going.
Meanwhile, Parks (12 carries, 98 yards) and OV sophomore Noel Pearsons (23 attempts for 161 yards) had plenty of running room, and Whitney found time to complete 11 of 15 passes for 161 yards.
First-year OV Coach Jordan Tolar said Saturday’s success began with the work of the OV lines, both in attitude and execution.
“Football is won and lost in the trenches,” Tolar said. “You’ve got to get after them, get physical, and be a disciplined group. We talked about being the more disciplined group today, understand our assignment, and just executing our job.”
Photo by Mat Clouser
Tolar spread the credit around.
“It was another total team effort by the guys,” Tolar said. “It was a great week of practice, and they were locked in for game day.”
MAV Coach Jeff Stein was less pleased after the game, especially with the first half.
“I’m not sure what took place or what happened, but I told the guys we spotted them 20 points right there in warmups,” Stein said. “You can’t come out flat and expect to do well against a team that is comparable or better than you.”
His offensive line played better and gave DuBois more time in the second half, and more use of an empty backfield set helped the Eagles move the ball more effectively.
DuBois finished 14 of 32 for 238 yards, numbers that could have been better if not for a few drops.
“We had empty put-in even at the beginning, and we knew we could get numbers in the box like we wanted, and then that gave us the ability to get Ian out wide one-on-one without help over the top,” Stein said. “We used it more (in the second half). We had it in the first half, we just weren’t executing it.”
The Otters moved well on their first drive, but a fumble recovered by Eagle senior Lucas Allen ended it. No matter: They scored on four of their next five possessions in the half.
A 33-yard toss from Whitney to his sophomore brother Isaac Whitney (six catches for 96 yards) helped set up Caleb Whitney’s 1-yard sneak at 4:30 of the opening quarter. Luca Polli tossed a conversion pass to Caleb Whitney to make it 8-0.
Whitney’s 15-yard pass to Babcock at 11:10 of the second quarter capped a 75-yard march. Next, Noah Drew picked off DuBois, and OV took over at its own 32 and marched 68 yards to make it 20-0, scoring on Whitney’s 6-yard pass to LaFontaine.
After Funke scored to make it 20-6, another fumble, which Eagle Ryan Wright recovered, stalled OV. But Pearsons soon picked off DuBois on the MAV 23. Three plays later, Parks bulled in from the 8, and it was 26-6 at the half.
The teams traded scores in the second half. Pearsons ran wide left to make it 33-6. The Eagles responded with a 58-yard drive with the empty backfield look. DuBois completed passes to Wright and Funke and ran three times for 34 yards on the march, including a 4-yard TD at 6:18 of the third, and it was 33-12.
In the fourth, the Otters capped a 70-yard drive with an 8-yard Whitney-to-Whitney TD pass. Funke, doing it all, blocked the point after and then caught a 15-yard TD pass from DuBois, and the two scores made it 39-18.
Later in the quarter Pearsons ran untouched wide right to make it 46-18. With 1:40 to go, Funke outjumped three defenders for a long DuBois pass, shrugged off their efforts to drag him down, and waltzed into the end zone for a 49-yard TD. Funke kicked the point-after to further pad his résumé.
DuBois rushed eight times for 45 yards, and Jamison Couture added seven attempts for 44.
Stein said the Eagles were missing two defensive starters due to injuries, and the Eagles lacked an edge to their defense on Saturday after limiting their opponents to 14 points or fewer.
“I told our guys we didn’t come out and play aggressive. It was like we were letting them come to us rather than going to them,” he said. “We’ve been able to control the line of scrimmage defensively, and today we weren’t getting the push we’re used to.”
Stein said the injured players should return to help for this week’s Saturday home game vs. Fairfax (2-1), and he pledged his team would work hard to bounce back.
“We’re going to focus on some hard-nosed play because that’s what we’re going to get from Fairfax,” Stein said. “We’re just going to have to get more aggressive.”
Tolar said the Otters’ road ahead would be challenging, starting with a Saturday afternoon visit to undefeated defending D-III champion Windsor.
“It’s not going to be as easy. But, you know, it’s all about preparation and getting after it,” he said. “And then executing on Saturday.”
Tolar said the Otters are following their leaders’ motivation to improve their play after D-III semifinal losses the past two seasons.
“They’ve really been coming along great. I’ve got to tip my cap to the leaders of this group, the seniors and juniors,” Tolar said. “Those guys are buying into it, and it’s showing.”
