By GEORGE FJELD
FAIRFAX—Last Saturday, in a show of outstanding football, the Otter Valley Otters defeated the BFA Fairfax Bullets in a show of stellar offense and gutsy defense. On a raw day with occasional sleet, a crowd of 300 showed up in Fairfax to witness the semifinal game which looked to be a sure thing for the Bullets, who were undefeated at 10-0 versus the Otters at 5-4.
In the second quarter, the Otters trailed 14-7 when they stopped BFA on the Otter 12-yard line after a missed field goal. OV then marched down the field on a combination of running and passing plays that seemed to have the Bullets perplexed. On two separate third and long plays, quarterback Zac Dragon hit Noel Pearsons and Chase Razanouski for long gains before Pearsons took it through the right side for the game tying touchdown. BFA Fairfax returned the ensuing kickoff out to good field position at their own 47-yard line. But the Otter defense stepped up and tackled two runners behind the line of scrimmage and successfully defended the third down pass to force a punt. Razanouski returned the punt out to the OV 30-yard line. On the next play, Dragon pitched the ball left to Issac Whitney, who took it 70 yards to the house for the touchdown. Otters 21, BFA Fairfax 14. The Bullets stormed right back taking it down the field running and passing and scored on a 12-yard pass to tie the score at 21 going into halftime.
The second half saw the Bullets kick off to the Otters. OV drove it down the field punctuated by a fourth down conversion of 2 yards by Whitney. On a third down, Dragon again passed to Razanouski, who took it down to the 2-yard line from where Whitney punched it in on the next play. Otters 28 and Bullets 21. After the Bullets returned the kickoff to nearly midfield, the Otters held again forcing a punt. On the return, Otter standout Razanouski started to the left and cut it back to the right, evading multiple would-be tacklers and scoring to give the Otters a 35-21 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a nailbiter for the chilled Otter Valley fans. BFA ran it down the field but this time the Otter defense gave up the fourth down run for a touchdown, breathing life back into the Bullets, 35-28. Otter Valley did not roll over. They scored on a pass from Dragon to Max Potter to extend the lead to 41-28 after the missed extra point. There were 8 minutes and 18 seconds left to go, enough time for the Bullet high powered offense to get back. They drove it down to the 1-yard line, where the Otter defense stiffened and created a turnover on downs. OV football on the 1 looking at the length of the field. A mass tackle at the 5-yard line created a fumble which BFA recovered at the 3-yard line. They drove it in for the touchdown this time to get within 6 points at 41-35. A personal foul on OV was called on the play, which was assessed on the kickoff. The kicker kicked it out of bounds, the Otters had the ball on their own 20 with 3 minutes to go and a few snowflakes could be seen in the air. The Otters ran the ball 3 times and BFA used their timeouts to stop the clock. At the 1-minute mark the Otter’s Dragon punted the ball and the punt team tackled the Bullet ball carrier at his own 34-yard line. It came down to a BFA fourth down at the 0:25 mark and the Otter defense intercepted the ball. Dragon took a knee on the next play and time expired. Otters 41 and Bullets 35.
Coach Jim Hill said “Unbelievable, I couldn’t be prouder of these guys. The offensive line and the running backs really played hard.They started off the year playing for themselves and now they’re playing for each other! They’re a family, a brotherhood. And they’re in the title game. Win or lose, I’m proud of how they came together.” Coach Hill was a last minute hire at head coach after retiring from Fair Haven last year. He started the day before the first game this year. Prior to this year, he had an 18-year history at Otter Valley, leading them to the championship game 3 times and being an assistant coach on the 2005 state championship team.
The championship game will be played in St Johnsbury at 2 p.m. next Saturday, November 9th. The Otters will face Woodstock, a team noted for their speed all over the field. They run a winged T offense and are good at hiding the ball from defenders. Hill says, “We’ll have to beat them up front, on the line.”
