CVU football season ends, Five Redhawks named to State All-Star team

By Holly Fournier

All good things must come to an end, and so it did on Friday night with CVU’s playoff defeat at the hands of South Burlington, 42-20. The loss marks the end to a remarkable run for the Redhawks in their Division 1 debut.

It was just six years ago that the school’s club team earned varsity status and played their first game in D-4. After ascending rapidly through the Vermont divisional ranks, CVU’s program should be proud. The Redhawks ended their first D-1 regular season in the top half of the standings with a 5-3 record and achieved a playoff berth.

Although a playoff victory proved elusive for the Redhawks, there were many exciting moments that kept the Sea of Red in the stands on their feet all night. Fans roared as Tyson White returned a kick-off 77 yards for a touchdown – his blistering speed proved too much for the Rebels. Fans cheered when the Rebel signal caller was not only intercepted, but later sacked by CVU’s own quarterback, Drew Nick. And fans were energized when, over the course of the game, Michael Fournier deflected three passes and recovered a fumble.

CVU’s other scores came from Nick’s passes to Johnny Powers and Davis Mikell. In all Nick went 14-for-21, finishing with 219 yards passing, in addition to pounding out quite a few yards on the ground. Powers caught five passes totaling 129 yards. Nick Ferrentino, back from a three game absence, rushed for 123 yards on 24 carries. Tucker Kohlasch nailed two out of three extra point attempts, missing one on a bad snap.

Ryan Fleming, Nick and Fournier led the ‘Hawks in tackles with help from Matt Bauer, John Keen, Quinn Kropf and Rex McCoy.

Congratulations to the five CVU seniors named to the North team for the Vermont North-South Senior Bowl Football Classic – team co-captains Fleming, Kohlasch, Kropf and Nick, along with Dylan Raymond. The annual showdown between the top high school senior football players in Vermont takes place at Middlebury College on Saturday, November 19th, with kickoff at 12:30 pm.

Redhawks give Tigers a fight

By Joe Cribari

CVU’s Football Redhawks kept fans on the edge of their seats in an exciting home game against the Middlebury Union High School Tigers Saturday. The good news: CVU played well, fought hard, made plays at key moments and is bound for the post-season in its first year as a Division I team. The not-so-good news: the Redhawks came up just short, falling 27-21 in favor of the Tigers.

CVU drew first blood after an impressive 81-yard opening drive that consumed over six minutes. The offensive line dominated on that drive, giving quarterback Drew Nick time to connect with John Keen, Trevor Kennedy and three times to Ryan Beaudry. Nick kept the ball for some nice gains as well, thanks to key blocking by Brent Carreiro. Converting on third down four times, the Redhawks ultimately gave the nod to Carreiro, who punched it in from the 5-yard line.

The Redhawks defense had its say shortly thereafter. Middlebury was forced to turn over the ball as Matt Bauer and the Red D-line denied the Tigers on 4th and goal at the 5-yard line. Michael Fournier and Nick led the ‘Hawks in tackles, with a lot of help from Tucker Kohlasch, Harvey Ottinger, Carreiro, Beaudry and the rest of the defense.

CVU’s passing game was impressive. Drew Nick threw 16 for 27 for over 200 yards. Nick also scored two rushing touchdowns. Ryan Beaudry and John Keen took turns catching Nick’s passes. Beaudry was often acrobatic, fighting and pulling in tipped balls. Keen’s beautiful, thirty-six yard reception to the 1-yard line in the second quarter set up Nick’s second rushing TD. Tucker Kohlasch rounded out the Redhawks scoring, hitting three for three extra point kicks.

Middlebury’s scoring was provided by two rushing touchdowns by QB Dillion Robinson and one each by Patrick Foley and Jordan Connor. Connor also ran in for a 2-point conversion.

The Redhawks defense made a valiant stand as the Tigers attempted and failed to convert on 4th and 12 on the 23–yard line late in the 4th quarter. Middlebury’s following drive was stuffed once again, thanks in part to Bauer’s quarterback sack. Bauer also recovered a Tiger’s fumble. CVU’s defense got to Robinson three more times earlier in the game; once by Alec Distler, and twice in one drive by Michael Fournier & company.

This game ended in disappointment for the Redhawks but opportunity lies ahead. CVU travels to South Burlington next week to face the Rebels in the first round in the playoffs. This re-match of last week’s game should prove exciting. The Redhawks will be hungry and ready to take care of business. Expect a huge crowd of fans Rocking the Red on the Road. The game is Friday October 28, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.

Saturday was Senior Day for the Redhawks – prior to the game each senior player escorted his parents onto the field to be recognized in a pre-game ceremony. There were photos and the boys presented small gifts to their parents. These seniors are commended for their leadership and contributions to the team, school and community. May they have success and good fortune for the remainder of the year and in their future endeavors.

Redhawks wing it to victory over Fighting Patriots

By Holly Fournier

The Redhawks took to the air Friday night at Spinelli Field in Bennington, securing a 28-13 victory over Mt. Anthony Union on quarterback Drew Nick’s three touchdown passes. Champlain Valley Union, now 5-1 on the season, moves one step closer to clinching a playoff spot while the Fighting Patriots drop to 1-5.

Nick adroitly moved the ball downfield all night, totaling 280 passing yards and completing 21-of-31 attempts with aerial strikes to Ryan Beaudry, Brent Carreiro, Ryan Fleming, Trevor Kennedy, David Mikell, Johnny Powers and Harvey Ottinger.

Halfback Carreiro, filling in without notice for sidelined running back Nick Ferrentino, valiantly pounded out rushing yards, including a 9-yard carry for a first down to set up CVU’s first TD. Still, the Redhawk overall ground attack came up short against a Fighting Patriots defense well-prepared to stop CVU’s run game. "MAU made us one-dimensional. They took away the run, but gave us the pass and we needed to take advantage of that," Coach Jim Provost said.

Nick’s first tally came with 2:47 left in the first quarter on a 5-yard keeper down the middle to cap CVU’s second possession of the game. Tucker Kohlasch nailed the extra point, as he did all night, to give the Redhawks a 7-0 lead.

MAU evened the score with 6:21 remaining in the half on a 45-yard run by Alex Cross, but CVU responded quickly with Nick’s 9-yard completion to fullback co-captain Ryan Fleming. This game was a first for Fleming in two regards: new position, new number. Fleming’s move to fullback in addition to his linebacker duties was “designed to help with lead blocking on goal line plays,” he says. As for wearing jersey #30, Fleming likes it, adding, “It’s Eric Palmer’s number so I’m trying to do it proud.” Palmer, a stand-out member of last year’s squad, played linebacker on the Vermont Shrine Team.

CVU’s third touchdown came with just 55.3 seconds before the half on a 37-yard Nick pass into newcomer Davis Mikell’s capable hands for a 21-7 first half lead. Mikell’s six pass receptions created some press box buzz, considering that two weeks ago he had never played football and this was his first game appearance. Mikell said that he “kept watching the games and seeing how much fun the guys were having. I wanted to join in.”

The Redhawks and Fighting Patriots traded interceptions in the game’s third quarter. John Keen’s red zone pick with 2:04 into the second half was key in thwarting a strong MAU drive. However, five minutes later the determined Fighting Patriots scored with a trick play on fourth and long. MAU signal-caller pitched the ball to Chris Redding who then easily targeted Dan Lawson for a 21-yard touchdown pass over the heads of unsuspecting CVU defenders. Their extra point was blocked by Lucian Bedard for a 21-13 score.

The Redhawks extended their lead to 28-13 on a Nick-to-Kennedy 24-yard touchdown pass with 7:20 remaining in the game. MAU’s late game comeback attempt was brought to a screeching halt by Alec Distler’s quarterback sack, one of three that night for CVU’s #64, and that was followed three plays later by a Ryan Beaudry interception. With 2:22 left on the clock Beaudry snagged the ball from the intended receiver near the goal line.

Along with Distler, CVU’s Bedard, Keen, Rex McCoy, Ottinger and Peter Wernhoff stood out for their defensive efforts.

Roughly 100 CVU fans made the nearly 6-hour round-trip trek to support the players. While vastly outnumbered by the Fighting Patriots Homecoming crowd, the Redhawk side made a gallant effort to be heard with cheers of “C-V-U, C-V-U” anchored by parent Stephanie Wernhoff’s boisterous cow bell-clanging. But CVU families and friends found themselves somewhat speechless at halftime when a streaker dashed 130 yards across the football field shortly after the Bennington school’s King and Queen were crowned in what is apparently a MAU Homecoming tradition.

CVU’s next contest takes them on the road again, but this time it will be a much shorter bus ride when the Redhawks battle the South Burlington Rebels, also 5-1, under the lights. Game takes place Friday, October 14. Kick-off time is 7 pm.

Redhawks grind down Hilltoppers, 14-7

By Holly Fournier

The Redhawks held on to their undefeated record Saturday, outlasting the St. Johnsbury Hilltoppers in a tight contest under damp, dreary conditions following a week that was anything but ordinary for the squad. Fans experienced a somewhat different lineup for CVU as injuries and illness either sidelined or weakened a number of key players. The entire CVU Redhawk family was also reeling from the sudden passing of Head Coach Jim Provost’s mom and the team’s #1 fan, Beatrice “Mimi” Provost, on Tuesday. Linebacker Michael Fournier remarked before kick-off, “If we can win this game, with everything that’s happened, then we have a good shot against anyone else.”

St. Johnsbury proved to be a formidable force for the Redhawks with a virtual stalemate on the offensive and defensive lines throughout four quarters of play. Said Linebacker Harvey Ottinger, “We knew they were going to be a good team, better than our other opponents, making it both a tough and emotional game.”

The Hilltoppers drew first blood late in the first quarter after a slippery ball led to a muffed CVU punt, allowing St. J to take over first and goal. Capitalizing on CVU’s misfortune, Lincoln Lemieux snuck in on a quarterback keeper for the touchdown and booted the extra point himself, putting the Redhawks down 7. That would be the last time the Hilltoppers were a threat.

CVU defensive demon Ryan Fleming intercepted St. J’s pass with just a minute left in the first half. The 6 foot, 205-pound linebacker ran 45 yards before being knocked out of bounds just shy of the goal line. A momentum shift was in the works.

Second half, new ball game as CVU dug deep and found their strength. A solid punt return to the 40-yard line by Tyson White led to stand-in quarterback Steele DuBrul’s pass over the middle to Johnny Powers. Next, Patrick Shea scrambled down the middle to set up a Redhawk first down, then DuBrul finished the job with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Kennedy. Tucker Kohlasch split the uprights with the extra point to tie the game, 7-7.

For DuBrul this was his first real test as CVU’s signal caller, having seen only late-game action in the Redhawks' previous contests. He got the job done. “Steele really stepped up and put in a great performance, considering he hadn’t played quarterback since Middle School,” said Kohlasch. Defensive lineman Ross Harlow agreed: “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but Steele came in and did a great job on the fly.”

The go-ahead TD for the Redhawks came with 4:13 on the clock after a key Kohlasch interception gave CVU possession. Three plays later Kennedy snagged a 51-yard pass from DuBrul out of St. J defender Lemieux’s hands for the score. Kohlasch’s kick for the extra point was good for a 14-7 lead.

With the clock winding down, right-man-in-the-right-place Kohlasch notched his second interception of the game, dashing the Hilltoppers’ hopes of forcing overtime. Said Kohlasch, “Finding out about Coach’s mom was definitely an emotional blow. She was a big fan, we felt we owed it to her to win. We made no excuses, just came out to play.” And play they did.

CVU’s powerful defense held St. J scoreless for three quarters behind the tough tackling of Fleming, Fournier and Ottinger who were responsible for more than 30 take-downs between them. Jake Loyer, Peter Wernhoff, Chad Hayden, Harlow and Brendan Davitt were other big contributors in holding the line and creating misery for the Hilltoppers.

After the game an emotional Coach Provost thanked his team for the victory, singling out DuBrul, John Keen, Davitt, Will Parent and Kennedy for stepping up and delivering when their number was called.

The Redhawks, now 4-0 on the season, face-off against 3-1 BFA St Albans on CVU home turf Saturday, October 1 at 3:00 pm. BFA St. Albans lost to Hartford in last year’s D-1 State Championship.