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.

CVU's Matt Bauer endures bad break after beating cancer

By John Fantino for the Burlington Free Press

Champlain Valley Union High School football player Matt Bauer has been sidelined for three weeks with a broken finger and is unsure whether he’ll be cleared to play again this season. For any other high school athlete, it would be considered a major setback. For any other senior, a major disappointment. For Bauer, it’s devastating. Especially when taking inventory of everything he went through to make it back to the football field.

Bauer, 18, is a cancer survivor, a student-athlete only two years removed from a grueling fight with myeloid leukemia while living in Florida. “When you’re 16, you’re worried about school, about females, about sports,” Bauer said. “Hearing the word ‘cancer’ in the same sentence as your name was a complete shocker.”

A receiver, a defensive back and kick returner, Bauer was shining in the sport he loves and contributing to CVU’s strong start to the season before falling out of the lineup with the injury. He fractured his middle finger while catching a ball in warmups before CVU’s victory over Essex, a freakish injury that required microscopic surgery and a long layoff from sports.

“We were asking a lot of him,” CVU coach Jim Provost said. “He was playing offense, playing defense, playing special teams. Then he gets injured. It hurts not having him in there, team-wise, but it breaks my heart when I think of what this kid went through to get to this point.”

Bauer recalls the ordeal in vivid detail. He has all the dates memorized. July 9, 2009: That’s when Bauer was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

Bauer, born in Rutland, was living on Florida’s Gulf Coast at the time. A headache and swollen lymph nodes were the first signs, and then he blacked out for about 40 seconds while working part-time at a local bakery.

“My mom said ‘let’s go to the hospital,’” Bauer recalled. “I said, ‘it’s hot out, it’s Florida; I just need something to drink.’ A couple days later I completely blacked out at work again, fell over onto the table.” He was rushed to the hospital and quickly advised to go to St. Petersburg, about an hour away, for more blood work, bone-marrow testing and a spinal tap. “Within 10 minutes, they told me I had a form of cancer,” Bauer said. “The next day I started chemotherapy.”

Bauer went through five rounds of chemotherapy. He’d stay in St. Petersburg for 30 days while receiving treatments. Once his immune system returned, he was allowed to return home for a few days. Then it was back to St. Petersburg for more rounds of chemo.

His hair was gone. A strong athlete who played football, basketball and baseball, he lost 31 pounds, wilting to 129. And he was in dire need of a bone-marrow transplant.

Oct. 21, 2009: Bauer is approaching the two-year anniversary of the day his sister, Whitney, saved his life by donating her bone marrow. “I only have one full sister and they told me it’s a 20 percent chance she would be a match,” Bauer said. “She was a perfect match — 10-for-10. “If I wouldn’t have had a bone-marrow transplant I would have died.”

With the transplant a success and no ensuing infections, Bauer began the long road to recovery. He said his strength was so sapped that when he tried to play basketball, his 3-pointer attempts came up 5 feet short of the rim. “It took months to get my strength back,” he said.

Bauer moved back to Vermont last year and has returned to life as a teenager, which has involved lots of football. He hopes his hand heals quickly, allowing him to return to the Redhawks before the end of the season. “I really hope he can get back,” Provost said. “That kid deserves to play some more football.”

CVU gridiron gang pounds Essex, 49-21

By Mal Boright for the Williston Observer

After their spirited 49-21 victory on Sept. 16 at Essex High School, it is fitting that the next Division I test for the undefeated Champlain Valley Union football Redhawks will be on Saturday’s Spirit Day, when the 2-1 St. Johnsbury Academy Hilltoppers pay their initial visit to the Hinesburg pigskin foundry.

The Academy forces got crunched, 24-0, by BFA-St. Albans in their season opener, but then recovered with a 35-14 win at Burlington and last Saturday’s 46-6 romp over Spaulding.

In earning the school’s first victory in two appearances at the Essex field (a loss to the Hornets last year and defeat in the Division II title contest in 2009), the Redhawks took advantage of early Essex (0-3) turnovers to open a 28-0 lead by the early stages of the second quarter. The Hornets regrouped in the late stages of the second reel, but CVU got its mojo back after intermission to put the game away.

After the game, CVU head coach Jim Provost recalled an old Nashville tune when he mentioned his squad’s defense. “What’s that country song? Thunder gets all the credit but lightning does all the work? The defense creates opportunities and the offense taps them in,” he said.

The game was scoreless when the Redhawks’ Matt Bauer recovered an Essex fumble at the CVU 45 yard line after a Redhawks’ punt from deep in their own territory. With decent field position for the first time in three possessions, CVU rolled into paydirt in eight plays on a Nick Ferrentino plunge from five yards out. Quarterback Drew Nick’s 25-yard keeper was a key play in the drive. Nick finished the night with 97 yards on eight lugs.

CVU soon got the ball back when it recovered an Essex fumble at the Hornets’ 32. Nick passed to Ferrentino for 12 yards, and on the next play rolled out for a 20-yard touchdown. An incomplete pass for a two-point conversion left the score at 12-0 with 3:33 left in the first reel. A little more than a minute later, Ferrentino powered through the trenches for a 53-yard touchdown run. Nick passed to lanky end Ryan Beaudry for the two-point conversion and a 20-0 lead with 2:30 to go in the quarter.

For Ferrentino, his usual night at the office resulted in 231 yards on the ground, another 12 via a pass reception and four touchdowns. The night’s take boosted the junior halfback’s season marks to 10 touchdowns and 534 yards in three contests. “He doesn’t need much of a hole,” lineman/linebacker Quinn Kropf said of Ferrentino.

After CVU went up, 28-0, on a Nick to Brent Carreiro scoring pass early in the second stanza, Essex quarterback Jack Valley got the Hornets back in the contest with touchdown passes for five and 37 yards.

With CVU leading, 28-14, the Redhawks’ linebackers Ryan Fleming and Michael Fournier led a defensive comeback capped by Carreiro’s interception and 25-yard return. Ferrentino then scored on a six-yard scamper and Kohlasch booted the extra point for a 35-14 edge with 3:27 to go in the third reel. Ferrentino then loped 74 yards for his fourth touchdown on the last play of the quarter and Pat Shea (11 carries, 41 yards) scored on an 11-yard run in the final period.

The Redhawks assaulted the Essex defense for 369 rushing yards. CVU’s offensive created running room against a huge Hornets’ team that has four linemen weighing more than 250 pounds.

“They grown them big in Essex,” said Fleming after the game, adding that the coaches had the team well prepared for the contest. “This is Essex,” added Kropf. “We were pumped coming in.”

Redhawks finish off Hornets

By Joe Cribari

CVU’s undefeated football Redhawks visited Essex High school to face the winless Hornets on September 10, 2010. Fast forward a little over one year. CVU had an explosive quarterback-defensive back, a strong ground game led by one of Vermont’s leading running backs, a smoking defense and a wild crowd of fans in the bleachers then as they do now. That is where most of the similarities end, as the Redhawks took care of some unfinished business Friday night in Essex with a punishing six touchdown, 49-21 win over the Hornets.

The Redhawks established momentum early, scoring on their third possession on a 5-yard run by Nick Ferrentino. Numerous interruptions by penalty flags did not upset Big Red’s momentum, nor did chilly temps. Nor did facing the 2009 Division I State Champions. CVU came onto the field with a fierce determination that one could taste on the Redhawks side.

Ferrentino dazzled once again, this week with well over 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns – including a 53 yard run from scrimmage on the 1st down of the Redhawks 6th possession and a 74 yard run as the clock ran out on the third quarter. Number 22 also had a would-be 68-yard touchdown run negated by a penalty. The junior consistently breaks tackles and is a significant threat behind excellent blocking by the rest of the CVU’s offense.

Redhawks quarterback Drew Nick scored on a sneak from the 20-yard line after a beautiful faked handoff to #22. Nick connected with Brent Carreiro from the 9-yard line for another score. The balance of CVU’s points came from a 12-yard run by Patrick Shea late in the game, three extra point kicks by Tucker Kohlasch and a pair of two-point conversions – both pass plays from Nick to Ryan Beaudry.

Essex showed a bit of a rally in the second quarter after falling behind 28-0, scoring 14 unanswered points. Both touchdowns came on Jack Valley passes – first to Trevor Yandow, then Willie McSoley; Tyler Warren made the extra point kicks.

The Redhawks defense made this a tough night for the Hornets, holding the opposition to under 300 total yards. Essex QB Jack Valley was harried all night by the Red D. Ryan Fleming was constantly in his face with multiple defections and a sack. Bobby Russell got through for a sack. Brent Carreiro and Harvey Ottinger each had an interception. Quinn Kropf, Ross Harlow, Brendan Davitt, Matt Bauer, Drew Nick and especially Michael Fournier put a stop to almost anything the Hornets tried on offense. CVU’s defense forced the Hornets to turn over the ball five times.

Offense, defense and special teams all came through this evening for the ‘Hawks. Bauer recovered the ball on a CVU punt after it touched the foot of the receiver in the first quarter – the Redhawks scored six plays later.

CVU Fans Rock the Red on the Road – Take Two. It would be remiss not to mention the Redhawks fans – a massive body of screaming, chanting, cheering fans out in force showing colors. Words are difficult to find to relate not only the team’s performance this night, but also that of these fans. The noise from the Redhawks side was deafening.

Champlain Valley heads into week four undefeated – a status they now share with only Hartford and Middlebury in Division I. The Redhawks will host the 2-1 St. Johnsbury Academy Hilltoppers at on Saturday September 24, 2011. This is the first varsity meeting between these teams. It will also be Spirit Day at CVU. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m.

Defense drives CVU past Essex, 49-21

By Ted Ryan for the Burlington Free Press

ESSEX — When a football team racks up points the way Champlain Valley did Friday, the offense would seem to be the focus of the spotlight, and the Redhawks’ certainly dominated the Essex Hornets in a 49-21 win. Still, the Redhawks’ offense received a mighty big assist from the CVU defense, which produced four Hornets’ turnovers that led directly to 26 points, including the game’s first 12.

“The defense definitely pushed us forward. If it wasn’t for them, we would not be here right now,” said CVU running back Nick Ferrentino, who ravaged the Essex defense for four touchdowns and 242 yards rushing, and that’s not including a 68-yard TD romp negated by a penalty. “Our defense put us there and we executed.”

“What’s that country song? Thunder gets all the credit but lightning does all the work?” asked CVU coach Jim Provost. “That’s exactly what happened. It’s a two-way street. The defense creates opportunities and the offense taps them in.”

The first Essex turnover came on a punt reception recovered by CVU’s Matt Bauer at the Redhawks’ 45. CVU drove to the 6, from where Ferrentino recorded his first score with 4:57 left in the first quarter. Then, in a weird bounce of the football, Essex quarterback Jack Valley had a pass batted back into his own hands for the catch, but he fumbled with CVU recovering at the Hornets’ 37. CVU quarterback Drew Nick completed a 17-yard pass to Brendan Davitt, then ran the final 20 yards for a 12-0 lead at 3:33.

Ferrentino pushed the lead to 20-0 with a 53-yard run before the quarter ended and the score went to 28-0 on Nick’s 9-yard pass to Brent Carreiro at 10:11 of the second. At that point, the Hornets rallied with two touchdowns, Valley throwing a 5-yard scoring strike to Trevor Yandow at 6:02 and then connecting with Willie McSoley at 1:02 for a 28-14 halftime score. The late Essex points were “definitely startling,” said Ferrentino, who added, “They’re known for coming back, known for staying in there ... but we picked it up in the second half and brought it to them.”

An Essex turnover set up Ferrentino’s 6-yard scoring run at 3:27 of the third and he broke off a 74-yard TD dash as the quarter ended. A CVU interception led to Patrick Shea’s 12-yard run to account for the Redhawks’ final points. Essex backup quarterback Joey Picard finished the scoring with a 33-yard pass to Yandow.

The win pushed CVU’s record to 3-0 while Essex dropped to 0-3.

Redhawks football prepares for Hornets' nest

By Mal Boright for the Williston Observer

When a 2-0 high school football team goes up against one that’s 0-2, a positive outcome for the unbeaten combine should be a piece of cake, right? Wrong.

Champlain Valley Union head coach Jim Provost is not buying the cake business as he looks ahead to the Friday night (7 p.m.) clash in Essex between his 2-0 Redhawks and the 0-2 Essex Hornets. “Essex just might be the best 0-2 team in the state,” Provost told the Observer Monday. “They will be sky high. This is almost a playoff game for them.” Last weekend, while CVU was dispatching Brattleboro at home, 43-13, Essex was suffering a 31-28 loss at Middlebury. “We have to prepare this week for perhaps the best team we will see all year, “ Provost added, noting that Friday’s contest is the home opener for the blue and gold Hornets. It will be the second straight year the Redhawks have visited the 2009 Division I champs in their house. Essex popped the Hawks last fall in a game that saw both starting quarterbacks sidelined by halftime.

In CVU’s initial outing before the home folks Saturday (Sept. 10), the Redhawks fell behind Brattleboro in a fumbly first quarter before they grabbed a shaky 12-6 edge by halftime. CVU then rolled in the second half behind a crunching ground attack and stingy defense.

Led by halfback Nick Ferrentino (22 carries, 168 yards, three touchdowns), the Redhawks piled up 253 rushing yards. Quarterback Drew Nick connected on 10 of 20 passes for one score and one rushing touchdown. “Old Thunderfoot,” kicker Tucker Kohlash, knocked in a 27-yard field goal and a pair of extra points. But it took some time for the Red and White to get the offense clicking. Two lost fumbles in the first quarter played a role. The second turnover gave the Colonels good field position at the CVU 41. Seven plays later, Brattleboro was in the end zone on a 17-yard pass from quarterback Tyler Higley to wide receiver Aaron Prue with 2:33 left in the reel. The kick for the extra-point was wide.

Midway in the second quarter, a naked reverse by Nick from the BUHS 40 got the Redhawks moving. Faking passes, Nick rolled out to his right and ran 26 yards to the Brattleboro 14. On first down, Ferrentino exploded up the middle and into the end zone to knot the contest. Kohlasch’s kick for the point-after bounced off the left upright. Five plays later, CVU was back in business. Nick, from his defensive back position, picked off a Higley pass and returned it 15 yards to the Colonels’ 34. Four plays later, Ferrentino had an 8-yard scoring run. The elusive back gained 18 yards in three carries in the drive, and Nick connected with lanky end Ryan Beaudry for 16 yards. An extra point kick never happened due to a fumbled center snap.

Early in the second half, CVU officially took charge. Recovering a Brattleboro fumble at the visitors’ 21 on just the third play of the third quarter, the Hawks scored in just three plays on a Nick keeper from the 3, — Ferrentino set up the score with an 18-yard run that left a trail of prone white clad would-be tacklers. Nick passed to Matt Bauer for the two-point conversion and a 20-6 lead.

After that, the CVU frequently scored. Nick hooked up with Brent Carreiro on a 14-yard scoring toss with 5:43 left in the third quarter and Kohlasch launched his field goal midway through the final reel. Ferrentino bolted 15 yards around the right side for the final touchdown with 1:07 to play. “Our (offensive) line really did at great job today,” Ferrentino said after the game and his second straight 100-plus yard performance.

Also deserving praise was the defense, led by linebackers Ryan Fleming, Michael Fournier and Quinn Kropf, along with Harvey Ottinger, Pete Wernhoff, Bobby Russell and Nick. “We were well prepared for (Brattleboro),” said Fournier who, along with Fleming and Wernhoff, had a role in the six sacks of quarterback Higley.

Higley, a junior, despite the sacks and being under constant pressure, still hit on 18 of 33 passes for 238 yards and two scores.

“Our defense is really coming together,” said Provost who also had good words for Russell’s punting (four for 35-yard average) that backed up the Colonels deep in their territory on at least two occasions when the game was in doubt.

CVU handles Burlington in 2011 season opener

By Joe Cribari

Champlain Valley Union High School’s football Redhawks made an impressive statement with a decisive, five touchdown, 34-0 victory over the Burlington High School Seahorses Friday night at Burlington. The Redhawks defense was almost perfect. This game was CVU’s first as a Division I team and their first ever meeting with the Seahorses as a varsity squad. BHS, although a smaller team with fewer upper classmen, is an established organization in Vermont high school football. The Seahorses have been in Division I since 2007.

Junior running back Nick Ferrentino drew first blood for the Redhawks with a dazzling fifty-one yard scramble late in the first quarter. Ferrentino helped grind down the clock, rushing for over 125 yards two additional scores for one and thirteen yards in the second and third quarters respectively.

Senior co-captain Drew Nick has handily taken over as starting quarterback this year. Drew passed for over 130 yards and one touchdown, connecting with senior running back Brent Carreiro in the first quarter. Nick also scored on his feet from the nine yard line on a QB sneak with two minutes remaining in the first half.

CVU linebacker and co-captain Ryan Fleming is showing strong leadership in his senior year. Fleming was everywhere – he was in on almost every defensive play. Burlington’s offense will remember number 74.

Tucker Kohlasch, now in only his second season playing football, has proved to be a vital addition to the team. The senior kicker not only hit four of five extra point attempts and nailed the ball deep on kickoffs, but is now a defense threat as well. This young man showed his mettle in his first football game ever last year scoring a two-point conversion. In Friday’s game Tucker pulled in two interceptions. Tucker does a lot more than kick. Fleming, coming off the field after one of those interceptions, expressed the general reaction, “I love this! Our kicker comes in at corner and intercepts the ball!”

“I have been practicing with [the defense] and coach put me in,” said Kohlasch. “I just wish I had started playing football younger,” he stated. Tucker is certainly making up for that lost time.

The 2011 Redhawks have some other familiar faces. Alec Distler, Dylan Raymond and co-captain Quinn Kropf are back anchoring CVU’s big offensive line. Matt Bauer, Ryan Beaudry and Johnny Powers are back – each increasing as a contributing factor on this Redhawks team that lost twenty three graduating seniors since last year.

Redhawks fans made a great showing as well on this balmy, beautiful evening and may have outnumbered home team fans. With the help of CVU’s cheerleading squad, a lot of noise poured from the Red side of the field. Shouts of “CHAMP-lain VAL-ly” and “CVU!, CVU!” created a din that neither the Burlington fans nor the announcer could penetrate.

Junior running back Patrick Shea pounded out over ninety yards, especially towards the end of the game as those Redhawks fans shouted out “SAY good-NI-ite” and sang the 60’s song “Na-Na-Na-Na . . . Na-Na- Na-Na . . . Hey, Hey-ey - Good bye.”

“This was a team effort,” stated a smiling Head Coach Jim Provost at the game’s end. Next week the Redhawks play their first home game of the season with a visit from Brattleboro High School. The game starts at 1:00 pm on Saturday September 10, 2011.