CVU soars past Burlington

Redhawks enter Division I ranks with 34-0 win over Seahorses

By Alex Abrami for the Burlington Free Press

At the start of preseason, lineman Ryan Fleming and his Champlain Valley Union High School teammates received new, play-calling wristbands. “It was big news to start the season,” Fleming said. “It was like, ‘Oh, we have a new offense?’” Yes, the Redhawks do.

Employing a no-huddle spread attack, one that has picked up steam across the state in recent years, CVU began its era in Division I against Burlington at Buck Hard Field on Friday night. The Redhawks passed the first test.

Nick Ferrentino racked up 138 rushing yards and three touchdowns, quarterback Drew Nick threw for 150 yards and the Redhawks used quick strikes in the first half to run past the Seahorses, 34-0, on the opening night of the Vermont high school football season. “It was a lot of fun for us. The offensive line was incredible — they gave me plenty of time. Our receivers did their job and that set up the runs real well,” said Nick, who also threw for a score and ran for another. “It was a fun night.”

After stalling on its first two possessions, CVU took advantage of Burlington turnovers, capitalizing for 14 points in a span of 78 seconds late in the first quarter. After nearly falling down near the line of scrimmage, Ferrentino raced for a 51-yard touchdown with 3:36 left, putting CVU up 7-0. Nick then hooked up with Brent Carreiro, who danced his way for a 19-yard TD, pushing CVU ahead 14-0.

CVU added two second-quarter scores — Ferrentino plunged in from 1 yard out with 6:57 left and Nick scampered for a 9-yard TD on a fourth-and-1 conversion. Fleming forced his way into Burlington’s backfield, part of a CVU defense that held in check a platoon of capable, speedy Seahorse running backs.

“They were doing a lot of pitch sweeps and we knew that was coming,” Fleming said. “As the outside backer, I was blitzing a lot and trying to stay to the outside and break it up before it got going.” Mistakes proved costly for a young BHS squad. “Being as thin and inexperienced as we are, we can’t have that. It just hurts,” Burlington coach Brennan Carney said. “We had some bright spots, but too many mistakes, too many guys out of place. ... We’ll get there.”

Ferrentino capped his big evening with a 13-yard TD run in the third quarter, the lone points in the second half. Patrick Shea complemented Ferrentino with 96 rushing yards, many coming on a clock-eating drive to close out the game.

CVU’s spread offense scored 34 points, but only one touchdown came via the pass, coach Jim Provost pointed. “That’s going to take a bit of time. We might be a pass first, run second team. But we’ll take whatever,” Provost said. “If we are successfully running the ball, we’ll take that. I like balance overall.“I wasn’t expecting this and I tell you what — I didn’t know what to expect.”