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.

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.”