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.