BRANDON, Vt. - No eighth seed had ever beaten a No. 1 seed in the Vermont high school football playoffs. For a half on Friday night, Woodstock looked like it might be the first.
The Wasps forced three-and-outs on Otter Valley’s first three possessions and scored touchdowns on two of their first three drives. Jake Blackburn ran in from 7 yards out on Woodstock’s opening drive, and Hunter Roberts punched in a 2-yard touchdown run on the third. Woodstock took a 13-8 lead into halftime at Markowski Field.
That was a stunning turn from the regular season, when Otter Valley beat Woodstock 42-6 on Oct. 9.
Otter Valley found its footing behind Max Potter, who played quarterback after starter Nolan Quenneville hurt his wrist early in the game. Potter scored on a 5-yard keeper with 5:21 left in the first half and threw a two-point pass to Keegan Reid, then put the Otters ahead for good with a 9-yard run on their first possession of the second half. Colby Benoit added a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, and a two-point run made it 22-13 with 3:10 left.
Woodstock kept coming, but Otter Valley’s defense stopped the Wasps on downs on each of their final three drives. Roberts led Woodstock with 98 rushing yards, and Blackburn added 60.
Otter Valley coach Jim Hill gave the Wasps credit. “(Woodstock coach) Ramsey (Worrell) knows how to get his guys prepared and I knew they’d be prepared,” Hill said. “We had to find a way to win today.”
Woodstock finishes 2-7. The Wasps’ wins came against BFA Fairfax/Lamoille, 26-7 on Oct. 2, and Mill River, 27-7 on Oct. 17, and they closed the regular season with an 18-32 loss to Windsor. Woodstock had knocked Otter Valley out of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, and on Friday the Wasps came within a few stops of doing it again.
Otter Valley improves to 7-1 and hosts Springfield in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 6.
Other relevant play on Friday, October 30:
Windsor 6 at Springfield 39 Springfield, Otter Valley’s semifinal opponent, pulled away from Windsor, which beat Woodstock 32-18 on Oct. 24.
Mill River 20 at Mt. Abraham 56 Mt. Abraham, which beat Woodstock earlier this fall, rolled past Mill River, which the Wasps beat 27-7 on Oct. 17.
That wraps up the day for Woodstock Union High School sports. We’ll see you next time!