WOODSTOCK — Visiting No. 5 seed Otter Valley Union High School gave undefeated Woodstock a battle in Friday’s Division III semifinal football game, but the Wasps scored a touchdown in the first half’s waning moments and then early in the second to take a 21-0 lead on the way to a 35-0 win.
The Otters finished at 6-3, including their first playoff win in many seasons the previous weekend, while the Wasps improved to 10-0 with their 30th straight win. They will face Mill River for the D-III title on Saturday at Rutland High School.
Woodstock took a 7-0 lead on a three-yard run by quarterback Nehemiah Wood at 7:10 of the opening quarter. OV then held the Wasps until 1:02 before the half, when Oliver Kaija scored on a 19-yard run.
OV thought it had scored on a Carson Leary first-half run, but officials ruled he was out of bounds just before the corner pylon.
Just 1:05 into the third quarter, the Wasps’ Will Gault picked up an OV fumble and ran 29 yards to make it 21-0. In that period, Kaija (29-yard run) and Sam Cole (20-yard run) added the final Wasp points.
Kaija ran for 132 yards on 21 carries, and Tom Baumann added 96 yards on 14 attempts to lead the Wasps.
Woodstock held Mike Winslow, OV’s leading rusher, to 40 yards on 18 carries. OV QB John Winslow completed nine of 20 passes for 70 yards.Derek Bassette picked off a pass for OV, as did Cole for the Wasps.