BRANDON/FAIRFAX — In Division III high school football semifinals on Saturday, No. 1 Otter Valley won, but No. 6 Mount Abraham came up short in its attempt at a second straight playoff upset.
The Otters ousted visiting No. 4 Windsor, 43-14, while host No. 2 BFA-Fairfax blanked the Eagles, 14-0.
Those results create a rematch in the final this coming Saturday between the 8-1 Otter and the 9-1 Bullets. Tentatively, the game will be played Saturday at 2 p.m. at Rutland High School; that time will be confirmed on Monday. On Sept. 6, the Otters rallied to win at Fairfax, 54-42.
The Otters will be seeking their first title since winning the D-IV crown in 2005, while Fairfax, a D-III finalist in 2012, has never won a football championship.
OTTERS, 43-14
Windsor (6-3) had won five straight entering Saturday, but OV allowed only two late touchdowns.
Josef Scarborough opened the game with an 85-yard kickoff return to make it 6-0, and the Otters capped their first possession with the first of three Carson Leary touchdowns, a 4-yard run. His conversion run made it 14-0. That score was set up by a 63-yard pass from quarterback John Winslow to Robertas Nielsen.
Windsor held Winslow to four of 12 passing with heavy blitzing, but midway through the second quarter Winslow eluded the rush and scrambled for a 44-yard score, and the conversion made it 22-0. An 8-yard Scarborough run and a safety on a bad snap made it 31-0 at the half.
Leary (12 carries, 88 yards) broke loose for scoring runs of 25 and 29 yards in the second half.
FAIRFAX, 14-0
Fairfax defeated the Mount Abe/Vergennes collective for the second time this fall and allowed only eight points in the two games. The Bullets outgained the Eagles, 323-136, and held them to 80 yards rushing on 30 attempts, led by Ryan Paquin’s 42 yards on 16 carries.
Eagle QB Joey Payea completed 12 of 19 attempts for 75 yards, six to Tyrus Keith, but was also picked off twice.
For Fairfax, Luke Langelier (26 carries, 130 yards), Matt Larose (12 for 66) and Liam Sweeney (13 for 57) all ran well. Larose scored on a 36-yard run in the first half, and Langelier iced the win with a 13-yard run in the fourth quarter. Fumble recoveries by Kimball and Jeb Hodsden helped the Eagles contain the Bullets.