CASTLETON — Saturday’s 62nd annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl will have a strong local angle: Five members of the undefeated Division I champion Middlebury Union High School football team were named to the 2015 Vermont squad, and two members of the D-II finalist Otter Valley squad will join them in doing battle with their New Hampshire counterparts.
And MUHS Coach Dennis Smith will be calling the shots for the Vermont team when the game kicks off at Castleton University’s Spartan Stadium at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Vermont will be seeking its first win since 2000 in a series in which New Hampshire holds an overall lead of 46-13-2. In the 2014 game, also played at Castleton because of ongoing renovations to the game’s traditional home at Dartmouth College’s Alumni Stadium, New Hampshire prevailed, 42-6.
From the two-time defending champion Tigers, Cullen Hathaway, Connor Quinn, Bobby Ritter, Austin Robinson and Justin Stone made the Vermont team.
From the Otters, Adam Sherwin and John Winslow were chosen.
Double sessions for the teams were set to start at Castleton on this past Saturday.
Game day festivities will start with a 3 p.m. parade featuring units from Shrine Centers throughout New England, Eastern Canada and New York, and including an all-star high school band made up of over 80 musicians from high schools in both states and cheerleaders for both teams.
Proceeds from the game benefit regional Shrine hospitals. According to the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl website, in 61 years the game has raised $4.5 million.
General admission tickets for the game are on sale at outlets throughout New Hampshire and Vermont for $10. On game day tickets will cost $15.
Tickets are also available at (603) 448-1042 or at shrinemaplesugarbowl.com.