MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury Union High School football team on Friday used a dominant defense and an improving running game to dismiss visiting BFA-St. Albans, 20-7.
The Tigers improved to 2-0 and stretched their winning streak to 24 games, while the Bobwhites, one-point losers to Rice the week before, dropped to 0-2. The Tigers will visit Brattleboro this Friday and Colchester the following Friday before returning to Doc Collins Field on Sept. 25 to host South Burlington.
The Tigers scored all 20 of their points in the first half and took a 20-0 lead before allowing the Bobwhites to score on Jarad Clark’s 85-yard kickoff return.
At 6:58 of the first quarter, Trey Kaufmann scored on a 5-yard run to cap an eight-play drive. Kaufmann ran three times for 36 yards on the march and finished with 11 carries for 52 yards.
MUHS made it 14-0 when Oakley Gordon returned a BFA punt 50 yards for a TD at 11:02 of the second period, and also kicked his second straight point after.
At 4:57 of the second period,  Cortland Fischer punched it in from five yards out to make it 20-0.
Clark then returned the kickoff for the Bobwhite score and their only real offensive highlight: They gained only 28 yards in the first half and 136 overall. Bobwhite Noah Rouleau rushed nine times for 46 yards, and quarterback Mark Connor completed nine of 18 attempts for 52 net yards once three sacks were figured in. Clark caught seven of those balls for 39 yards.
Bruce Wright sacked Connor twice, and Parker Gross picked up the other sack. Sawyer Ryan and Gordon each intercepted Connor passes in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers rushed 45 times for 258 yards, with Fischer running 20 times for 112 yards, Jerry Niemo tacking on 38 yards on four carries, and Gross adding 24 yards on five rushes.
Gordon completed three of eight passing attempts for 24 more yards as the Tigers amassed 282 yards of offense.