Kenosh nips Leary for VSMA award
VERMONT — The Vermont Sports Media Association chose a prolific two-way football player and an accomplished cross-country runner as its Athletes of the Month for November.
In statewide balloting of its members, the VSMA selected Rutland High School senior Andy Kenosh as its November Male Athlete of the Month and Champlain Valley Union junior Sophia Gorman as its November Female Athlete of the Month.
A VSMA member first nominated each athlete for his and her outstanding efforts in November.
Kenosh, a quarterback and defensive back, completed 16 of 21 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns and rushed 12 times for 73 yards as Rutland defeated two-time champion Middlebury, 35-7, in the Division I state championship game on Nov. 7. He also made a key interception in the early going to snuff out a Tiger drive. Kenosh also threw three TD passes in the South victory in the North-South game on Nov. 14.
In voting for the male honor, Kenosh edged out Otter Valley senior Carson Leary, the Gatorade Vermont Football Player of the Year.
Leary sparked the Otter Valley football team to a 33-14 win in the D-II final vs. U-32 on Nov. 7 by rushing for 421 yards and five touchdowns on 34 carries. He also completed five of nine passes for another 51 yards and ran in a two-point conversion. A defensive end, the six-foot-two, 220-pound Leary, described by his coach as the fastest player on the team, also played a key role as OV held the Raiders to 208 yards of offense.
Gorman placed eighth on Nov. 14 in the New England championship cross-country meet, which was held in Thetford. Her time of 19:23.9 shaved more than six seconds off her D-I championship time two weeks before, when she was second overall at the Vermont state meet on the same course. Gorman was the only Vermont runner in the top 20 on Nov. 14, and she helped CVU take seventh in New England.