BRISTOL — The Division III Mount Abraham-Vergennes cooperative football team rallied past visiting D-II Spaulding on Saturday, 14-7, to remain in the running for a No. 2 seed in the upcoming playoffs. 

The 6-1 Eagles are currently sitting at No. 3 in the D-II standings and are set to visit winless Poultney on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, second-place Woodstock (6-1) will square off against undefeated first-place Bellows Falls this weekend. 

A combination of an Eagle win and a Woodstock loss could mean a No. 2 seed and two home playoff games for a program that has not hosted a football playoff game in more than a decade, according to Mount Abe Athletic Director Devin Wendel.

To have a shot at a No. 2 seed, the Eagles first had to defeat Spaulding, 3-4 in D-II. And the Tide took an early lead and still led by 7-0 at the half. 

The Eagles tied the score on a 15-yard Cole Gagnon run at 8:40 of the third period and the first of two Lincoln Painter extra points. 

The winning score came after two fourth quarter Eagle touchdowns were called back due to penalties. Quarterback Clark Crary faked a handoff to Gagnon and ran wide right to score on a 10-yard keeper with 7:12 to play. The MAV defense continued to shut down Spaulding, and soon the Eagles were celebrating. 

Gagnon led the attack with 161 yards on 22 attempts, and Crary had 21 yards on 10 carries. Crary and fellow quarterback Rhett Lathrop each completed one pass in three attempts for short gains.