OK, class, the question we examine today is just how does a high school the size of Middlebury Union have such a successful football team, year after year.

Last Friday night, under the leadership of third-year Coach Jed Malcolm (MUHS 1996), with nine wins against just one loss, the Tigers defeated Burr and Burton High School (Manchester) in the rain at Doc Collins Field, 27-7, to qualify for the Division 1 State Championship game. The Tigers will play St. Johnsbury Academy, also 9-1, in South Burlington on Saturday.

The divisions in Vermont sports are organized, reasonably enough, by size: the male student enrollment (boy count) is the primary factor. That consideration places Middlebury, with 270 boys, in the middle of Division II of the three football divisions of 10 teams in Vermont.

Schools can petition the Vermont Principals’ Association to play outside their designated division, which Middlebury has consistently done. Except for two seasons (2009 and 2010), Middlebury has played in Division I since 1982. 

Now, let’s document first the underlying premise of the question: just how good has this Middlebury football program been, over time?

In fact, very good! Actually, astonishingly so.

The Tigers will be playing for their 15th State Championship this week, having won their first title in 1961. Saturday’s game will be their 28th championship game appearance, runners-up 13 times. 

Since 1957, which is as far back as I could readily find statistics, Middlebury’s football program has won nearly 70% of its games (432 wins 196 losses), with 11 undefeated seasons. 

To give our discussion a qualitative dimension, I spent a couple of hours last week with Pete Brakeley. Who better than Pete? He has been actively (passionately even) involved in Middlebury football for six decades.

HUBIE WAGNER

The Brakeleys came to Middlebury when Pete was in the 6th grade. His dad, also Pete, was an administrator at Middlebury College. At MUHS, young Pete was stalwart on undefeated State Championships teams in ’68 and ’69. The Tigers were also undefeated in ’67 when Pete was a freshman, with 25 consecutive wins in those three years.

His coach was the legendary Hubie Wagner, who came to Middlebury in 1964 to teach physical education and coach wrestling and football — and retired 23 years later with a .731 winning percentage in football (147-54) and eight Division II state championships

“Hubie was the only PE teacher and the wrestling coach, so he could basically pick his team,” Pete said. “A lot of ‘em were tough farm boys. Playing football was better than milking cows!”  

From MUHS, Pete went off to college just a few hundred yards from his home and played on some terrific teams at Middlebury College: 26 wins-6 losses from 1971-74. His sophomore year, 1972, the Panthers were 8-0, so Pete played on one of only two undefeated teams in the history of football at Middlebury (the other team: 2019). 

“The two ends on that undefeated team were ‘townies,’ me and Jay Flickinger — and the quarterback was Peter Mackey, another townie!”  

After graduating from Middlebury College in 1975 with a degree in Geography, Pete studied at Syracuse University, earning a master’s in “secondary social studies education” and coaching football as a “graduate assistant.” His wife, Jody (Kashiwa) Brakeley, ’73, a member of the Middlebury College Women’s Ski Team, was in medical school at Syracuse. A pediatrician, Jody practiced medicine in Vermont for 40 years.

Peter and Jody returned to Middlebury in 1980 where Peter assumed a position teaching 7th and 8th grade social studies and Jody joined the practice of beloved pediatrician Wayne Peters, “Dr. Pete.” They raised three children into adulthood, all of whom attended MUHS. Becca is a doctor like her mom and was an outstanding athlete in field hockey and lacrosse at Middlebury College. Gus played football for his dad at MUHS and just completed his 13th year on the football staff at Middlebury College, coaching the defense. 

Pete coached the Jayvee football team for 13 years, assisting his mentor Hubie Wagner for the first six years. When Hubie retired in 1986, longtime assistant George Kulhowvick, took over the program for the next six years. Like Pete, George was a middle school social studies teacher (for nearly 50 years!). 

Pete was the head coach from 1993 to 2007, compiling a 107-47 record and winning three state championships in eight trips to the finals. He is quick to deflect credit for his success, citing especially the contribution of the assistant coach (and physics teacher at MUHS) Carl Ciemniewski. “He was instrumental in any success I had. We had a wonderful relationship. He ran the offense, I ran the defense: I never questioned anything he did.” (Carl died in 2014, at 55).

After going 10-1 in 2005 and 9-1 in 2006, Pete “got sick” in 2007. Diagnosed with colon cancer, he turned the reins over to Dennis Smith, who had played for Hubie (’83-’85) and served as an assistant for Pete for many years. Pete has been cancer-free (“so far”) for 18 years.

DENNIS SMITH COACHES the Tiger football team.

Dennis coached the varsity for 14 years, played in six finals, won over 100 games, including back-to-back undefeated championships in 2013 and 2014. Dennis now coaches the linebackers on the football staff at Middlebury College, alongside Gus Brakeley.

The current head coach, Jed Malcolm, served 14 years as an assistant coach. He is finishing his third year at the helm and is headed to a state championship final game. Like his predecessors, Jed is an MUHS graduate (1996). 

Pete, his coach in high school, told me a story about Jed as a player: “In 1995, we were losing 13-7 in the championship game against Hartford in Rutland. It was fourth down and they came out in punt formation but decided to fake punt.

“Jed came up and smacked the guy and we got the ball back. Willie Mackey threw a TD pass to Mike Phelps, Joe Sheehan kicked the extra point, and we won the game 14-13. State champs!”

So there you have it: Middlebury football has enjoyed a remarkable consistency of leadership. For nearly 60 years, Middlebury had four head coaches: Hubie, George, Pete, Dennis, and now a fifth, Jed. They have worked with a remarkably dedicated group of assistant coaches.

“When I coached, all of my assistant coaches had played for Hubie,” Pete said. “Of the assistants for Dennis, all but one, I believe, played for me. Good teams have a ‘heritage.’ The trunk of the family tree at Middlebury is Hubie Wagner.”

JED MALCOLM

• • • • •

Another crucial component in the success of Middlebury football is the youth program, Middlebury Flag Football, which prepares players to compete at the high school level.

Pete Brakeley is the “Commissioner” of Middlebury Flag Football Program, which dates back to 2007 when he convened a meeting of kindred spirits, seven in all, to develop a youth program for Middlebury. The ethos of that program would be “Safety, Sportsmanship, and Fun.”

Some 18 years later, those same seven men, are still on the Middlebury Flag Football Board this fall. Their number includes Middlebury College football coach (2002-22) Bobby Ritter and athletic director Erin Quinn, whose sons both played on the high school team. 

As long as Pete was involved, fun would be emphasized. “Teaching and coaching are the same thing,” he said. “There better be some fun in my curriculum. Fun is infectious!”

This fall’s program included well over 100 kids, from grades one through eight in play over six weeks. The 1st- through 3rd-graders, some 20-25 in number, coached by Tony Nemo “have a heck of a good time,” according to Pete. “It’s a lively scene. Very playful.”

Pete himself coaches the fourth-graders and “we teach ’em the game and its skills.” Their last meeting is an intrasquad game on the field under the lights at the half of the last home football game of the year, a tremendous thrill. 

The 5th- and 6th-graders and 7th- and 8th-graders are divided into teams, wear helmets and pads, play an actual game schedule and practice two afternoons a week. Unlike other programs of this sort, an arch tenet of Middlebury Flag Football is no tackling at any level, even for the 7th- and 8th-grade teams. 

Most years, there are one or two girls in the program. “They’re great,” said Pete. “They’re a little more mature and they pay attention so well. 

“My job as Commissioner,” according to Pete, “is to get good coaches and good refs, all volunteers, and monitor that they don’t stray from the mission statement: Safety, Sportsmanship, and Fun.

“The Flag Football Program keeps the numbers up, is a good experience for the kids, and is an introduction to our offensive and defensive schemes.” 

• • • • •

Pete Brakeley also believes that Middlebury has a secret weapon. Their longtime assistant coach, dairyman Peter James, is the last of the assistant coaches at MUHS to play for Hubie.

Pete James makes sure there’s lots of chocolate milk available to football players both at the high school and at the College (an actual commercial dispenser).

There’s nothing like some Monument Farms chocolate milk to fortify the body for a robust enterprise of the spirit like football. 

Karl Lindholm, Ph.D., is the Emeritus Dean of Advising and Assistant Professor of American Studies (retired) at Middlebury College. He can be contacted at [email protected].