Panther football downs Tufts in tense finish

The Middlebury College football team gutted out a pivotal victory on Saturday, topping visiting Tufts, 19-10.

The Tiger football team’s dreams of a second straight trip to the Division I championship game were dashed on Friday.

Panther football romped over host Hamilton, 41-7, on Saturday to improve to 6-1, putting Middlebury in a sweet spot as the season wanes.

Visiting No. 6 Springfield ended the No. 3 seeded Otter Valley football team’s season this past Saturday with an 18-12 upset in a Division III quarterfinal matchup. 

Tiger senior Jackson Gillette caught a game-winning pass in the end zone with about a minute left to win Friday’s semifinal game in St. Johnsbury.

In a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon game, visiting Mill River upset the Otter Valley football team, 7-0. The Minutemen improved to 4-4 and are the No. 5 seed in the Division III playoffs, which begin this weekend.

The Division II playoff hopes of the Mount Abraham-Vergennes cooperative football team were dashed on Friday night when host Milton scored two late touchdowns to edge the Eagles 14-13. 

The MUHS football team came up on the short end of a 21-14 score vs. defending Division I champion Champlain Valley.

It was a big weekend for the three local high school football teams, as Middlebury, Otter Valley and Mount Abraham/Vergennes all won to enhance their postseason positioning. 

The Mount Abraham-Vergennes cooperative football team rolled over visiting Missisquoi on Saturday, 58-0. Division II MAV improved to 2-4, while the Division III T-Birds remained winless at 0-6. 

Friday night’s high school football game between Middlebury and Hartford boiled down to whether the Tigers could contain Hurricane QB Brayden Trombly.

In high school football action this past weekend, Middlebury and Otter Valley both remained in the hunt for tops seeds in their divisions with road victories, while the Mount Abraham-Vergennes collective team took a close loss away from home. 

The Middlebury College football team scored first the outlasted visiting Bowdoin on Saturday.

The Middlebury and Otter Valley high school football teams posted victories this past weekend, but Mount Abraham-Vergennes lost a shootout to an undefeated squad at their place.

The Otter Valley football team rushed past Spaulding on this past Friday, 39-14, to move to 2-1 heading into this Saturday’s home game against fellow Division III foe Fairfax.