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Varsity Insider: Who is No. 1 in our 2023 Vermont high school football Week 5 rankings?

jacob rousseau, burlington free press
·4 min read

Little movement marks our Week 5 power rankings.

Springfield's 23-20 win over Mount Abraham was capped with a 92-yard scoring drive in the closing minutes as the game of the week. The remainder of the slate ended with some not-so-surprising results.

Week 6 has a few matchups with top teams in playoff positions, but for now our latest high school football rankings.

Enjoy!

Everything Vermont high school football: Here is your one-stop shop for the 2023 season.

Week 5 rankings:

1. Hartford High School

Record: 5-0

Week 4 rankings: 1

▶ A trio of rushing touchdowns and a defensive shutout paced the Hurricanes week as they remain perfect. Week 6: at Middlebury on Oct. 6.

High school football results: Scores, stats from Week 5.

2. Burr and Burton Academy

Record: 4-1

Week 4 rankings: 2

▶ Looking for a bounce back week, the Bulldogs tallied 45 points with Jack McCoy supplying 373 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns. Week 6: at Mount Anthony on Oct. 5.

3. Champlain Valley Union High School

Record: 4-1

Week 4 rankings: 3

▶ Champlain Valley won another game by at least four touchdowns (28-0 over Essex) and is making a case to move up in the rankings. It's hard to look ahead in Division I, but Week 8 against Middlebury is tantalizing. Week 6: vs. Rutland on Oct. 7.

More from Week 5: What we learned in Week 5 of the 2023 season.

4. Middlebury Union High School

Record: 4-1

Week 4 rankings: 4

▶ Jackson Gillett (18 carries, 145 yards, TD; 2 INTs on defense) and the Tigers overcame a slow start against Mount Anthony to earn a 27-19 triumph. They host Hartford in Week 6 with a chance to regain QPR points (see below) lost in Week 5. Week 6: vs. Hartford on Oct. 6.

5. Fair Haven Union High School

Record: 5-0

Week 4 rankings: 5

▶ Fair Haven, which was leading D-II entering last week, went into Bellows Falls and pulled out a win against the ever-tough Terriers. Week 6: vs. Peru (NY) on Oct. 7.

6. Bellows Falls Union High School

Record: 3-2

Week 4 rankings: 7

▶ The Terriers move up a slot despite the 27-20 loss to the Slaters. Fair Haven's Joe Buxton connected with Trey Lee with 40 seconds left in regulation for the win. Week 6: vs. Brattleboro on Oct. 6.

7. Essex High School

Record: 3-2

Week 4 rankings: 6

▶ Essex held tight with CVU for the first quarter before the gates opened at home for the Redhawks. Week 6: vs. St. Johnsbury on Oct. 6.

8. Windsor High School

Record: 4-0

Week 4 rankings: 8

▶ Windsor was off last week and dropped two slots in the QPR rankings. Week 6: vs. Springfield on Oct. 7.

9. BFA-St. Albans

Record: 3-2

Week 4 rankings: 9

▶ The Bobwhites stormed back in the second half against Colchester to steal a homecoming win and keep pace in D-I. Week 6: at SeaWolves on Oct. 6.

10. North Country Union High School

Record: 3-2

Week 4 rankings: 10

▶ Hayden Boivin led the Falcons with 186 yards on 8 carries and four TDs against Woodstock. Week 6: at U-32 on Oct. 6.

On the bubble

St. Johnsbury, Woodstock, U-32.

QPR STANDINGS

*Win-loss record, QPR number in parenthesis.

* The QPR formula (Quality Point Rating) determines playoff seedings for each division.

*What is the formula? A school shall receive 10 points for defeating any Division I team, seven points for defeating any D-II team and five points for defeating any D-III team. For teams playing a higher division, they will be awarded the differential of a divisional victory if they lose the game. For example: D-II playing a D-I team will earn three points for a loss and D-III playing a D-II team will earn two points for a loss.

*Teams still receive two points for every game won by a team they have beaten. The total QPR is then determined by a team's own value plus an opponents’ value then divided by the number of VIFL games a team has played.

Division I

  1. Hartford (5-0, 9.250).

  2. Burr and Burton (4-1, 7.750).

  3. Champlain Valley (4-1, 7.250).

  4. Middlebury (4-1, 6.375).

  5. Essex (3-2, 4.125).

  6. BFA-St. Albans (3-2, 3.750).

  7. St. Johnsbury (2-3, 2.625)

  8. Brattleboro (1-2-1, 1.929).

  9. Rutland (1-3, 1.429).

  10. SeaWolves (1-4, 1.286)

  11. Mount Anthony (0-4, 0.000)

Division II

  1. Fair Haven (5-0, 8.000).

  2. North Country (3-2, 4.875).

  3. Bellows Falls (3-2, 4.375).

  4. U-32 (3-2, 4.000).

  5. Colchester (1-4, 3.125).

  6. Rice (3-1, 3.000).

  7. Lyndon (2-3, 2.750).

  8. Spaulding (3-2, 2.625).

  9. Mount Mansfield (0-1-4, 1.000).

  10. Mount Abraham (1-4, 0.875).

  11. Milton (1-4, 0.625).

Division III

  1. Woodstock (4-1, 5.500).

  2. Otter Valley (4-1, 4.750).

  3. Windsor (4-0, 4.714).

  4. Springfield (3-2, 3.375).

  5. Mill River (2-3, 2.250).

  6. Poultney (2-3, 2.000).

  7. BFA-Fairfax/Lamoille (1-4, 1.625).

  8. Oxbow (1-4, 0.875).

  9. Missisquoi (0-5, 0.750).

Become a member of the Vermont Varsity Insider Facebook group at https://bit.ly/2MGSfvX.

Contact Jacob Rousseau at JRousseau@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter: @ByJacobRousseau.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Ranking Vermont's top 10 high school football teams after Week 5