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Varsity Insider: Who is No. 1 in our 2023 Vermont high school football Week 7 rankings?

jacob rousseau, burlington free press
·5 min read

The final week of Vermont high school football regular season is upon us.

And so is the final week of our power rankings.

The preseason rankings look similar to our last slate. The biggest risers, however, are Hartford (started at No. 3) and Burr and Burton (No. 5) settling in at the top two spots.

Fair Haven's ascension to the Top 5, from No. 8, has been impressive. The Slaters cemented themselves as the team to beat in Division II all year. And Windsor's rise from No. 10 to eighth as a D-III program always catches our notice.

In total, nine of the teams from the preseason rankings made our final Top 10.

Be on the lookout for our Vermont high school football playoff primer with predictions next week.

Enjoy!

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

Week 7 rankings:

1. Hartford High School

Record: 7-0

Week 6 rankings: 1

▶ The Hurricanes pitched their second shutout of the season on Friday night against Mount Anthony. Hartford has held teams to a touchdown-or-less four times this season. Week 8: at Rutland on Oct. 20.

High school football results: Scores, stats from Week 7.

2. Burr and Burton Academy

Record: 6-1

Week 6 rankings: 2

▶ The Bulldogs scored on all six of their possessions in the first half vs. Essex. Jack McCoy tallied six touchdowns and over 400 yards from scrimmage in the 40-10 win. Week 8: vs. Brattleboro on Oct. 20.

3. Champlain Valley Union High School

Record: 6-1

Week 6 rankings: 3

▶ The Redhawks poured in four touchdowns in the second quarter on Thursday night at Colchester and finished with a 49-7 win. CVU owned the Metro League this year winning each of its league games by an average of 37.6 points. Week 8: at Middlebury on Oct. 20.

4. Middlebury Union High School

Record: 5-2

Week 6 rankings: 4

▶ Middlebury staked to 28-7 advantage against the SeaWolves at halftime to cruise to a fifth win. Week 8: vs. CVU on Oct. 20.

5. Fair Haven Union High School

Record: 6-0

Week 6 rankings: 5

▶ Joe Buxton added another four total touchdowns to his senior campaign as the Slaters silenced U-32 24-0. Week 8: vs. Mount Mansfield on Oct. 20.

6. Bellows Falls Union High School

Record: 4-3

Week 6 rankings: 6

▶ BF rebounded after two straight losses with a 21-20 win against Lyndon. Week 8: at North Country on Oct. 21.

7. Windsor High School

Record: 6-0

Week 6 rankings: 7

▶ Windsor's 41-0 triumph against Mill River was the Yellow Jackets' biggest win differential this season. Week 8: at Woodstock on Oct. 21.

8. North Country Union High School

Record: 5-2

Week 6 rankings: 8

▶ North Country's 32-0 win was one of five shut out contests in Week 7. Week 8: vs. Bellows Falls on Oct. 21.

9. St. Johnsbury Academy

Record: 4-3

Week 6 rankings: 9

▶ St. Johnsbury ran its win streak to three games with Carter Bunnell's 221 yards from scrimmage. Week 8: vs. Lyndon on Oct. 21.

10. Brattleboro Union High School

Record: 3-2-1

Week 6 rankings: 10

▶ Brattleboro edged Rutland by two scores and gained some QPR points to snag the sixth seed heading into the final week. Week 8: at Burr and Burton on Oct. 20.

On the bubble

Woodstock, Otter Valley, Lyndon.

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 (7-0, 14.750).

  2. Burr and Burton (6-1, 12.250).

  3. Champlain Valley (6-1, 10.875).

  4. Middlebury (5-2, 9.125).

  5. St. Johnsbury (4-3, 7.125)

  6. Brattleboro (3-2-1, 5.786).

  7. BFA-St. Albans (3-4, 4.750).

  8. Essex (3-4, 4.625).

  9. SeaWolves (2-5, 3.857).

  10. Rutland (1-5, 1.429).

  11. Mount Anthony (0-6, 0.000).

Division II

  1. Fair Haven (6-0, 10.714).

  2. North Country (5-2, 8.500).

  3. Bellows Falls (4-3, 6.375).

  4. Colchester (2-5, 4.875).

  5. U-32 (3-4, 4.250).

  6. Rice (3-3, 3.857).

  7. Mount Abraham (3-4, 3.625).

  8. Spaulding (3-4, 3.125).

  9. Lyndon (2-5, 3.000).

  10. Mount Mansfield (1-5-1, 2.375).

  11. Milton (2-5, 2.250).

Division III

  1. Woodstock (6-1, 8.750).

  2. Windsor (6-0, 8.429).

  3. Otter Valley (6-1, 8.250).

  4. BFA-Fairfax/Lamoille (3-4, 4.875).

  5. Springfield (3-4, 4.125).

  6. Mill River (3-4, 3.625).

  7. Poultney (2-4, 2.000).

  8. Missisquoi (0-7, 1.000).

  9. Oxbow (1-6, 0.875).

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 7