Vermont H.S. football: 2023 season previews for the 11 Division I teams in Vermont

Division I's nine-team gauntlet from last fall added two new programs.

Brattleboro and Mount Anthony entered the fold this year after stints in D-II, with the latter being the division's defending champion. The duo will play in the Southern Vermont League, along with Burr and Burton, Hartford, Middlebury and Rutland.

The rest of D-I plays in the Metro to make up the division's dual-league format.

Read on for football outlooks for the state's top division.

More: 2023 season previews for the 11 Division I teams in Vermont

More: 2023 season previews for the nine Division III teams in Vermont

Enjoy!

DIVISION I SEASON PREVIEWS

BFA-St. Albans

Coach: Geoff Murray

Last Year: 1-8; did not make the D-I playoffs.

Outlook: While the program is in the high 60s for total players, Murray said he'll only carry around 28 on the varsity squad. There are about 15 seniors, too, who felt the sting of several narrow defeats last fall. "We're light up top but, right now, our work ethic is really good," Murray said. "The general sense is, we have something to prove to ourselves. We want to improve on last year. We want to get back to the playoffs." Seneca Durocher is back to lead under center for another season, and lineman Corey McNulty is another veteran expected to play on both sides of the ball. "We are certainly going to run the ball, but we do have the ability to throw as well," Murray said. "It’s just a matter of playing clean football."

More: The top returning Vermont high school football players? Our 2023 watchlist.

Brattleboro Union High School

Coach: Chad Pacheco (eighth season)

Last Year: 6-4; lost to Bellows Falls in the D-II semifinals.

Outlook: The Bears, formerly the Colonels, are back in the state’s top division after dropping ahead of the 2019 season when they went on to break a 46-year title drought. Brattleboro lost major pieces to graduation in quarterback Devin Speno, Cam Frost and Free Press first-team receiver Tristan Evans. “It is almost a little bit of by committee, but we feel good,” Pacheco said of replacing the stars. Jack Cady figures to have his targets increase at receiver after starting on defense at safety last fall. At 6-foot-5, senior Jackson Emery is a big-bodied tight end and defensive end who will command attention on both sides of the ball. “We feel good about (Emery), so we definitely have some weapons and we have some kids that we think are going to step up and play big roles for us,” Pacheco said. After graduating 10, the Bears have 45 on the roster with 28 returning to the varsity unit. “I'm starting to feel good about our offense and defensive lines,” Pacheco said. “It's the first time in a while I've had some size, we have 13 kids over 200 pounds and two over (300), so it's the first time in a while we've had some size up front.”

Related: Vermont high school football fan's choice preseason player of the year ballot

Burlington/South Burlington

Coach: Chadde Wolf (third season)

Last Year: 1-8; lost to Champlain Valley in the D-I quarterfinals.

Outlook: The Burlington and South Burlington cooperative program enters its sixth year with about 60 total players and 38-40 returnees. The co-op, which also includes four Winooski students at the varsity level, spent the beginning of training camp at Vermont Academy in Saxtons River as part of its continued team-bonding commitment. “There’s a great attitude this fall camp and I think that's been the biggest difference,” Wolf said. “That's something that as a coaching staff, we've been really working hard this year. … Focusing on the things that you can control and the ball doesn't always have to bounce your way.” Winooski’s Sam Parris, who was on the Spartans’ championship basketball team last winter, leads the SeaWolves’ backfield after grabbing a second team coaches’ nod as a hard, downhill runner. “Sam's going to be an instrumental ball carrier for us and he’s often playing the other side of the ball as well,” Wolf said. “He is comfortable, looks under control and at ease with leadership skills, which have really been redefined.” Ahmed Diawara is the team’s quarterback this season.

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

Burr and Burton Academy

Coach: Tom McCoy (fifth season)

Last Year: 7-3; lost to Middlebury in the D-I semifinals.

Outlook: Burr and Burton lost its starting receivers, running backs, both defensive ends and four out of five offensive linemen to graduation. But with close to 60 players in the program, the Bulldogs will have options to develop and fill their desired needs to remain competitive in Division I. "We have our work cut out for us," McCoy said. To that end, BBA has added in-season time for the weight room, and McCoy welcomed aboard five seniors who are first-time football players. "We are going to try and develop players in those skilled positions. And with line play, we are going to keep it simple," McCoy said. "It's next player up mentality. It's a long season and you never know what's going to be presented to you as a coach. Every week is going to be a battle, but we will still end up being in the mix." Jack McCoy, the coach's son, returns as the team's starting QB, and has focused on arm strength and reading defenses during offseason workouts. Daniel Scarlotta is the lone starting offensive lineman to return, while JT Wright and Peyton Gray lead from the inside linebacker positions.

Champlain Valley Union High School

Coach: Rahn Fleming (fifth season)

Last Year: 10-0; beat Middlebury in the D-I championship.

Outlook: This is new territory for the Redhawks: They enter a season as defending champions. "We have our opportunity, this year, to make our history and we stand on the shoulders of some giants from last year," Fleming said. Some of those "giants," though, aren't back this year. Free Press player of the year Alex Provost graduated and Jack Sumner, Vermont's Gatorade state recipient, was one of three stars to depart for prep school. But with 60-plus players coming out this summer, 20 of whom played in 2022, CVU has the ability to reload for a title run. Quarterback Ollie Cheer, who took over full responsibilities under center late in the year after Max Destito went down with an injury, headlines CVU's returning skilled group, which also includes Brian Rutherford, Jacob Bose and Jacob Armstrong. CVU also brings back a strong nucleus on the offensive line and a seasoned secondary grouping. "I think there’s a quiet confidence, but also an awareness that we absolutely have to dedicate ourselves to every rep so that when we take the field on Sept. 2, we present our best selves," Fleming said. "We want to play in a way that forces the other team to rise to our level."

Essex High School

Coach: Ethan Curtis (second season)

Last Year: 6-4; lost to Champlain Valley in the D-I semifinals.

Outlook: Back-to-back seasons of success, paced by an outstanding offensive line, breeds for a positive future for the Hornets. The last two years Essex has had three stars enjoy at least a 1,000-yard rushing season. The next backfield, including quarterback Carter Crete, will run behind linemen Max Spaeder, Joe Reed and a talented cast looking to continue to break that mark. “(Crete) is someone who's going to hop in there and he's going to take control of the offense,” Curtis said. “He's calm, cool and collective under pressure and not much rattles him.” This will be the junior’s first season as the main offensive leader after splitting snaps last year and he has an influx of skill at receiver around him. “These guys are surprising me a little bit,” Curtis said of the receiving corps. “Coming out here and running all these routes.” Essex has about 10 seniors on a roster of 48-50, similar to what it had last year. “For the most part we returned everybody else that we had and then a lot of the sophomores that played in our varsity games last year are back and they're ready to go,” Curtis said. The Hornets have a good-sized freshman class with promising outlook in their youth programs as well.

Hartford High School

Coach: Matt Trombly (10th season)

Last Year: 4-5; lost to Middlebury in the D-I quarterfinals.

Outlook: Trombly crosses the decade mark with an experienced group, which entered our preseason rankings No. 3 overall, eyeing a championship. Led by his son, Brayden Trombly at quarterback and two-way standout, Brody Tyburski (returns from a broken collarbone), the Hurricanes are set to rebound after injuries derailed last season. “We have some really talented seniors with some experience under their belt and some really talented juniors as well and they'll pull on both sides of the ball,” said Matt Trombly, who has been with Hurricanes program for over 20 years. “But our biggest risk is injury, if we get one or two kids banged up, we're really in trouble.” Hartford, with a total roster of 50, is one of a few programs that petitions up to play in D-I each year. Ezra Mock is another two-way standout at running back and defensive back that has provided a spark for the Hurricanes the last two seasons. “This is an exciting year and in a lot of ways,” Matt Trombly said. “But like a lot of years, it's kind of on pins-and-needles just making sure that we keep everybody healthy and with that said, this is a year we're going to pull out all the stops. This is our opportunity I think, to try to make a run at it.” Hartford has the first game of the season when it travels to St. Johnsbury for a non-league tilt on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 6 p.m.

Middlebury Union High School

Coach: Jed Malcolm (first season)

Last Year: 7-4; lost to Champlain Valley in the D-I championship.

Outlook: The Jed Malcolm tenure kicks-off on Friday at Brattleboro as the longtime assistant becomes the lead man. “I think that last year's late-season success was a great sort of motivator to carry into this year and everybody's pretty focused and feeling it,” Malcolm said. “We have a lot of work to do, and some new system changes based on a new coach.” Expect Middlebury to still run the ball, but with some new, “modern wrinkles to just spice it up a little bit.” Malcolm said that the players, especially the seniors, which include backs Jackson Gillett and Gavin McNulty and quarterback Jacob Kemp, gave him the confidence to make changes. The Tigers have great numbers (54) with 20 being varsity returnees. “The senior class, almost all of them are guys that have seen the field quite a bit. It makes for easy practice management, having guys that know the drill,” Malcolm said. The runners-up were positioned second in our preseason rankings. Middlebury plays in the SVL, which makes for a bit of travel for the central-based program.

Mount Anthony Union High School

Coach: Chad Gordon (seventh season)

Last Year: 9-2; beat Bellows Falls in the D-II championship.

Outlook: Arguably the biggest player-based move this offseason was when Tanner Bushee transferred out of Vermont to North Carolina. The quarterback led Mount Anthony to its first title in nearly 30 years last fall. “I wish him the best and hope he does really well at his new school,” Gordon said of Bushee. “I hope he can have success down there that he had here. You lose a talent, I think he would have been one of the top quarterbacks in the state.” Gordon said that there’s been a healthy competition at several positions this year, including quarterback. MAU, which graduated 22 seniors, moves back in D-I after dropping following the 2016 season and the Patriots have 45 on the roster with seven seniors. Among the seniors, Carter Thompson saw major playing time on both sides of the ball last year and Riley Britch has started 22 straight games on the offensive line. “When you graduate 22 seniors, we came in Day 1 and said listen, 'There's 22 spots on the field between offense and defense and no one has a guaranteed spot.’”

Rutland High School

Coach: Mike Norman (30th season)

Last Year: 3-5; lost to Burr and Burton in the D-I quarterfinals.

Outlook: About 60% of the 70 players in program played last year for Rutland, giving Norman dozens of veterans to count on as they look to improve and contend in a relatively wide-open division. Rutland also has a good core of underclassmen. "They are hungry because they are young," Norman said. "It’s fun to watch them compete against each other. They are doing it the right way and hopefully we continue that moving forward. Noah Bruttomesso, also a standout in hockey and lacrosse, returns to lead the offense at quarterback. Jayden Graham, a linebacker and running back has played varsity football since his freshman year and will lead a committee of rushers out of the backfield. Will Fuller is a three-year starter at tight end. "We are going to have to be physical and play better than we did last year. And that’s no disrespect to last year’s team," said Norman, who has guided Rutland to eight D-I championships in a dozen title-game appearances over his three-decade run. "We have to continue to build depth everyday."

St. Johnsbury Academy

Coach: Rich Alercio (11th season)

Last Year: 5-4; lost to Essex in the D-I quarterfinals.

Outlook: Back-to-back quarterfinal exits has the Hilltoppers itching for a semifinal berth. But they’ll have to do it without Quinn Murphy, after the Free Press first-team quarterback graduated and took with him a chunk of the St. Johnsbury offense. Alercio said the team has a competition at quarterback to fill the void and of the potential starters, junior Carter Bunnell is a candidate. “He was a two-way starter for us at receiver and defensive back last year. He is probably one of our most athletic kids right now,” Alercio said of Bunnell. SJA has just over 40 on the roster, the lowest total Alercio said he’s ever had after graduating about 10 and having a few players not return to the program. “We've been fortunate that our numbers have consistently stayed in the mid-to-high-50s until this year,” Alercio said. “It's just an unfortunate trend.” The returnees that SJA has, though, are a well-rounded group. “We probably have as many good players as we've had in a long time,” Alercio said. “Probably back to our 2019 team that went to the state championship game.”

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.

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont high school football: 2023 previews for the Division I teams