Football Otters advance to championship game

The football Otters will face Bellows Free Academy in the Division III championship game at Rutland this Saturday, Nov. 8. The game will be played at 2 p.m. at Rutland High School.

QB John Winslow
(Burlington Free Press)

The Division III championship will be sandwiched between two other football championship games. The Division II title will be decided in an 11 a.m. matchup between Rice and Fair Haven. Middlebury and St. Johnsbury will compete for the Division I championship at 5 p.m. Separate admission - $7 for adults, $4 for students and seniors - will be charged for each game. Parking is limited. A shuttlebus will transport attendees from the Home Depot parking lot to the high school.

The top-ranked Otter Valley Union High School Otters defeated the visiting Windsor Yellowjackets, 43-14, in the semifinal playoff round last weekend. The Otters only loss of the 2014 season was a one-point heart-breaker in a non-division matchup against Fair Haven in Week 1. The Bullets of Bellows Free Academy, seeded second in the playoffs, blanked the visiting Mount Abraham Eagles, 14-0, last weekend.

The Otters team bus is scheduled to depart from Otter Valley Union High School at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday. Before heading south to the game site, the bus will travel north on Route 7 and loop around downtown Brandon. Fans in Brandon are encouraged to greet the team as it passes. [Update: This circle around Brandon has been removed from the team bus schedule. The bus will proceed directly to Rutland after leaving the school.]

The game will be available for online viewing through the NFHS Network (www.nfhsnetwork.com). This is a subscription service. A 24-hour pass can be purchased for $9.99.