SLATERS 36, Otters 27

The Otter Valley Union High School varsity football team dropped to 2-7 after a season-ending 36-27 loss to the Fair Haven Slaters last night. The Otters lost six consecutive games after starting the season 2-1. Fair Haven improved to 5-4 with the victory.

The final game of the Vermont Division II regular season will be played this afternoon, when the undefeated Green Knights of Rice Memorial High School visit the 5-3 Lyndon Institute Vikings. Lyndon Institute has lost three games in a row but has a stingy defense comparable to that of Rice. Heading into that final game, the Division II Standings look like this:

Team Name	Wins	Losses
Rice Green Knights	8*	0
Bellows Falls Terriers	8	1
Burr&Burton Bulldogs	6	3
Milton Yellowjackets	6	3
Lyndon Institute Vikings	5*	3
Fair Haven Slaters	5	4
Otter Valley Otters	2	7
Union-32 Raiders	2	7
Springfield Cosmos	1	8
North Country Falcons	0	9

(* Teams have one more game to play.)

TIGERS 35, Otters 6

We noted in our preview that the Middlebury Union High School Tigers were highly motivated to play a strong non-conference game against the Otter Valley Union High School Otters. The Tigers certainly did play a strong game against the Otters varsity football team at Brandon's Markowski Field yesterday, winning 35-6.

Aside from attendance, there were few bright spots in the game for the smaller Otter hosts. However, it must be noted that Division II Otter Valley fared just a bit better than one of Middlebury's Division I opponents this season (Middlebury defeated Mount Anthony, 41-6, two weeks ago).

The game result drops Otter Valley to an overall record of 2-3 and improves Middlebury to 3-2.

The contest against Middlebury should be good preparation for next week, when the Otters visit South Burlington to take on the undefeated, division-leading Green Knights of Rice Memorial High School. Rice, now 5-0, defeated Division I Burlington, 16-8, on Friday and has surrendered a total of only 14 points this season while scoring 147. In a similar matchup earlier this season, the Otters were shut out, 16-0, by Lyndon Institute (also 5-0 this year, with 131 points scored and 16 points allowed).

VIKINGS 16, Otters 0

When you look at the averages, the Vikings of Lyndon Institute aren't noticeably bigger or more experienced than the Otters of Otter Valley Union High School. On average, the Otters varsity players are a little older, while the Vikings varsity players are just the slightest bit larger. But the averages neglect the fact that Lyndon Institute has much of its size and experience packed into the body of a single player. Senior Vikings starter Curtis Randall is listed in the football programs at six-foot-four and three-hundred-thirty-three pounds. On a high school football field, Randall is a "presence."

Randall and head coach Dan Nolan's Vikings shut down Otter Valley in the Otters home opener yesterday at Markowski Field in Brandon. While the Otter defense turned in a solid effort, the offense was incapable of finding the endzone. The final score was 16-0, Vikings.

Lyndon Institute had been expected  to pose a problem for Otter Valley. In the preseason, Otters head coach Jim Hill said he expected the Vikings to be tough. In the first week of the season, as the Otters spanked the much less experienced Springfield Cosmos, 48-6, the Vikings shut out Milton by a score of 14-0. Early last season, Lyndon's ground game tore apart the Otter defense, as the Vikings notched a 30-16 win.

With yesterday's win, Lyndon Institute, 2-0, moves into a first place tie with Rice Memorial in the Vermont Division II high school football standings. Neither Lyndon nor Rice has surrendered a single point this season. (The Otters travel to face Rice on Oct. 6.) At 1-1 on the young season, Otter Valley is tied in the division with Bellows Falls, high-scoring Burr & Burton, Fair Haven, Milton and U-32. U-32 visits Markowski Field next Saturday afternoon at one o'clock. Springfield and North County Union are winless in the division through two games. Springfield already has surrendered more than 100 points.

Second game tougher for Otters

At this writing, with just minutes to play in the contest, the Otter Valley Union High School Otters appear to be overmatched by the visiting Lyndon Institute Vikings. The Vikings have a 16-0 lead in the Otters' home opener at Markowski Field in Brandon. Here's a look at the Otter Valley varsity football roster for 2012:

Otter gridders host Lyndon on Saturday

The maroon and white Vikings of Lyndon Institute come to Brandon at one o'clock Saturday afternoon to face the Otter Valley Otters. Both teams started the season off with victories last week.

The Otters dominated at Springfield last Friday, beating the Cosmos by a score of 48-6. But the Cosmos were not a true test of Otter abilities. Springfield was winless last season and has managed just two victories in its last twenty contests (dating back to a season-ending loss in 2009). Lyndon Institute should be a greater challenge.

The Vikings went on the road to Milton last week and earned a 14-0 win over the Yellowjackets, Much is expected of Lyndon Institute this year. The team improved to 4-5 last year after two dismal seasons of 1-8 (2010) and 2-7 (2009).