Varsity Insider

The Burlington High School football team’s potent backfield took a major hit during Friday’s loss to undefeated Essex.

Seniors Cooper Wile and Andrew Cane suffered season-ending injuries, leaving a major void for the Seahorses in their playoff quest.

Wile broke his collarbone — a injury he also sustained during lacrosse season in the spring — on the game’s fourth play. The injury ends an out-of-this-world season for Wile, who racked up 14 touchdowns during the Seahorses’ 4-1 start.

Cane, who ran for over 100 yards in Friday’s loss, broke his fibula in his right leg in the fourth quarter.

BHS (4-2) plays host to Mount Anthony before finishing up its season on the road at St. Johnsbury and St. Albans. One year after going winless, BHS has a chance for a playoff spot, but another loss would put a dent in those plans, coach Brennan Carney said.

“We are in a must-win all the way out,” Carney said. “(Friday’s) game we have to win.”

Second year Burlington High football coach Brennan Carney has the Seahorses off to a 3-1 start this year after taking over a struggling program in 2008 that went winless.

Carney, a former three-sport standout at South Burlington, now has to prepare for Friday night when he hosts his old coach Joe McDonald. McDonald was in the top row of the Rice grandstand scouting on Saturday in the 21-0 win over the Green Knights.

Carney, who turned a winless Spaulding program in his first season into state champions the following year, said  BHS needs to take its next step after beating an inspired Rice squad.

“Other guys have to step up. It just can’t be Cooper (Wile) all the time. Andrew (Cane) played really well for us. Andrew is a good player. He is playing great and doing a lot of different things for us. We have a lot of guys that have to play a little better, a little crisper and we’ll be a better team,” said Carney after the win at Rice.

Kick-off at the D.G. Weaver Athletic Complex has been bumped to 7:30 Friday night because BHS is hosting Rutland in boys soccer at 4 p.m. on the turf field.

We think it is a first for the long-running Burlington Free Press feature “Athlete of the Week.”

We’ve picked a lot of athletes from various sports from the 50 high schools in Northern and Central Vermont through the years.

The weekly nominations come primarily from coaches and sometimes athletic directors based on performances from the week before. While efforts are made to spread the honors around, the feature has a few times even had two student-athletes from the same school.

But the selections of Sierra Tebeau of Colchester field hockey and Cooper Wile of Burlington High football have provided a rare distinction.

They are coached by siblings: Shawn Carney of Colchester and her younger brother Brennan Carney of BHS.

Both Carneys were multi-sport standouts at South Burlington High before Shawn moved on to star at the University of Vermont. Brennan, who helped Vermont post one of its rare wins in the Shrine football game, helped re-write much of the passing record book at Wesleyan University.

I guess the question we should be asking is how many siblings are currently head coaches at Vermont high schools?

Of course the list will include Matt Johnson the BHS boys basketball coach and Glenn Johnson the girls basketball coach at BFA-St. Albans. How many others can you name?

Jim Provost is in his second year at the helm of the Champlain Valley Union football program. He has the Redhawks off to a 1-0 start after last week’s win over Burr and Burton.

Now, in week 2, Provost brings his squad to familiar territory: Rice Memorial. Provost collected two Division II football titles during his 20 years — 14 as head coach — at the South Burlington school. He stepped away after the 1999 season, only to return to the sidelines in 2008 at CVU.

“It will be weird being on (visitors’ sideline), looking towards the bleachers instead of the baseball outfield,” Provost said.

And with the 1989 team being honored on the 20th anniversary of its championship, Saturday’s game has heightened meaning for Provost.

“The novelty isn’t lost on the kids and it’s certainty not lost on the coaches,” Provost said. “It’s a business trip and the whole going back and homecoming … maybe that will mean something after, but once we kickoff, I think it’s going to go away.”

Provost was quick to say that despite his long history with Rice, he bleeds red and white now.

“It’s not a homecoming for me. (CVU) is my home now.”

Note: Burlington coach Brennan Carney is also making a homecoming visit. The BHS coach’s previous stop was Spaulding where he led the Crimson Tide to the 2007 Div. II crown. The Seahorses travel to Barre for a 1 p.m. game today.