Varsity Insider

Some people think it is a sad state of the affairs for MMU to willingly make money off the misfortune of one Otter Valley player on a single play.  This is not the NFL.

In case you missed it, here is the situation: MMU junior Jeff Sutherland picked up the football after Otter Valley’s premature celebration and ran in the winning touchdown with no time left as the Cougars stunned the Otters, 20-16, in a Division II game Sept. 26 to end a wild game.

Otter Valley took a 16-14 lead with 16 seconds left on a 20-yard field goal. MMU got off two offensive plays before it attempted a 46-yard field goal with 1.3 seconds left.

The kick fell short and an Otter Valley player fielded the ball near the goal line. He ran to the 11, where he spiked the ball to celebrate the apparent win. Sutherland scooped up the ball at the 8 and ran into the end zone. Otter Valley contended the ball was dead because it was fielded in the end zone. The referees ruled the ball was live and scored the play a touchdown because they thought the ball was caught by OV out of the end zone.

The Otter Valley player, family and team took a lot of heat for the play. It came not only from people in his community and school, but from all across the country. There were more than one million hits on YouTube in the first week of posting a television sportscast that included his name.

Just when it looked like the issue had died down, a new wave of attention happened with a contest to determine the best or worst play in high school football. The 50-second video won both the regional award and is now the overall winner in the country.

As one Northern Vermont football fan noted to in an e-mail to me: “I was utterly disgusted by MMU’s video contest winning, and appalled at their athletic department for allowing it to be submitted. Yes, it was very quick thinking on the part of the MMU player – but is anyone thinking about how devastating that whole experience was for the Otter Valley player?”

MMU athletic director Brian Cain said the video was submitted by a parent – not the school — to a national contest.

From all we have heard, the Otter Valley student-athlete is a quality kid. It looks like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. What would have happened had he taken a few more steps and had gone out of bounds, or that when he spiked it, the ball bounced out of bounds? There was a second Otter Valley player also back for the kick. What would have happened had he caught the ball? The questions are endless.

MMU, which has been without a home field, plans to use the money toward building its first permanent football field. The school needs to buy chains and yard markers, while also building a press box and a grandstand.

The planned use of the money is just one of many ironies in this story. The play came as Otter Valley was celebrating opening day of its new football facility, Markowski Field.

Wouldn’t it be a touch of class if MMU provide a share of the prize money to Otter Valley?

Half might be nice, but certainly $1,000 or $2,000 wouldn’t be out of line.

After all, isn’t it about sportsmanship?

What do you think?

The Essex High School football team is loaded with offensive stars. From its quarterback (Max Librizzi) to its wide-range of tall and athletic receivers, Essex will be scary. So scary, in fact, coach Charlie Burnett and his staff have implemented a no-huddle spread offense that you can read about here.

For a offense that produced nearly 25 points a game during a 7-3 season in 2008 — while using the spread sparingly — the addition of the no-huddle, up-tempo style should be exciting to watch.

So then, what about the defense?

Consider this:
- The Hornets pitched three consecutive shutouts to close the 2008 regular season.
- For the season, including a semifinal loss to Rutland, the Hornets limited its opponents to 12.4 points per game.
- A starter as a sophomore, Jay McCormick is back at linebacker after missing his junior campaign due to hip surgery.
- DE Johnny Joseph is back and he will cause protection problems for the opponent’s QB, coach Charlie Burnett said.

“We are offense-focused program, but that doesn’t mean we don’t look at D at all,” Burnett said. “We had three shutouts at the end of last season, including South Burlington, that we are really proud of.”

Other notes from Essex:
- The team will unveil new uniform tops and a new helmet in Friday’s home game vs. Mount Mansfield. The Hornets are switching from their traditional gold helmet to a navy-colored one. “
- Adam Picard is the first option at running back. Also, don’t be surprised to see a wildcat formation with Evan McCrea, fellow receiver Kevin Jenko mentioned.