Week 6's Teams of the Week

Here is my view on the top performances of Week 6 of the Vermont high school football season:

Teams of the week

• Division I: Regardless of Middlebury's winning streak, for the last several weeks I've thought the Rutland Raiders are this fall's team to beat. They reiterated that Friday night by crushing a surging Brattleboro team, 40-15, in a game that was over by halftime. With AJ Kenosh's arm and Caleb White's running, the Raiders (5-1) have an explosive offense, and their defense has been solid, too, holding four of five Vermont opponents to 15 points or fewer. A showdown with Hartford looms in Week 8, and unless BFA-St. Albans pulls an upset Friday night, that matchup will decide the top seed for the playoffs.
• Division II: Burlington was the big winner in the D2 playoff race this week, edging Milton 40-38 in a wild game that featured eight lead changes. Peter Labracio threw for 347 yards as the Seahorses overcame a series of late turnovers to improve to 5-1 and gave themselves some cushion in the standings with showdowns against Bellows Falls and Fair Haven coming up the next two weekends. Milton (3-3), meanwhile, will need to beat Fair Haven on Friday to have any chance of returning to the postseason after back-to-back fifth-place finishes in 2013 and 2014.
• Division III: Statement delivered. In a matchup of unbeaten teams, Otter Valley absolutely steamrolled U-32 in a 55-14 victory Friday night. That put the Otters (6-0) firmly atop the QPR and it reemphasized that the 2014 runners-up are the team to beat this fall. With quarterback Carson Leary leading the way (he had 268 rushing yards and five TDs Friday), OVU has outscored its opponents 336-55 this fall.

Game of the week

•  CVU 19, Colchester 14: The Redhawks have quietly established themselves as the top team north of Middlebury, and they kept themselves in the running for a home game in the Division I quarterfinals by grinding out a road win Friday night. Braven Bose was the hero for CVU (4-2), rushing for 105 yards and two touchdowns as the Redhawks built a 19-6 lead before holding on late. It was CVU's second straight win, and with a matchup with Middlebury coming up in the regular-season finale, the Redhawks will want to make it three in a row at Mt. Anthony on Friday to be sure of a place among the top five seeds.