QPR Gaps Widen in Friday Night's Games

Widening gaps was the big theme of Friday night in the Vermont high school football QPR standings. With Colchester stopping Brattleboro's surge in Division I and with key wins for Burlington, Woodstock and Windsor in divisions II and III, there's a lot more separation in the standings than there was a week ago.

That's the most pronounced in D3, where there were two top-four showdowns that saw Woodstock roll past Mill River and Windsor edge U-32. That leaves the undefeated Wasps and Yellow Jackets well ahead of the field as they seemingly roll toward their showdown in the last week of the regular season.

In Division II, Burlington blanked Mt. Mansfield to draw a stark contrast in those standings, too. With four teams at 3-1 or better and five at 1-3 or worse, someone from the bottom half of the standings is probably going to need to win out to prevent the Burr and Burton, Bellows Falls, Burlington and Fair Haven from sweeping the playoff berths.

The Division I standings were already quite stratified with three teams out in front with unbeaten records in state but Colchester's 25-22 win over Brattleboro in a back-and-forth thriller was a bit blow for a Colonels team that looked like a strong candidate for home field in the quarterfinals. The Colonels (2-3) still have a shot, but with the teams ahead of them, Essex and Middlebury, playing next week, another loss is all but certain to send BUHS on the road in Week 9.

Anyway, here are the Vermont high school football QPR rankings midway through Week 5:

Division I

(Includes all games vs. in-state opponents. Games vs. out-of-state teams, including losses for Rutland and Hartford), are ignored)

1. St. Johnsbury (4-0 overall, 4-0 D1), 54 points, 13.5 QPR
2. Hartford (3-1* overall, 3-0 D1), 40 points, 13.33 QPR
3. CVU (4-0 overall, 4-0 D1), 52 points, 13 QPR
4. Middlebury (4-1 overall, 4-1 D1), 46 points, 9.2 QPR
5. Essex (3-2 overall, 3-2 D1), 36 points, 7.2 QPR
6. Brattleboro (2-3 overall, 2-3 D1), 28 points, 5.6 QPR
7. Rutland (2-3* overall, 2-2 D1), 20 points, 5 QPR
8. Colchester (2-3 overall, 2-3 D1), 24 points, 4.8 QPR
9. Rice (1-3 overall, 1-2 D1), 10 points, 2.5 QPR
10. BFA-St. Albans (1-4 overall, 1-3 D1), 12 points, 2.4 QPR
11T. South Burlington (0-5 overall, 0-5 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR
11T. Mt. Anthony (0-5 overall, 0-5 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR

Division II

(QPR includes only Division II games. Games against teams in other Vermont divisions are only counted for tiebreaker purposes.)

1. Burr and Burton (4-0 overall, 4-0 D2), 44 points, 11 QPR
2. Bellows Falls (5-0 overall, 4-0 D2), 36 points, 9 QPR
3T. Burlington (3-1 overall, 3-1 D2), 25 points, 6.25 QPR
3T. Fair Haven (3-1 overall, 3-1 D2), 25 points, 6.25 QPR
5T. Mt. Mansfield (2-3 overall, 1-3 D2), 9 points, 2.25 QPR
5T. Mt. Abraham (1-3 overall, 1-3 D2), 9 points, 2.25 QPR
7T. Milton (2-3 overall, 1-3 D2), 7 points, 1.75 QPR
7T. North Country (1-3 overall, 1-3 D2), 7 points, 1.75 QPR
9. Lyndon (0-4 overall, 0-4 D2), 0 points, 0 QPR

Division III

(Includes all games vs. in-state opponents. Games vs. out-of-state teams are ignored)

1. Woodstock (5-0 overall, 5-0 D3), 45 points, 9 QPR
2. Windsor (5-0 overall, 5-0 D3), 41 points, 8.2 QPR
3. Mill River (4-1 overall, 4-1 D3), 28 points, 5.6 QPR
4. U-32 (3-2 overall, 3-2 D3), 19 points, 3.8 QPR
5T. BFA-Fairfax (2-2 overall, 2-1 D3), 10 points, 2.5 QPR
5T. Otter Valley (2-2 overall, 2-2 D3), 10 points, 2.5 QPR
7. Oxbow (2-3 overall, 2-3 D3), 12 points, 2.4 QPR
8. Springfield (1-4 overall, 1-3 D3), 5 points, 1 QPR
9T. Missisquoi (0-3 overall, 0-3 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
9T. Poultney/MSJ (0-4 overall, 0-4 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
9T. Spaulding (0-5 overall, 0-5 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR

How do these numbers work? Teams receive 10 points for a win over a D1 opponent, 7 points for a win over a D2 opponent and 5 points for a D3 opponent. Teams also receive 2 points for every game won by the teams they have beaten. QPR is total points divided by games played.

Week 4 Games and Teams of the Week

Somewhat belatedly, here are my thoughts on the top teams and games from Week 4 of the Vermont High School football season.

Teams of the week

• Division I: It's been years since Middlebury needed a bounceback win in the regular season, but they got one Friday night. The Tigers responded to their loss to Brattleboro by breaking from a halftime tie to beat Colchester 27-7. At 3-1, the Tigers remain a key factor in the Division I playoff race and expect them to be a tough out come playoff time.
• Division II: Bellows Falls put a resounding halt to Mt. Mansfield's surge, romping to a 55-8 victory that further reinforced the gap between the D2's top two and the rest of the field. The Terriers have piled up 185 points in a 4-0 start, and they look like the only team that can challenge defending champion Burr and Burton for this year's title.
• Division III: My labeling of Woodstock as the clear favorite here looks more than a little premature after Windsor romped to a 55-13 victory over defending champion Otter Valley. The Wasps have been dominant in a 4-0 start, outscoring their opponents by an average of 46 points, and they'll get plenty more chances to impress down the stretch. U-32, Mill River and Woodstock are three of Windsor's last four opponents.

Game of the week

• Mt. Abraham 28, North Country 23: This one might not have much impact on the postseason but it featured three lead changes in the second half. Coleman Russell guided the Eagles to their first win, tossing deciding touchdown pass to Dylan Bradford with less than six minutes to go. MAU forced three turnovers in the second half in rallying from a 15-8 deficit at the break, the last of which came in the final five minutes. The result leaves both teams at 1-3 but gives the Eagles the head-to-head edge in the race toward the middle tier of the standings.

Week 5 Game to Watch

• St. Johnsbury at CVU (2:30 pm Saturday): The last two undefeated teams in Division I square off in a matchup that will give the winner a solid hold on first place in the standings. Both teams can count solid wins over Essex and Rutland among their four victories, but this figures to be a different sort of challenge. The Redhawks boast a suffocating defense that's posted back-to-back shutouts but they haven't faced a passing attack like the one Collin Urie leads at SJA. This should be a great one.

Vermont Football QPRs after Week 4

I've been busy today with Scholars' Bowl coaching duties so I'm not going to analyze here except to note the impressive wins for St. Johnsbury, Bellows Falls and Windsor on Saturday's schedule. They've helped better delineate the standings as we reach the midpoint of the season.

Thus, here are the Vermont high school football QPR rankings through Week 4:

Division I

(Includes all games vs. in-state opponents. Games vs. out-of-state teams, including losses for Rutland and Hartford), are ignored)

1. Hartford (3-1* overall, 3-0 D1), 38 points, 12.67 QPR
2. St. Johnsbury (4-0 overall, 4-0 D1), 50 points, 12.5 QPR
3. CVU (4-0 overall, 4-0 D1), 48 points, 12 QPR
4. Middlebury (3-1 overall, 3-1 D1), 34 points, 8.5 QPR
5. Brattleboro (2-2 overall, 2-2 D1), 26 points, 6.5 QPR
6. Essex (2-2 overall, 2-2 D1), 22 points, 5.5 QPR
7. Rutland (1-3* overall, 1-2 D1), 10 points, 3.33 QPR
8. BFA-St. Albans (1-3 overall, 1-2 D1), 12 points, 3 QPR
9T. Colchester (1-3 overall, 1-3 D1), 10 points, 2.5 QPR
9T. Rice (1-3 overall, 1-2 D1), 10 points, 2.5 QPR
11T. South Burlington (0-4 overall, 0-4 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR
11T. Mt. Anthony (0-4 overall, 0-4 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR

Division II

(QPR includes only Division II games. Games against teams in other Vermont divisions are only counted for tiebreaker purposes.)

1. Burr and Burton (4-0 overall, 4-0 D2), 42 points, 10.5 QPR
2. Bellows Falls (4-0 overall, 3-0 D2), 27 points, 9 QPR
3. Fair Haven (3-1 overall, 3-1 D2), 25 points, 6.25 QPR
4. Burlington (3-1 overall, 2-1 D2), 16 points, 5.33 QPR
5. Mt. Mansfield (2-2 overall, 1-2 D2), 9 points, 3 QPR
6. Milton (2-2 overall, 1-2 D2), 7 points, 2.33 QPR
7. Mt. Abraham (1-3 overall, 1-3 D2), 9 points, 2.25 QPR
8. North Country (1-3 overall, 1-3 D2), 7 points, 1.75 QPR
9. Lyndon (0-4 overall, 0-4 D2), 0 points, 0 QPR

Division III

(Includes all games vs. in-state opponents. Games vs. out-of-state teams are ignored)

1. Woodstock (4-0 overall, 4-0 D3), 32 points, 8 QPR
2. Windsor (4-0 overall, 4-0 D3), 28 points, 7 QPR
3. Mill River (4-0 overall, 4-0 D3), 24 points, 6 QPR
4. U-32 (3-1 overall, 3-1 D3), 17 points, 4.25 QPR
5. Otter Valley (2-2 overall, 2-2 D3), 10 points, 2.5 QPR
6. BFA-Fairfax (1-2 overall, 1-1 D3), 5 points, 1.67 QPR
7T. Oxbow (1-3 overall, 1-3 D3), 5 points, 1.25 QPR
7T. Springfield (1-3 overall, 1-2 D3), 5 points, 1.25 QPR
9T. Missisquoi (0-3 overall, 0-3 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
9T. Poultney/MSJ (0-4 overall, 0-4 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
9T. Spaulding (0-4 overall, 0-4 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR

How do these numbers work? Teams receive 10 points for a win over a D1 opponent, 7 points for a win over a D2 opponent and 5 points for a D3 opponent. Teams also receive 2 points for every game won by the teams they have beaten. QPR is total points divided by games played.

QPR standings through Friday's games

We're deep enough into the season now that I'll start posting updates after the end of play on Friday nights. That said, there really wasn't a lot of change on Friday of Week 4 as the .

The big mover of the night is CVU, which jumped into a tie for first place in Division I with a second straight shutout at Essex. The Redhawks (4-0) have allowed just 15 points in four games, and nine of those came in the closing moments of a Week 2 win over South Burlington.

Also worth noting is that Milton's win over BFA-Fairfax pushed Division II's record in non-divisional games to 4-0, including two wins over DI teams. That's ironic considering Division II teams are the only ones in the state who receive no QPR credit for inter-divisional victories.

Anyway, here are the full QPR rankings:

Division I

(Includes all games vs. in-state opponents. Games vs. out-of-state teams, including losses for Rutland and Hartford), are ignored)

1T. CVU (4-0 overall, 4-0 D1), 48 points, 12 QPR
1T. St. Johnsbury (3-0 overall, 3-0 D1), 36 points, 12 QPR
1T. Hartford (3-1* overall, 3-0 D1), 36 points, 12 QPR
4. Middlebury (3-1 overall, 3-1 D1), 34 points, 8.5 QPR
5. Essex (2-2 overall, 2-2 D1), 22 points, 5.5 QPR
6. Brattleboro (1-2 overall, 1-2 D1), 16 points, 5.33 QPR
7. Rutland (1-2* overall, 1-1 D1), 10 points, 5 QPR
8. BFA-St. Albans (1-3 overall, 1-2 D1), 12 points, 3 QPR
9T. Colchester (1-3 overall, 1-3 D1), 10 points, 2.5 QPR
9T. Rice (1-3 overall, 1-2 D1), 10 points, 2.5 QPR
11T. South Burlington (0-3 overall, 0-3 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR
11T. Mt. Anthony (0-4 overall, 0-4 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR

Division II

(QPR includes only Division II games. Games against teams in other Vermont divisions are only counted for tiebreaker purposes.)

1. Burr and Burton (4-0 overall, 4-0 D2), 40 points, 10 QPR
2. Bellows Falls (3-0 overall, 2-0 D2), 18 points, 9 QPR
3. Fair Haven (2-1 overall, 2-1 D2), 18 points, 6 QPR
4. Burlington (3-1 overall, 2-1 D2), 16 points, 5.33 QPR
5. Mt. Mansfield (2-1 overall, 1-1 D2), 9 points, 4.5 QPR
6. Milton (2-2 overall, 1-2 D2), 7 points, 2.33 QPR
7. Mt. Abraham (1-3 overall, 1-3 D2), 9 points, 2.25 QPR
8. North Country (1-3 overall, 1-3 D2), 7 points, 1.75 QPR
9. Lyndon (0-3 overall, 0-3 D2), 0 points, 0 QPR

Division III

(Includes all games vs. in-state opponents. Games vs. out-of-state teams are ignored)

1. Woodstock (4-0 overall, 4-0 D3), 30 points, 7.5 QPR
2. Mill River (3-0 overall, 3-0 D3), 19 points, 6.33 QPR
3. Windsor (3-0 overall, 3-0 D3), 17 points, 5.67 QPR
4. U-32 (3-1 overall, 3-1 D3), 17 points, 4.25 QPR
5. Otter Valley (2-1 overall, 2-1 D3), 10 points, 3.33 QPR
6. BFA-Fairfax (1-2 overall, 1-1 D3), 5 points, 1.67 QPR
7. Oxbow (1-3 overall, 1-3 D3), 5 points, 1.25 QPR
8T. Missisquoi (0-2 overall, 0-2 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
8T. Springfield (0-3 overall, 0-2 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
8T. Poultney/MSJ (0-3 overall, 0-3 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
8T. Spaulding (0-4 overall, 0-4 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR

How do these numbers work? Teams receive 10 points for a win over a D1 opponent, 7 points for a win over a D2 opponent and 5 points for a D3 opponent. Teams also receive 2 points for every game won by the teams they have beaten. QPR is total points divided by games played.

Vermont HS Football Teams and Games of the Week

Here are my thoughts on the top teams and games from Week 3 of the Vermont High School football season.

Teams of the week

• Division I: The schedule makers weren't kind to Brattleboro, giving the Colonels matchups with Hartford, St. Johnsbury and Middlebury to start the season. The results weren't great for the first five halves, but Brattleboro responded with a dominating last 24 minutes to end Middlebury's 28-game regular-season winning streak, 28-13. The Colonels (1-2) forced five turnovers and running back Cheick Diakite piled up 243 yards and three touchdowns in a win that seriously changed the landscape in Division I. 
• Division II: Mt. Mansfield proved that last week's win over Milton was no fluke, turning in an amazing offensive performance in outslugging perennial Division I defensive stalwart BFA-St. Albans, 40-28. Asa Carlson and Ryan Wilson shined as the Cougars (2-1) jumped ahead early and kept answering every Bobwhites rally. MMU looks like a serious playoff contender heading into another big test at Bellows Falls in Week 4.
• Division III: For the second time in three weeks, Woodstock has to be the choice here. The Wasps (3-0) rolled out to a 29-0 halftime lead in route to a 41-14 victory over defending champion Otter Valley on Saturday. With Bill Wood and Ezra Astbury leading a big-play attack, Woodstock has clearly established itself as the team to beat, although matchups with fellow 3-0 teams Mill River and Windsor are still to come.

Game of the week

•  Burlington 28, Lyndon 20: That this one was this close might be the most surprising result of the season to date, and I seriously considered naming Lyndon team of the week despite the loss. It took all that Kevin Garrison and the Seahorses could muster to break from a 14-14 tie and hold on to improve to 3-0 against a winless LI team that piled up 318 yards of offense. BHS will need to play a lot better, especially on defense, if it's going to pose any challenge to mighty Burr and Burton on Friday night.
  

Week 4 Game to Watch

•  CVU at Essex (7 pm Friday): This weekend's only Division I game between teams with winning records provides an interesting contrast. CVU is a defense-first squad that has yielded just 15 points but struggled offensively at times in a 3-0 start. Essex boasts an explosive backfield but gave up 22 unanswered points to St. Johnsbury in suffering its first loss last weekend. The winner of this one takes a huge step toward home field in the quarterfinals.

QPR numbers after Week 3

Week 3 of the Vermont high school football season featured far more drama than the first two, and at least in Division I that resulted in big changes to the standings.

Brattleboro produced the week's most notable result Friday night, earning its first win at the expense of previously unbeaten Middlebury. But two other 0-2 teams, Lyndon and Rice, also played 2-0 teams tough Saturday before coming up a score short of upsetting Burlington and CVU, respectively.

The Colonels climbed into the middle tier of the Division I standings with their big win. But they're hardly secure as Colchester and Rutland also scored their first wins of the season, leaving four D1 teams at 1-2.

There were also key clashes at the top of the standings that gave big boosts to St. Johnsbury and Woodstock. The Hilltoppers dominated the second half to pull away from Essex in a matchup of Division I unbeatens while the Wasps cemented their place atop Division III by rolling past defending champion Otter Valley.

Here are the full QPR rankings:

Division I

(Includes all games vs. in-state opponents. Games vs. out-of-state teams, including losses for Rutland and Hartford), are ignored)

1T. St. Johnsbury (3-0 overall, 3-0 D1), 36 points, 12 QPR
1T. Hartford (2-1* overall, 2-0 D1), 24 points, 12 QPR
3. CVU (3-0 overall, 3-0 D1), 32 points, 10.67 QPR
4T. Essex (2-1 overall, 2-1 D1), 22 points, 7.33 QPR
4T. Middlebury (2-1 overall, 2-1 D1), 22 points, 7.33 QPR
6. Rutland (1-2* overall, 1-1 D1), 10 points, 5 QPR
7. Brattleboro (1-2 overall, 1-2 D1), 14 points, 4.67 QPR
8T. BFA-St. Albans (1-2 overall, 1-2 D1), 10 points, 3.33 QPR
8T. Colchester (1-2 overall, 0-2 D1), 10 points, 3.33 QPR
10T. Mt. Anthony (0-3 overall, 0-3 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR
10T. Rice (0-3 overall, 0-2 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR
10T. South Burlington (0-3 overall, 0-3 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR

Division II

(QPR includes only Division II games. Games against teams in other Vermont divisions are only counted for tiebreaker purposes.)

1. Burr and Burton (3-0 overall, 3-0 D2), 29 points, 9.67 QPR
2. Bellows Falls (3-0 overall, 2-0 D2), 16 points, 8 QPR
3. Burlington (3-0 overall, 2-0 D2), 14 points, 7 QPR
4. Fair Haven (2-1 overall, 2-1 D2), 16 points, 5.33 QPR
5. Mt. Mansfield (2-1 overall, 1-1 D2), 9 points, 4.5 QPR
6T. Milton (1-2 overall, 1-2 D2), 7 points, 2.33 QPR
6T. North Country (1-2 overall, 1-2 D2), 7 points, 2.33 QPR
8T. Mt. Abraham (0-3 overall, 0-3 D2), 0 points, 0 QPR
8T. Lyndon (0-3 overall, 0-3 D2), 0 points, 0 QPR

Division III

(Includes all games vs. in-state opponents. Games vs. out-of-state teams are ignored)

1. Woodstock (3-0 overall, 3-0 D3), 23 points, 7.67 QPR
2. Mill River (3-0 overall, 3-0 D3), 19 points, 6.33 QPR
3. Windsor (3-0 overall, 3-0 D3), 17 points, 5.67 QPR
4T. Otter Valley (2-1 overall, 2-1 D3), 10 points, 3.33 QPR
4T. U-32 (2-1 overall, 2-1 D3), 10 points, 3.33 QPR
6. BFA-Fairfax (1-1 overall, 1-1 D3), 5 points, 2.5 QPR
7. Oxbow (1-2 overall, 1-2 D3), 5 points, 1.67 QPR
8T. Missisquoi (0-2 overall, 0-2 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
8T. Springfield (0-3 overall, 0-2 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
8T. Poultney/MSJ (0-3 overall, 0-3 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
8T. Spaulding (0-3 overall, 0-3 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR

How do these numbers work? Teams receive 10 points for a win over a D1 opponent, 7 points for a win over a D2 opponent and 5 points for a D3 opponent. Teams also receive 2 points for every game won by the teams they have beaten. QPR is total points divided by games played.

Week 2 Teams and Games of the Week

Here are my thoughts on the top teams and games from Week 2 of the Vermont High School football season.

Teams of the week

• Division I: An early 7-0 deficit didn't slow down Hartford at Colchester on Friday night. The Hurricanes dominated the rest of the way, rolling to a 32-7 victory that pushed their record to 2-0. Powerful Catholic Memorial makes the trip from Massachusetts to Hartford next weekend, but regardless of that result, the 'Canes have established themselves as one of the teams to beat.
• Division II: Burlington scored its second straight win over Division I rival Rice on Friday and Kevin Garrison was the big reason behind the Seahorses' 30-20 victory. Garrison's numbers -- 324 yards and four touchdowns -- hearkened back to Nate Long's days at BHS, and the junior running back might be the state's most dynamic player this side of Griffin Stalcup.
• Division III: The average margin of victory in the five DIII games in Week 2? 44.2 points. That makes this choice a hard one, but I'll go with Windsor after it posted a shutout in a 44-0 win over Oxbow. The Yellow Jackets are just one of four teams that have started the season 2-0, but they've outscored their opponents 99-7 and it's hard to find fault in that.

Game of the week

•  Mt. Mansfield 28, Milton 22: What a turnaround from Week 1 for the Cougars. Seven days after falling behind 56-0 in the first half at Burr and Burton, MMU rode Asa Carlson's arm and a clutch defensive performance to a hard-fought win. Carlson hit Kyle Leggett for the tie-breaking touchdown with 8:45 to go, and MMU forced two late turnovers to seal a victory that puts the Cougars in the thick of the race for a playoff berth.

Week 3 Game to Watch

•  Woodstock at Otter Valley (1 pm Saturday): Are the defending champion Otters still the team to beat in Division III? This one will go a long way toward answering that question after OVU went largely untested in its first two games. Woodstock is also 2-0 and leads the QPR standings after knocking off 2015 runner-up U-32 on opening night.
  

Vermont HS football QPRs after Week 2

We're two weeks into the Vermont high school football team so I'm ready to post QPR ratings for the first time. I'm not ready to draw too much from these numbers yet, though.

With only four teams having split their first two games there hasn't been much opportunity for a pecking order to develop yet. So these rankings are essentially just standings at this point.

That said, there are several teams with plenty of reason to be happy with the way they've started. A few that jump out to me include:

* CVU -- 2-0 with a win over the defending state champions? You can't do much better than that.
* Essex -- Runaway wins over Colchester and Mt. Anthony would be a good start for any team, but especially so for a Hornets team that started 1-5 last season en route to missing the playoffs.
* Mt. Mansfield -- The Cougars might only be 1-1, but their win came against a Milton team that made the playoffs last year and they've already got their trip to Burr and Burton out of the way.
* Woodstock -- The Wasps' victory over 2015 runner-up U-32 is as good a win as anyone outside of CVU can claim so far, and it has the Wasps deservedly atop the standings in the early going.

The full QPR rankings:

Division I

(Includes all games vs. in-state opponents. Games vs. out-of-state teams, including Rutland's loss to Concord-Carlisle, Mass.), are ignored)

1. Middlebury (2-0 overall, 2-0 D1), 22 points, 11 QPR
2T. CVU (2-0 overall, 2-0 D1), 20 points, 10 QPR
2T. Essex (2-0 overall, 2-0 D1), 20 points, 10 QPR
2T. Hartford (2-0 overall, 2-0 D1), 20 points, 10 QPR
2T. St. Johnsbury (2-0 overall, 2-0 D1), 20 points, 10 QPR
6. BFA-St. Albans (1-1 overall, 1-1 D1), 10 points, 5 QPR
7T. Brattleboro (0-2 overall, 0-2 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR
7T. Colchester (0-2 overall, 0-2 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR
7T. Mt. Anthony (0-2 overall, 0-2 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR
7T. Rice (0-2 overall, 0-1 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR
7T. Rutland (0-2* overall, 0-1 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR
7T. South Burlington (0-2 overall, 0-2 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR

Division II

(QPR includes only Division II games. Games against teams in other Vermont divisions are only counted for tiebreaker purposes.)

1. Burr and Burton (2-0 overall, 2-0 D2), 18 points, 9 QPR
2T. Bellows Falls (2-0 overall, 1-0 D2), 7 points, 7 QPR
2T. Burlington (2-0 overall, 1-0 D2), 7 points, 7 QPR
4T. Fair Haven (1-1 overall, 1-1 D2), 9 points, 4.5 QPR
4T. Mt. Mansfield (1-1 overall, 1-1 D2), 9 points, 4.5 QPR
6T. Milton (1-1 overall, 1-1 D2), 7 points, 3.5 QPR
6T. North Country (1-1 overall, 1-1 D2), 7 points, 3.5 QPR
8T. Mt. Abraham (0-2 overall, 0-2 D2), 0 points, 0 QPR
8T. Lyndon (0-2 overall, 0-2 D2), 0 points, 0 QPR

Division III

(Includes all games vs. in-state opponents. Games vs. out-of-state teams are ignored)

1. Woodstock (2-0 overall, 2-0 D3), 12 points, 6 QPR
2T. BFA-Fairfax (1-0 overall, 1-0 D3), 5 points, 5 QPR
2T. Mill River (2-0 overall, 2-0 D3), 10 points, 5 QPR
2T. Otter Valley (2-0 overall, 2-0 D3), 10 points, 5 QPR
2T. Windsor (2-0 overall, 2-0 D3), 10 points, 5 QPR
6. U-32 (1-1 overall, 1-1 D3), 5 points, 2.5 QPR
7T. Oxbow (0-2 overall, 0-2 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
7T. Springfield (0-2 overall, 0-1 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
7T. Missisquoi (0-2 overall, 0-2 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
7T. Poultney/MSJ (0-2 overall, 0-2 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
7T. Spaulding (0-2 overall, 0-2 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR

How do these numbers work? Teams receive 10 points for a win over a D1 opponent, 7 points for a win over a D2 opponent and 5 points for a D3 opponent. Teams also receive 2 points for every game won by the teams they have beaten. QPR is total points divided by games played.

Welcome to Season 2

The 2016-17 Vermont high school football season is underway so it's about time I resurrected my blog. That said, the QPRs after one week don't really say anything, so I'll wait until the weekend to start posting those.

Instead, here are my teams of the week from Week 1 of the new season:

• Division I: It's a new season, and CVU went out and proved that on Saturday. The Redhawks pulled away with two late touchdowns and knocked off defending champion Rutland, 22-6, avenging a pair of losses from 2015. The game was closer than the score, but it's an indication that a division that has been dominated by dynasties over the last decade could follow a different path this season.
• Division II: It was more of the same around the division as the five top teams from last year all rolled to victories. That said, Fair Haven might have had the most to prove in its first game without Ryan Alexander and Lucas Czarnecki to lead the offense. The Slaters came through behind Jordan Phillips' running and Cam Coloutti's passing to earn a 52-14 win over North Country, proving they're still among the teams chasing defending champion Burr and Burton.
• Division III: Woodstock's scoreless, nine-play first half? It can be forgotten after the Wasps stormed back for a 29-7 victory over U-32. The Raiders led at the break before Woodstock dominated the second half and gained revenge for last season's semifinal loss. It could be a key result in the playoff picture for two teams that figure to be in the running for home field in the postseason.

Game of the week

•  BFA-St. Albans 20, Rice 18: In a week largely devoid of drama, this Division I matchup provided plenty. First the Green Knights stormed back from 14-0 down to take the lead. Then BFA responded with a 90-yard game-winning drive in the final minutes, capped with Nate Parady's TD run with 2 seconds to go. It was the teams' second straight thriller -- Rice won 25-24 in last year's opener -- and it gives the Bobwhites a big boost in the race toward the playoffs after they came up just short in 2015.