SJA wins battle of academies to take control in D1

Saturday's matchup of academies was a battle but St. Johnsbury rallied for a 36-28 victory over BFA-St. Albans to cement its status as the team to beat in Vermont high school football.

The Hilltoppers have faced plenty of challenges already, defeating Hartford, Middlebury and BFA in its 5-0 start. The schedule is a lot easier the rest of the way, and the Hilltoppers enter their last three games -- at Brattleboro, home vs CVU and at Lyndon -- knowing only a major upset will keep they from having home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

BFA (4-1) will undoubtedly be frustrated about letting a 21-6 lead get away, but the Bobwhites can't afford to think about this loss for long. They head to Hartford next weekend for another pivotal game that will have a big impact on the standings.

With that in mind, here are the QPR rankings after week 5 of the Vermont high school football season:

Division I

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

1. St. Johnsbury (5-0 overall, 5-0 D1), 74 points, 14.8 QPR
2. Burlington (5-0 overall, 4-0 D1), 65 points, 13 QPR
3. BFA-St. Albans (4-1 overall, 4-1 D1), 58 points, 11.6 QPR
4. Hartford (4-1 overall, 4-1 D1), 50 points, 10 QPR
5. Mt. Mansfield (4-1 overall, 3-1 D1), 43 points, 8.6 QPR
6. Middlebury (3-2 overall, 3-2 D1), 36 points, 7.2 QPR
7. Colchester (2-3 overall, 2-3 D1), 28 points, 5.6 QPR
8. CVU (2-3 overall, 2-3 D1), 22 points, 4.4 QPR
9. South Burlington (2-3 overall, 1-3 D1), 21 points, 4.2
10T. Rice (1-4 overall, 1-4 D1), 10 points, 2 QPR
10T. Rutland (1-4 overall, 1-4 D1), 10 points, 2 QPR
12T. Brattleboro (0-5 overall, 0-4 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR
12T. Essex (0-5 overall, 0-5 D1), 0 points, 0 QPR

Division II

(Includes all games vs. in-state opponents. Games vs. out-of-state teams, including a loss for Woodstock, are ignored)

1. Burr and Burton (4-1 overall, 4-0 D2), 54 points, 10.8 QPR
2. Milton (5-0 overall, 4-0 D2), 48 points, 9.6 QPR
3. Fair Haven (4-1 overall, 4-1 D2), 38 points, 7.6 QPR
4. U-32 (4-1 overall, 4-1 D2), 32 points, 6.4 QPR
5. Bellows Falls (4-1 overall, 2-1 D2), 31 points, 6.2 QPR
6. Lyndon (3-2 overall, 2-2 D2), 25 points, 5 QPR
7. Mt. Anthony (2-3 overall, 2-3 D2), 20 points, 4 QPR
8. Mt. Abraham (1-4 overall, 1-3 D2), 7 points, 1.4 QPR
9. Spaulding (1-3 overall, 0-3 D2), 5 points, 1.25 QPR
10T. North Country (0-5 overall, 0-4 D2), 0 points, 0 QPR
10T. Otter Valley (0-5 overall, 0-5 D2), 0 points, 0 QPR

Division III

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

1. Woodstock (4-1* overall, 4-0 D3), 32 points, 8 QPR
2. Windsor (4-0 overall, 3-0 D3), 30 points, 7.5 QPR
3. Mill River (3-2 overall, 3-2 D3), 21 points, 4.2 QPR
4. BFA-Fairfax (2-3 overall, 2-2 D3), 12 points, 2.4 QPR
5. Poultney/MSJ (1-4 overall, 1-4 D3), 5 points, 1 QPR
6T. Springfield (0-5* overall, 0-3 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
6T. Missisquoi (0-5* 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 win over 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.