Burlington, MMU prove they belong

When the Vermont Interscholastic Football League announced its realignment plans late last fall, Burlington and Mt. Mansfield filed appeals against moving up from Division II to Division I. Now both schools are reveling in the fact that the league said no.

Five games into the 2017 season the Seahorses and Cougars are a combined 9-1, and both scored the kind of victory that proved they belong in Division I on Friday. BHS pulled away from CVU in the second half for a 27-7 win, improving to 5-0 and all but assuring its first Division I playoff berth since 1990. MMU meanwhile moved to 4-1 by dominating the second half in a 32-19 win over Colchester.

Now BHS and Mt. Mansfield can gear up for a showdown next Saturday in Jericho. Their meet last fall -- a Burlington win -- decided the last berth in the Division II playoffs. This time home-field advantage in the DI playoffs could be on the line.

The other game that jumps out at me was Middlebury's 28-27 overtime victory over Rutland. The Tigers (3-2) were down by a touchdown four times before the Raiders' missed extra point in OT opened the door for MUHS. The loss drops Rutland to 1-4 and into legitimate danger of missing the playoffs.

Here are QPR standings at the midpoint of Week 5:

Division I

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

1. BFA-St. Albans (4-0 overall, 4-0 D1), 58 points, 14.5 QPR
2. St. Johnsbury (4-0 overall, 4-0 D1), 56 points, 14 QPR
3. Burlington (5-0 overall, 4-0 D1), 63 points, 12.6 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 (3-1 overall, 3-0 D2), 43 points, 10.75 QPR
2. Milton (4-0 overall, 3-0 D2), 39 points, 9.75 QPR
3. Fair Haven (4-1 overall, 4-1 D2), 36 points, 7.2 QPR
4. U-32 (4-1 overall, 4-1 D2), 32 points, 6.4 QPR
5. Bellows Falls (3-1 overall, 1-1 D2), 24 points, 6 QPR
6. Lyndon (2-2 overall, 2-2 D2), 16 points, 4 QPR
7. Mt. Anthony (2-3 overall, 2-3 D2), 18 points, 3.6 QPR
8. Mt. Abraham (1-3 overall, 1-2 D2), 7 points, 1.75 QPR
9. Spaulding (1-2 overall, 0-2 D2), 5 points, 1.67 QPR
10T. Otter Valley (0-4 overall, 0-4 D2), 0 points, 0 QPR
10T. North Country (0-5 overall, 0-4 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. Windsor (3-0 overall, 2-0 D3), 25 points, 8.33 QPR
2. Woodstock (4-1* overall, 4-0 D3), 32 points, 8 QPR
3. Mill River (3-2 overall, 3-2 D3), 21 points, 4.2 QPR
4. BFA-Fairfax (2-2 overall, 2-2 D3), 12 points, 3 QPR
5. Poultney/MSJ (1-4 overall, 1-4 D3), 5 points, 1 QPR
6T. Missisquoi (0-4* overall, 0-3 D3), 0 points, 0 QPR
6T. Springfield (0-5* 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 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.