The Vermont Interscholastic Football League conducted its meeting this week at Hartford High School and there was plenty of discussion about alignment and what it might take to bring 8-man football in an effort to save programs.
Poultney is one of the schools in trouble with low football participation numbers.
Poultney Athletic Director Marc Dudsak said that he is encouraged by the fact 8-man was the subject of discussion.
Dudsak said that he is tied up with getting basketball off the ground at this time but will soon be revisiting the football situation.
There was also talk about implementing the 8-man game at larger schools for junior varsity games, enabling players to get more game time before playing at the varsity level.
The alignment committee is still weighing input. The coaches were told to communicate with their athletic directors on the subject of alignment as they are the voters on alignment.
MAC SPECIAL
The defunct Waterbury High School produced some luminaries who were critical to the local sports community — people like Ken Squier. Dave and Bill Morse and Mac McAllister.
Wilbur “Mac” McAllister is the latest of those Waterbury Longhorns to pass on. He died last month at age 93 and leaves a legacy on the sports scene that won’t be forgotten.
He coached and taught at BFA-Fairfax but it is his work with sports films that he is most known for.
When the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl used to hold a press day the afternoon before the game at Dartmouth College, Mac was always there to capture a head shot of each player.
His long association with the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl resulted in him being the recipient of an award in 2008.
His honors include the Norwich University Athletic Hall of Fame, the Vermont Principals Association Hall of Fame, the University of Vermont Athletic Award and induction into the Harwood Union Hall of Fame.
He worked with his son Steve and they were fixtures filming at Barre Auditorium every February and March at the high school basketball tournament.
It will be difficult for many to go back into that venerable building on the hill in downtown Barre in 2026 and not be able to see and talk to Mac McAllister.
HARTFORD’S TROMBLY
Hartford was in big trouble in the 2023 Division I state championship game at Rutland’s Alumni Field, trailing Burr and Burton Academy 28-6.
Senior quarterback Brayden Trombly helped ignite a comeback that brought the Hurricanes all the way back to a 28-28 tie. But BBA regrouped and went back to Manchester with a 35-28 victory and a state title.
The highlight of the Hartford rally to tie the score was a 95-yard touchdown pass that Trombly threw out of the end zone to Brody Tyburski.
Tyburski just had a productive season as the second-leading receiver for Vermont State University Castleton with 31 catches for 303 yards and a touchdown.
Trombly, being interviewed about five months later at the Vermont Chapter of the National Football Foundation’s annual banquet, said that he had no preference as to which side of the ball he played on in college.
His first two years in the defensive backfield at Husson University have seen him honored several times. The 2024 season brought him the conference Rookie of the Year accolade.
This season he was named to the Conference of New England’s first team for defense. He rang up 49 tackles, including 30 solo stops, and his three interceptions was best on the team.
The winning quarterback in that 2023 state championship game for Burr and Burton was Jack McCoy, now a sophomore backup QB for St. John Fisher University.
McCoy and his St. John Fisher teammates finished the regular season at 7-3 and will host RPI in the ECAC Clayton Chapman Bowl on Saturday.
NUMBERS
Poultney High graduate Jacquelyn Oberg has already made an impact this freshman year with the Vermont State University Johnson women’s basketball team. She has started all three games for the 1-2 Badgers, averaging 6.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
The VTSU Castleton women’s basketball team is 3-1 and riding the wave of a three-game winning streak as they prepare for their toughest test yet against Middlebury on Tuesday.
There have been some local products who have been a big part of the success. West Rutland sisters Arianna and Bella Coombs have contributed significantly — Arianna averaging 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest and Bella 7.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Proctor’s Maggie McKearin is averaging 5.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and is disruptive on defense with her quick hands and feet.
You’ve got to love the connections in Vermont sports. In the 2024 Division IV state championship soccer game, Richford’s Kyrielle Deuso scored three second-half goals against West Rutland’s outstanding goalkeeper Bella Coombs to win the game 3-2. Now, Deuso and Bella are teammates. Deuso has started all four games for VTSU Castleton and is averaging 6.3 points and 3.8brebounds per outing.
Fair Haven’s Joe Buxton is making his presence felt on the VTSU Castleton men’s team by averaging 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
White River Valley graduate Tanner Drury is the second-leading scorer on the Colby-Sawyer College women’s basketball team by averaging 14.5 a game.
