You might have watched Vermont high school football for decades and decades and never have seen an individual rush for 400 yards on one glorious day.
It’s a rarity, but I’ve seen two of them. One day in White River Junction, Gordon Willey had a 400-yard rushing game against Windsor. He went on to play football at the University of Maine in the early 1990s.
More recently, Otter Valley’s Carson Leary had his 400-yard game on the biggest stage. He rushed for 421 and five touchdowns in the Otters’ 33-14 victory over U-32 in the state championship game played at Rutland’s Alumni Field in 2015.
Montpelier High’s George “Porgie” Graves never ran for 400 yards in one game, but he did have one of the greatest games running the football in Vermont history. Graves accrued 331 yards on the ground with four touchdowns against Spaulding in the 1976 rivalry game.
Graves died Aug. 31.
The calling hours event was last Saturday, the opening game of the high school football season for many Vermont teams. Graves was immensely popular in the Montpelier area and loved his life there. The calling hours attracted a large turnout.
Dan Morse, a teacher at Harwood Union High School and host of a popular sports podcast focusing on Vermont sports, fondly recalled Graves.
Graves was 6 years older than Morse but Morse recalled him him as someone who was so nice to the younger kids in Montpelier. They looked up to him.
The earmarks of a great high school athletic career were there before his 331-yard rushing game. He scored 42 points in a varsity basketball game for the Solons as a sophomore in 1976.
He was also the top track and field athlete in the long jump in 1978 with a mark of 20.2 feet.
Records being what they are in Vermont, it would be extremely difficult to compile a list of the top 10 rushing games by an individual in high school football.
Certainly, Windsor’s Matt Rafus would be a candidate. He rushed for 375 yards and five touchdowns — he also caught a TD pass in the game — in the Yellow Jackets 2020 semifinal victory over BFA-Fairfax,
Burlington’s Nate Long had at least one 300-yard-plus game the year he set the state record with more than 3,000 yards rushing in a season.
U-32’s Henry Beling ran for five touchdowns and more than 300 yards in a 40-20 victory over Milton in 2021.
Times change. Montpelier no longer has football.
But the Solons’ football history book is stuffed with great moments and achievements. Graves’ big day running the football against Spaulding is one them.
