Vermont

CVU makes claim as one of Vermont’s best high school football teams ever

Published

1 year ago

November 10, 2024

CVU makes claim as one of Vermont’s best high school football teams ever

ST. JOHNSBURY – Nolan Walpole powered to over 100 rushing yards. Quarterback Orion Yates flung touchdown passes to three different receivers. The defense, despite missing a star linebacker, forced three turnovers.

The script went according to plan for the Champlain Valley Union High School football team during the Division I state championship game. And the Redhawks might have written themselves into history, too.

In a wire-to-wire performance, No. 1 CVU cruised to a 41-14 triumph over second-seeded Rutland to cap an undefeated season and seize its second D-I title in three years at St. Johnsbury Academy’s Fairbanks Field on Saturday night.

Walpole finished with 141 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries, Yates passed for 172 yards and connected with Walpole, Jacob Armstrong and Dylan Frere for TD hookups, and Chase Leonard forced a fumble and snagged an interception to headline CVU’s balanced squad.

“It feels great, it just feels awesome to go out like this,” said Leonard, a senior.

CVU was brutally efficient and dominant over 11 games this fall: The Hinesburg powerhouse outscored opponents 462-62, to cement its status with one of the best single seasons in Vermont history. Saturday, CVU gave up two touchdowns in a game for just the second time in 2024, and the first in over two months.

“That’s an awful big statement you want me to make there,” said CVU’s sixth-year coach Rahn Fleming when asked about his teams place among the state’s all-time greats. “But we certainly set a new standard for CVU football.”

Indeed.

Two years after winning the program’s first crown, CVU turned over the offense to Yates, a 6-foot-3 sophomore star who hadn’t played the position in prior years, while relying on game-breaking receivers, experience in the trenches and a veteran defense that swarmed on every chance it got.

“You know my theory: Hire people smarter than you are and get out of their way and let them coach,” Fleming said. “But if we couldn’t win with this group, I’d have to turn in my coaching card. I didn’t fail, we didn’t fail, this was a special bunch.”

Rutland’s opening possession Saturday resulted in a three-and-out because of Dylan Terricciano’s sack on third down. After a punt, CVU started from its 42-yard line, and Walpole immediately went to work, gaining 29 yards on five carries, the last rush via a 5-yard plunge into the end zone.

“He’s an absolutely animal. He never stops and he’s a staple of our team,” Yates said of Walpole.

On Rutland’s next series, Sean Kennedy recovered a fumble near midfield. Six plays later, Yates fired a strike to Armstrong, who evaded his man on his way to an 18-yard TD and 14-0 lead with 3:07 left in the first quarter.

Rutland responded when Noah Bruttomesso hit Ethan Wideawake for a 7-yard TD, slicing the deficit to 14-7 by the end of the first 12 minutes of action. But inside the first minute of the second quarter, CVU called a screen pass and Yates hit Walpole in stride for an untouched, 18-yard TD and 21-7 advantage.

In the third quarter, CVU sandwiched a pair of Alex Jovell 23-yard field goals around Leonard’s forced fumble for a 27-7 lead. Rutland got to within 27-14 on Bruttomesso’s 4-yard TD scramble early in the fourth. But Yates and the CVU offense continued to hum: The signal-caller hit Frere in stride over the middle, and the senior receiver broke one tackle to complete a 26-yard TD play.

Then after Leonard’s INT near midfield, Yates capped a 10-play drive with a 3-yard rush for the Redhawks’ final margin of victory.

“It doesn’t even feel real, I’m grappling with it right now. We have (18) seniors who from the moment we lost to BBA last year, set the tone and (saying), ‘We are going to win a championship,’” Yates said. “We did all the work to get there. I didn’t win this, they did.”

Champlain Valley, Rutland, D-I football championship highlights

Check out some scoring and other big plays from the D-I football championship game between No. 1 Champlain Valley and No. 2 Rutland

Rutland wraps a turnaround season at 9-2 (8-2 against Vermont foes).

“The senior class has a lot to proud of. It’s not for a lack of effort. They did everything they possibly could,” Norman said. “(CVU) just made more plays than our kids did. Tip your hat to them.”

After gutting out a 21-7 semifinal win over Middlebury in which they lost linebacker Lucas Almena-Lee to injury, the Redhawks refocused during practice. Almena-Lee’s replacement, Zane Martenis, also shined, allowing CVU’s defense to remain as fierce as it’s been all year long.

“Middlebury did a really good job last week, making us respect defenses a little bit more,” Leonard said. “That was a big theme in practice. We really just came out here and did what we were supposed to do.”

In Saturday’s post-game, Fleming’s emotions got the best of him.

“The bond that we have created on this squad, literally over the last four years, runs so very deep, that the joy is deserved by them and it just owns me right now,” Fleming said. “The joy for these guys owns me right now.”

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.

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Vermont

House committee requests Vermont Medicaid fraud data

Published

3 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

House committee requests Vermont Medicaid fraud data

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – A Congressional committee has requested documentation from Vermont on possible fraud, waste, and abuse in the state’s Medicaid program. It comes as the Trump administration last week announced a “war on fraud” in the program that provides public health insurance for low-income people.

The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce wants Vermont to provide documentation by March 17 showing the state has a plan in place to identify and address fraud.

Lawmakers cited recent fraud investigations and convictions in Vermont as concerning, and noted that Medicaid costs in the state are rising despite declining enrollment.

Jill Mazza Olson with the Vermont Agency of Human Services said the state intends to respond. “We take fraud, waste, and abuse really seriously. It sounds like Congress is taking it seriously. We know that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services take it seriously. And it is really a multi-pronged approach. So, oversight is part of what Congress does. And we are looking forward to responding to that,” she said.

Vermont is one of 10 states nationwide asked to provide data and information to the committee. Some targeted Democratic state officials have decried the Republican administration’s moves as politically motivated and potentially disastrous for the millions of people who rely on the program.

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Vermont

Girls Vermont Varsity Insider Athlete of the Week winner powered by Delta Dental

Published

15 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Girls Vermont Varsity Insider Athlete of the Week winner powered by Delta Dental

The votes have been tallied and the girls winner of the Vermont Varsity Insider Athlete of the Week powered by Delta Dental is … Callie Spaulding of Windsor basketball.

Spaulding collected 51.55% of the 43,310 total votes cast in the girls contest. The junior was nominated after helping Windsor advance to the Division III semifinals for the 10th consecutive year with double-digit outings in a pair of playoff contests. Spaulding chipped in 10 points and three assists during the playdowns and was one of four Yellow Jackets to score double digits (11 points) in their quarterfinal victory over Enosburg.

The online voting at burlingtonfreepress.com began Monday, March 2, and closed at 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 5.

Check burlingtonfreepress.com for the next ballot, which will be published on Monday, March 9.

Delta Dental Girls Athlete of the Week winners in 2025-26 school year

Winter season

Feb. 23-March 1: Callie Spaulding, Windsor basketball

Feb. 16-22: Lydia Ruggles, St. Johnsbury gymnastics

Feb. 9-15: Mae Oakley, Burr and Burton, Alpine skiing

Feb. 2-8: Chloe Moodie, Peoples basketball

Jan. 26-Feb. 1: Marlie Bushey, Milton basketball

Jan. 19-25: Brinley Gandin, Rutland basketball

Jan. 12-18: Grace Bourn, Rivendell basketball

Jan. 5-11: Patricia Stabach, Stowe indoor track and field

Dec. 29-Jan. 4: Hannah Drury, U-32 hockey

Dec. 22-28: Brooke Osgood, Oxbow basketball

Dec. 15-21: Kayla Cisse, South Burlington basketball

Dec. 12-14: Harlow Hier, Colchester basketball

Fall season

Oct. 27-Nov. 2: Eme Silverman, Poultney soccer

Oct. 20-26: Veronica Moore, Bellows Falls field hockey

Oct. 13-19: Ava Francis, Vergennes soccer

Oct. 6-12: Savannah Monahan, Milton soccer

Sept. 29-Oct. 5: Rachel Scherer, North Country soccer

Sept. 22-28: Trista Favreau-Ward, Missisquoi field hockey

Sept. 15-21: Reese Gregory, Essex volleyball

Sept. 8-14: Isabelle Gouin, Hazen soccer

Aug. 29-Sept. 7: Avery Hansen, Lake Region soccer

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.

Contact Judith Altneu at JAltneu@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.

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Vermont

Friends, family rally behind Vermont veteran charged with domestic terrorism

Published

1 day ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Friends, family rally behind Vermont veteran charged with domestic terrorism

NEWPORT, Vt. (WCAX) – Friends and family of a Vermont veteran charged with domestic terrorism rallied in Newport Thursday, saying the charges stem from a mental health crisis and are unwarranted.

Vermont State Police say Joseph “J.J.” Millett, 38, of Newport, called a veterans crisis line in February, making suicidal statements and threatening a mass-casualty event.

Court records say Millett had guns and wrote what investigators call a manifesto. He turned himself in, and state police say they disarmed him at the barracks. He pleaded not guilty and was never formally arrested or placed in jail. He is currently in a treatment facility.

Supporters say the threats were the result of new medication and a mental health crisis. “But all the way to domestic terrorism for a man that fought overseas — he wasn’t a terrorist. He’s been fighting terrorists half his life,” said Chad Abbott, a friend who served with Millett overseas.

Abbott said he believes the charges could have unintended consequences for veterans seeking help. “These hotlines that they put out for us is to kind of get us the help we need. And now, none of us are going to want to call that,” he said.

Millett’s sister, Courtney Morin, said her brother served in the Vermont Guard for nearly 10 years and has struggled with mental health since returning home. “He suffers from depression, anxiety — he has PTSD. So, he’s actually been seeking help for his mental health for probably as long as he’s been home,” Morin said.

Orleans County State’s Attorney Farzana Leyva said the charge is warranted and that Millett was not calling for help when he contacted the crisis line. “He called the crisis helpline to make the threats. I think we have to be very clear about that. Those were threats. He did not call the crisis helpline for help. He called anonymously,” Leyva said.

She said the evidence — including repeated threats — Millett’s access to guns, and a manifesto justifies the charge and protects the public. “My priority is public safety, which is the highest priority that I have right now,” Leyva said.

Morin said she believes her brother was trying to get help. “I think he was seeking help. I mean, it’s all a trail of him seeking help, being on different meds. You know, we’re not in his head. We don’t know what he’s dealing with. And especially if you’re dealing with it alone,” Morin said.

Millett continues to receive treatment and is due back in court later this month.

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