Vermont
Records set as one of Vermont’s most storied football programs is back on top
ST. JOHNSBURY – A year ago, the Woodstock Wasps did not score in the Division III high school football championship game.
Redemption came in bunches on Saturday afternoon.
The No. 2 Wasps scored on all seven of their first-half possessions, with big play after big play, to cruise past No. 4 Otter Valley, 65-14, and return to glory in the D-III state final on Championship Saturday at St. Johnsbury Academy.
The Wasps (9-0) are now tied with Hartford and Bellows Falls for the most titles in state history with 12, and set a record for most points scored in a final. It’s also Woodstock’s first crown since 2018.
“It means everything to me. It means a lot for everyone on this team and their legacy, to know what we’ve done for the program and for the history of the state,” Woodstock senior star Caeden Perreault said. “It’s a culmination of everything we’ve worked for this year. We had a bad taste in our mouth from how last season ended.
“This is exactly what we wanted.”
After losing to Windsor in the 2023 title by a 36-0 result, the Wasps rolled through their schedule this fall, outscoring opponents 485-100. Saturday, Woodstock pitched a first-half shutout, while the offense found a groove from the get-go.
Aksel Oates tossed a 42-yard touchdown pass to Carter Warren for the game’s opening score. On Woodstock’s next offensive play from scrimmage following Perreault’s interception, Warren went 33 yards for a rushing score and 13-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Then Perreault, Woodstock’s all-purpose menace, got rolling out of the backfield. The senior took a misdirection handoff and went untouched for a 13-yard TD. In the second quarter, Oates found Ben Runstein for 23-yard TD connection, Perreault went 61 yards on a pitch, changing fields after breaking a tackle, and Vincent Petrone sped 45 yards on another sweep to cap the first-half scoring and 46-0 intermission margin.
In the second half, Perreault turned it on for a 55-yard TD and Runstein took a kickoff return 74 yards for another long Woodstock score. Boyd Schaefer’s fourth-quarter TD rush pushed Woodstock to the championship record for points scored.
Perreault totaled 163 yards and three TDs on just seven carries while Petrone added 87 yards on nine carries. Raymond Petrone also had a TD rush for the Wasps.
For Otter Valley (5-5), Dominyk Waite had a 55-yard TD catch from Zach Dragon and Issac Whitney scored on from 1-yard out.
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.