White River Junction
That was the plan. What had started in the spring as a simple gesture grew into the Canes’ first Patriots Game, with Hartford players plowing away in commemorative jerseys, more than a half-dozen veterans’ organizations taking part and current service members milling about through a healthy early autumn crowd.
Hartford (3-0 league, 3-1 overall) did its part on the field, overwhelming the Bobwhites (1-3) in every aspect of the game. The Hurricanes then did their part afterward, handing muddied — but now memorable — uniforms to the military families they wished to recognize.
“We were trying to think of something we could do to show community support, how to bring the town together a little bit, something bigger than football,” Hartford coach Matt Trombley said. “We thought it was a pretty good cause, showing our veterans and service people our thanks for doing what they do.”
Hartford players wore special shirts for the night: gray with white sleeves and red numbers, each adorned by the name of an active service member, a veteran or someone lost in battle. As all learned through the process, it isn’t difficult to track the town’s connections to the armed forces, especially given the number of ex-Canes who have enlisted in the years since leaving high school.
Brian Bettis, a former Shrine Bowl lineman for Hartford in the early 1990s, joined the Army out of college in 1998. A military police officer by trade and now a major in the inspector general’s office at the Pentagon, Bettis only realized the depth of the school’s and town’s armed forces connections by returning home to speak to students on Friday.
“Very surreal,” Bettis confessed. “Today I spent the entire day with the principal and the school, and I gave a couple of leadership speeches. Just to see the camaraderie, of the teachers, the students and the community, that’s what’s really cool about coming back home.”
As the idea grew, Trombley and other event organizers added a color guard and contacted various other veterans’ support groups and invited them to attend. Flags of the various services adorned the Hartford bleachers. A trumpeter from the school’s pep band played Taps to silence at halftime.
Those arriving to attend the game weren’t going to get much help from the roster sheet. Instead of their own names, Hurricanes either bore those of the recent past — Fernandes, Martin, Stone, to name a few — who enlisted in the years after football or who owned some other association to the services.
“We followed through with it, and it came out really great,” said Potter, a senior lineman who chose his late grandfather, Allie Potter Jr., as the veteran he wanted to honor. “We’re happy to be supporting our veterans and playing for them.”
Hartford state Rep. Gabrielle Lucke — whose son, Matthew, plays on the Hurricane line — used her contacts on the Vermont House Military Affairs Committee to also get the word out to support groups. Donations paid for the jerseys.
“We’re excited,” she said. “This is a first, and we hope it’s the start of a new Hartford Hurricanes tradition.”
Winning football games in dominating fashion also is a Hartford habit, one extended to the Bobwhites’ detriment on Friday.
The Hurricanes held BFA without a first down and limited the visitors to just 29 total offensive yards. Hunter Perkins, Tyler Hamilton and Brett MacLaren all scored two touchdowns for Hartford, which owned a 20-0 lead after one quarter and was never tested.
Perkins got it started with a 9-yard TD run midway thought the opening quarter. Hamilton added to that one play after a BFA fumble, securing a 26-yard scoring pass from Gavin Farnsworth (6-of-9, 153 yards, 2 TDs). MacLaren scored from the 8 and Farnsworth linked with Hamilton on a 42-yard toss for a 27-0 halftime advantage.
MacLaren, Perkins and Porter added touchdown jaunts in the second half. Hamilton finished with an even 200 offensive yards between runs and catches.
“We’re close; we’re still not there yet and have a ways to go,” said Trombley, whose team is among the top four in Vermont Division I at the season’s halfway point.
“We’re still committing penalties we shouldn’t commit, missing assignments and little things like that. We’re not quite where we want to be execution-wise, but I think we’ll get there over time.”
Audibles: Farnsworth wore a jersey in honor of the late Jeffrey Holmes, a Hartford High graduate who died in fighting for the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2004. Holmes’ name is now attached to the town’s American Legion post. … Hartford ran for 311 yards, amassed 454 total offensive yards, compiled 20 first downs and forced three turnovers, all of which were converted for touchdowns. … Perkins went 3-for-6 on point-after kicks and MacLaren ran for a conversion to complete Hartford’s scoring. … The Canes travel to Rice a week from today.
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.