White River Junction
The Hurricanes improved to 4-2 by trouncing the winless Colonels before a large home crowd on their third annual Patriot Night, an event that paid tribute to U.S. veterans.
The Vermont Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association ushered in Friday’s festive atmosphere with a group of about 15 riders, who revved their engines in unison as the Canes took the field. The bikes then made their way south along the home sideline prior to kickoff.
The Hurricane’s three-headed rushing monster of Zach Burek (208 yards), Nick Porter (117 yards) and Reece Thompson (107 yards rushing, 20 receiving yards) comprised a formidable wrecking crew.
“Our offense is set up that we all get even carries, and we’re all weapons,” Burek said.
Brattleboro (0-6) got off to a good start by returning Nick Cameron’s opening kickoff 45 yards. The Colonels went on to score on a short touchdown pass from Tyler Millerick to Adam Newton, but the wheels came off the visitor’s bus shortly after, starting with a blocked extra-point attempt by the Hurricanes.
Hartford responded quickly with a 25-yard kickoff return on a reverse play by Porter; Burek rushed for 25 yards on second down; the Canes’ sophomore quarterback, Cole Jasmin, found Riley Packard for a 15-yard pass, caught from the prone position; Burek rushed again for 10 yards; and Thompson capped the drive with a 5-yard TD run. It was all Hurricanes from that point on.
It was a balanced attack by the Hartford offense: Burek rushed for three touchdowns, including a 60-yard run in the second quarter; Thompson and Porter each ran for two touchdowns; and Dylan Tucker added a rushing touchdown. Burek also ran in a two-point conversion, and Kobe Peach booted four extra points on the night.
The score was 54-12 to start the fourth quarter, which initiated a running clock and provided mercy for the Colonels.
Following Friday’s lopsided victory, Hartford moved into a tie for second place in the D-I standings with Rice, which lost to Rutland, 49-26, on Friday. Rutland improved to 5-1, and Mt. Mansfield and Burlington-South Burlington, both 4-1, will meet today.
“At this point in the season, a lot of teams are either plateauing or they’re still peaking,” Burek said. “We plan to keep getting better as the weeks go on.”
The Hurricanes will host Mount Mansfield next week, then travel to Essex the following week to close out the regular season. If all goes well in the next two games, Hartford could host multiple home playoff games on its quest for a third consecutive state championship game appearance.
“It’s always nice to have a home game for the playoffs,” Canes coach Matt Trombly said. “But our first priority is we want to get into the playoffs healthy, and our second concern is where we’re seeded.”
Each of Hartford’s seven seniors chose a retired military member to honor on Friday, and those recipients were presented with game jerseys in a postgame ceremony.
“We definitely play for the veterans, and it’s a really big deal to our coaches,” Burek said in regards to the special event. “So we give it our all.”
Friday’s proceedings were concluded with a rendition of Taps in honor of fallen heroes.
Notes: Porter limped off the field late in the first half and didn’t return to the game. Trombly said Porter, who was on crutches during the postgame ceremony, rolled his ankle and is expected to return for next week’s penultimate regular season game. … Freshman Colin Vielleux took over at QB early in the fourth quarter. … Hartford’s honorary captain was Rob Bebeau, a Vietnam veteran. Bebeau played football, basketball and baseball as a member of Hartford’s class of 1962 and was drafted by the Army in 1965.