Vt. HS Boys D-2, 3 and 4 title previews by the numbers

As part of my prep to cover the Divisions 2, 3 and 4 high school boys state championship game, here’s a look at three match-ups strictly by the numbers.

One interesting note to start you off, in each division there is a team that has never won a state title. Having three teams win their first state title - especially in that venue - on the same day would be a spectacle.

Division 2

No. 7 Enosburg (15-8) vs. No. 1 Woodstock (23-0), 3:45 p.m.

With a win over the undefeated Wasps the Enosburg Hornets would make history in a couple regards.

The Hornets have never won a state title in boys basketball and they would be the lowest seed to ever win a Division 2 title. Back in 1980, Winooski was a No. 6 seed and won the title.

The last time Enosburg competed for a title was in 1992. The other title-game losses were in 1984, 1986, 1987 and 1991.

The Hornets are a young team and after a 1-5 start it’s remarkable they are playing for the title. With this youth, this could be the start of a long run of trips to The Aud.

This is the first title game appearance for Woodstock since 2002. The Wasps have won four state titles and this is their 11th title game appearance. Their last title win was in 1999. They won the 1998, 1965 and 1964 titles, as well.

The teams did not play each other this season and have never met in the playoffs.

Division 3

No. 4 Rivendell (19-4) vs. No. 3 Williamstown (19-4), 7:30 p.m.

Unlike in Division II where the teams are unknown to each other, the Rivendell-Williamstown recent playoff history is reaching epic proportions, but only the Blue Devils are happy about that.

The teams have met on the bouncy Barre Auditorium floor for the last three seasons.

Williamstown is seeking its fourth straight title. Do the math. The Blue Devils have been the hammer in this relationship and the Raptors have been the nail.

Here are those past meetings

2014 - Semifinals - Williamstown 67, Rivendell 41
2013 - Semifinals - Williamstown 60, Rivendell 54
2012 - Finals - Williamstown 66, Rivendell 42
Also
2006 - First round - Williamstown 59, Rivendell 49.

The teams played twice in the regular season
Feb. 6 - Williamstown 64, Rivendell 59
Feb. 18 - Williamstown 77, Rivendell 58

If Rivendell can overcome all of those past defeats and win Saturday’s game, they’re be many reasons to rejoice - including a first-ever boys basketball title for the school.

The only other time the Raptors were in the finals was in 2012.

Williamstown would run it’s title streak to four straight with a win and it would be the seventh in school history. This is the fifth finals appearance in six years for the Blue Devils, who have built an impressive dynasty.

The Blue Devils - one of three teams to make the finals despite opening-game losses - started the season 1-3. They are 18-1 since.

Division 4

No. 4 Proctor (17-6) vs. No. 3 Sharon (20-3), noon

Sharon has the better record, better seed and a rabid fan base, but Proctor has the pedigree.

The Sharon Academy - fans serenaded the players with chants of T-S-A! in the semis - is playing in its’ first state title game.

Proctor is playing in its’ 23rd.

The teams did not play in the regular season.

The met once in the playoffs.

2007 - Semifinals - Proctor 50, Sharon 34

Proctor’s last title was in 2010 - the last of five straight championships.

Enosburg, BFA-St. Albans and BFA-Fairfax girls basketball quarterfinal numbers and notes

A trio of Franklin County girls basketball teams will attempt to reach their respective high school basketball semifinals with quarterfinal wins today (a fourth and a certain Division I girls hockey program of note are also still alive in their playoffs, but I'll post about them late tonight or tomorrow morning).

The only local team playing in the county are the third-seeded BFA-Fairfax girls (19-2) which hosts No. 6 Fair Haven (16-5) tonight at 7 p.m.

The Bullets are having a history-making season.

This season they have won their first Division II playoff game (their first playoff game in any division in nine years) and their 18-2 regular season mark is tied for the school record with a team back in 1981 which won the school's lone state title.

Fairfax is aiming for its first Final Four berth since 2003 and it's first state title game since 2000.

Chace Carpenter led the team with 25 points in their first playoff game, a 53-26 win over No. 14 Vergennes. Meghan Bochanski added 12 points. Kayla Baczewski has also averaged scoring in double figures this season for the defensively sound Bullets.

Fair Haven is seeking its seventh trip to the Final Four and third in four years. The Slaters have not won a state title (0-3 in title games) and their last appearance in one was in 2001.

Fair Haven won its first round playoff game 36-20 over Otter Valley. Bethany Lanfear had 10 points and Lindsey Marcy and Alexis Ellis had six points apiece.

The eighth-seeded BFA-St. Albans girls basketball team (12-9) take on top-seeded and undefeated CVU (21-0) tonight at 7 p.m. in Hinesburg.

The Comets won their opening playoff game 45-26 over Burr and Burton thanks to 10 points from Eva Clark and nine from Lauren Larose.

The Redhawks had a bye in the first round.

CVU won two regular season meetings 48-27 and 50-33.

This is the seventh all-time playoff meeting between the schools.

2012 - CVU 39, BFA 32 - Quarters

2010 - CVU 43, BFA 29 - Playdowns

2008 - CVU 53, BFA 45 - Semis

2007 - BFA 76, CVU 51 - Quarters

1996 - CVU 68, BFA 52 - Semis

1988 - BFA 56, CVU 40 - Playdowns

BFA is seeking its 16th trip to the Final Four and sixth trip to the finals. BFA has won a pair of state titles, the last of which came in 1994. Their last state title game was in 2009.

CVU is seeking its 17th trip to the Final Four and third straight. The Redhawks have lost to Rice in the last two state final games and have lost in the last six state championships in which it has played. Their last title came in 1987. CVU has won three state titles.

Back in Division III, the sixth-seeded Enosburg Hornets (15-6) will play at No. 3 Thetford (16-5) tonight at 7 p.m.

Enosburg has its' sights set on a seventh trip to the Final Four in eight seasons. The Hornets are 42-33 all time in the playoffs and lost in the state title game last year to Oxbow. Enosburg has been to the Final Four 16 times.

Enosburg has won three state titles, the last of which came in 2008.

McKenzie Gleason had 22 points and Chole Longe had 12 in a first-round playoff win for the Hornets over Oxbow.

Five of Enosburg's six losses are to teams in Division II and its one Division III loss was a one-point defeat to top-seeded Hazen.

Enosburg played a slew of close games down the stretch, going 5-2 in games decided by five points or less.

This is the fifth playoff meeting between the schools.

2000 - Thetford 56, Enosburg 46 - Playdowns

1999 - Enosburg 52, Thetford 49 - Quarters

1985 - Enosburg 43, Thetford 42 - Quarters

1980 - Thetford 39, Enosburg 38 - Quarters

Thetford has never won a state title (0-3) in state title games and is looking for its second straight trip to the Final Four.

The Panthers last reached the title game in 2005 and a win would give them their 11 appearance in the Final Four.

Shayann Josler had 21 points and nine assists and Michaela Pomeroy scored 14 points in a first-round 51-30 playoff win over No. 14 Northfield.

SHAWN CORROW, who should really find better ways to spend rare sunny March days than writing on his blog, is the owner of Cold Hollow Photography, a freelance sports journalist and addicted to Storage Wars and Seinfield.

Boys basketball, hockey quaterfinal preview notes

As I prepare to head to Vergennes for the third straight year to cover the VPA high school cheer championships, my mind wandered to the five local teams also competing in the postseason today.

As local fans arise and take their morning coffee, here's some numbers to go with your Cheerioes before you embark on another day of March Madness, Franklin County style.

With apologies to the three local teams competing in the basketball quarterfinals, I'll start with the lone game that pits two Franklin County schools and the only one being played close to home.

At 4:30 today at the Collins-Perley Sports and Fitness Center Rink (Isn't about time we renamed this the rink after one of the local luminaries who helped build Hockeytown? But, as usual, I digress.) the 10th-seeded MVU T-Birds (5-14-1) visit No. 7 BFA (9-9-2).

BFA swept the season series, but the past playoff meetings between these long-time rivals have been pretty fairly split, although it's been a dozen years since the schools have met in the playoffs.

Here's the past tournament results.

1974 - BFA 7, MVU 2 - Quarterfinals

1985 - MVU 4, BFA 2 - Quarterfinals

1993 - BFA 3, MVU 0 - Quarterfinals

1998 - BFA 9, MVU 0 - Quarterfinals

1999 - BFA 10, MVU 0 - Quarterfinals

2001 - MVU 4, BFA 2 - Quarterfinals

BFA is 68-25 overall in the Division I playoffs - 1-0 in playdown games, 41-19 in quarterfinals, 24-11 in semifinals and 16-8 in finals.

MVU is 12-33 overall in the Division I and II playoffs combined - 8-30 in Division I with a 2-3 record in semifinals and 0-2 in finals; 4-3 overall in D-II playoffs, 1-0 in semis and 1-0 in finals.

In Division I basketball, MVU also is competing in the quarterfinals which in and of itself a notable accomplishment.

The Thunderbirds, seeded #9 with a 13-8 record, travel to St. Johnsbury to face the top-seeded and undefeated Hilltoppers (21-0) at 2 p.m.

This is just the second time in school history the T-Birds have advanced to the Division I quarterfinals.

Back in 1986, MVU defeated CVU in the playdown round 70-53 before falling to - coincidentally St. Johnsbury - 64-62 in the quarterfinals. MVU's only other Division I playoff win before this week's win at BFA was in 1980 when the T-Birds defeated Middlebury in a play-in game, 51-44.

MVU is now 10-31 all-time in boys basketball playoff action with a 3-29 mark in Division I and a 7-2 mark in Division II.

Turning your attention to Division III, if you want to win a bet on the way to the game today ask someone to guess how many boys basketball titles the BFA-Fairfax and Enosburg schools have combined to win in their long histories. The answer, incredibly, is none. When you think back on all the truly great teams - in the distant past and recent past - there have been at these schools it's astonishing to think they are a combined oh-fer-forever in title games.

That could change this year, but each team faces a long bus ride to face a relatively unfamiliar foe.

The fifth-seeded Hornets (15-6) travel to take on No. 4 Rivendell (17-4) at 2 p.m. in Orford, N.H. Yes, New Hampshire. Evidently at some point Vermont traded Canaan to New Hamsphire and in return we got a elven enclave. (OK, I'm joking, I think. Having never been to Rivendell (do you pass through The Shire to get there) I have no idea. OK, done with my nerdy Lord of the Rings references ... maybe.)

The schools have met twice in the playoffs with the Raptors (how this team is not named the Elves astounds me) winning 49-41 in the playdown round and Enosburg taking a 80-74 playdown win in 2003.

Enosburg is 28-36 in its combined Division II and III playoff history. The Hornets are 25-28 in the D-III playoffs with a 5-5 record in the semifinals and 0-5 mark in the finals. The Hornets are 3-8 in the Division II tournament (which they will play in again starting next season) and they are 0-1 in their lone D-II semifinal appearance.

The BFA-Fairfax Bullets are the No. 6 seed for the third straight year and sport a 15-6 mark headed into today's 2 p.m. quarterfinals game at No. 3 Leland & Gray (16-5).

What's a Leland & Gray and where is it? The second part of the question is Townshend - I know that doesn't help much - but alledgedly it is in Vermont somewhere, more precisely Windham County. Again, I've never been to either of those places, so it could be a internet hoax. Here are the directions from the school's website.

Here's a little more about the school you might want to know ... or not.

From the school's website: Townshend is situated in the southeastern corner of VT, approximately 20 miles northwest of Brattleboro. Townshend and the towns of Brookline, Jamaica, Newfane, and Windham comprise the union high school district. The total student population of Windham Central Supervisory Union is 884. (2009)

But what of the name? The school was founded in 1833 by a minister named Leland and 27 years later a deacon named Gray pumped a bunch of money into it to keep it a float (I am paraphrasing from info on the school's website) and the school was renamed for both men. Of course, being founded as a seminary by religious patrons, the school adopted a Rebel as a mascot. OK, I'm being saracastic. I mean, how are they not the Deacons? At any rate, for my money the school's real claim to fame is it's the only school in Vermont with an ampersand in it's official name. Burr and Burton uses the word, not the symbol. Why I know this, I have no idea.

OK, assuming you didn't leave me four paragraphs ago, here's what you need to know about BFA-Fairfax's playoff history with and their meeting with the ill-named Rebels.

BFA-Fairfax, as I wrote 10 minutes ago, is the sixth seed for the third straight year. This is notable because the last two years, they lost in the first round, but this year - ostensibly to shake things up - most of the team shaved their heads into mohawks. It worked as the Bullets avenged a 2012 playdown loss to Windsor and advanced to today's quarterfinals where, with a win, they will advance to their third Final Four in five years.

This is the fourth meeting between the schools in the playoffs. If the scores of the first three are any indication, the winning team will score either 74 or 76 points and the losing team will score either 64 or 69.

How do I know this? Here's their past scores.

1977 - L&G 76, Fairfax 64 - Quarterfinals

1995 - L&G 74, Fairfax 69 - Playdowns

2004 - Fairfax 76, L&G 69 - Playdowns

Fairfax has a 30-48 record all-time in the playoffs; 29-44 in Division III, including a 3-7 record in the semifinals and 0-3 in the finals. The Bullets are 1-4 in D-II playoffs.

Good luck to all teams competing in the postseason today, including the BFA-St. Albans and BFA-Fairfax cheerleading squads which will be competing for the state championship today in Vergennes at 4 p.m. BFA-Fairfax, the two-time defending D-II champs, will compete in Division I this year, as will the BFA-St. Albans cheer teams.

2011-12 Winter Sports Photo list

Youth Hockey

SASA U-10 Girls vs. Hanover, Nov. 19, 2011

SASA Bantam A vs. Barre Bantam A, Nov. 19, 2011

SASA Squirt B vs. Essex Squirt B, Nov. 19, 2011

SASA U-14 B girls vs. Lamoille, Nov. 19, 2011

SASA Bantam B vs. SASA U-14 girls, Nov. 19, 2011

SASA U-12 girls vs. MAHA U-12 girls, Nov. 19, 2011

Thanksgiving Tournament

Maple City Face-Off Tournament

High School Boys Basketball

Stowe at Enosburg, Jan. 5, 2012

BFA-Fairfax at Enosburg boys basketball, Jan. 10, 2012

South Hero at JFK M.S. Boys A Jan. 17, 2012

Enosburg at Richford J.V. boys, Jan. 18, 2012

Enosburg at Richford Varsity Boys, Jan. 18, 2012

Richford vs.Winooski, J.V. Boys, Jan. 20, 2012

Richford vs. Winooski, Varsity Boys, Jan. 20, 2012

High School Girls Basketball

Enosburg at BFA-Fairfax, Jan. 6. 2012

Enosburg at MVU girls basketball, Jan. 9, 2012

Hazen at Richford Varsity girls, Jan. 21, 2012

Hazen at Richford JV Girls, Jan. 21, 2012

MVU at BFA-Fairfax 8th Grade Girls Basketball, Jan. 23, 2012

MVU at BFA-Fairfax 7th Grade Girls Basketball, Jan. 23, 2012

Enosburg at Winooski, Varsity girls, Jan. 24, 2012

Enosburg at Winooski, JV girls Jan. 24, 2012

High School Girls Hockey

MVU at Essex, Jan. 7. 2012

For galleries from past seasons, here are some quick links. You can also scroll down the page at www.coldhollowphoto.com and you can see the past photo galleries.

2011 Fall sports list

2011 spring sports list

2010-11 winter sports list

2010 fall sports list

2010 summer sports list

2010 spring sports list

2009-10 winter sports list

Friends, rivals meet in Richford

I'm so old I remember when Cagney Brigham and Steve Jette were kids.

I covered their high school careers as sports editor at the St. Albans Messenger. (The photo I took of Cagney after the Division III baseball championship game is one I'm most proud of taking.)

But now these kids are men. They are still friends from their playing days at Enosburg and their short time coaching the Enosburg boys basketball team together.

Cagney now leads the Richford boys. Jette is still at the helm in the 'Burg.

Tuesday, they crossed paths professionally for the first time.

Here's an article I wrote on the pair for examiner.com.

And a slideshow from the game - hundreds of more photos will be on my website for instant 99-cent download later this week.

SHAWN CORROW, when he's not feeling older by the day, is owner of Cold Hollow Photography, maintains this blog and sometimes even updates his channel on Examiner.com. Have a story idea, please let me know and I'll do my best to oblige.