Castleton, Vt. — Not even five turnovers could stall Vermont’s momentum in the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl.
Fair Haven Union’s Dylan Ellis scored two touchdowns — one after a nifty spin move on a reception and the other on a dash to the left pylon — and the Green Mountain State held New Hampshire to just 122 yards of offense in a 19-0 win at Castleton University’s Spartan Stadium.
It’s Vermont’s first shutout win in the series in 46 years and, combined with last year’s 50-2 victory, marks its first consecutive victories in the charity all-star football game since capturing three straight from 1975-77.
It may have been more lopsided but for four lost Vermont fumbles and an interception, two of the giveaways coming on goal-to-goal scenarios in the first half.
New Hampshire, which also lost two fumbles, not once took advantage, punting six times and turning the football over on downs on four occasions.
Vermont found its tempo early, as Burr & Burton quarterback Griff Stalcup connected on seven of his first nine throws. New Hampshire platooned starter Joe Bernard (Bishop Brady) and backup Jeff Baldassari (Nashua North) and never established rhythm.
Still, it was only a 10-0 game at halftime after Vermont fumbled the ball away three times in the red zone.
“There wasn’t any quit in these guys and, to be honest, we weren’t too worried about the fumbles,” said Vermont coach Bob Lockerby, of 2016 Division II champion Bellows Falls. “The way our offense was moving the ball, we were still confident. And our defense carried the day.”
Mill River product Mike Morgan — cleared to play just two weeks ago after recovering from a broken knee — was 2-for-2 on field goals, including a 35-yarder to make it 3-0 early in the second quarter.
New Hampshire fumbled it back at its own 30-yard line on the first play of the ensuing drive, and Vermont had third-and-goal from inside the 1 when BF back Jahyde Bullard coughed it up while crossing the goal line as the Granite State dug the football out of a pile in the end zone.
Vermont’s Brent Nickerson, of Otter Valley High, fumbled it away again on first-and-goal from the 6, but the Green Mountain State’s offense didn’t becoming demoralized.
“We built a lot of chemistry and brotherhood this week, so we refused to get down on ourselves,” said Vermont center Khant Thu, of Hartford. “We maintained our confidence.”
It finally showed on the Green Mountain State’s final drive of the half, Stalcup finding Ellis for 9 yards before scrambling for 13 and a first down at the 11. Stalcup located Ellis again under duress and the Slaters’ receiver did the rest, twirling away from a collision over the middle to make it 10-0 at halftime.
“We should have been up 31-0, but we shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times there,” Stalcup said. “But they couldn’t stop us. We knew the points were going to come.”
The Granite State came out with intensity at the start of the second half, as Stevens’ Richard Bell recovered a muffed Vermont punt return. Timberlane’s Trevor Guilmette later picked off a throw from a scrambling Stalcup to give New Hampshire the ball near midfield, but it stayed a two-score game through three quarters.
Bernard (7-for-19, 52 yards) overthrew well-covered receivers, and Hartford lineman Bailey Nott had two pass breakups during one series.
Baldassari (1-for-5, 6 yards) mostly handed the ball off, but New Hampshire was held to 64 yards on the ground and a 2.6-yards per carry average.
“We knew we’d be sacrificing some continuity (by platooning quarterbacks), but to me it’s in the spirit of the game that everyone plays,” said Granite State coach Bob Cathcart, of Trinity. “We moved the ball well at times but couldn’t get it going with any consistency, and you have to give Vermont’s defense credit for that. They were bigger than us, and they did a good job getting to the ball.”
Morgan tacked on a 20-yard field goal early in the fourth to make it 13-0, and New Hampshire punted from the end zone on its next possession. Rice receiver Alex Bond had an 11-yard return to set up Vermont inside the 30, and Ellis found paydirt again from 17 yards out on an off-tackle draw play, outpacing New Hampshire pursuers to nick the pylon and make it 19-0 (Morgan missed the PAT).
Both teams chewed the clock from there, as the Granite State used nearly four minutes to get from its 20 to the Vermont 35 before Nott tackled Merrimack’s Justin Weiser for a 6-yard loss and a turnover on downs with five minutes to play.
Even though he had two field goals, Morgan’s most impressive kick came at the end of Vermont’s following drive. A bad snap sent the ball skidding well into the backfield. Morgan scooped it up and appeared in big trouble, but he eluded several tackles on the right sideline before nailing a towering kick on the run.
New Hampshire’s Evan Martin (Merrimack Valley) ran backward and sideways on the return, forced out of bounds at the 7-yard line.
Once again, Vermont made something positive out of what appeared destined for disaster.
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.
Correction
Fair Haven Union High School's Dylan Ellis ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl on Saturday. A photo caption in the Sunday Valley News incorrectly reversed his first and last name.