WHITE RIVER JUNCTION —In football circles, the initials N.D. are typically associated with the storied Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Friday at Hartford High, however, it was another N.D. — running back Nick Daniels — who made a name for himself.

Daniels ran for two touchdowns to help the Hurricanes advance to the program’s 21st state title game with a 20-17 defeat of Middlebury. The junior ran 45 yards for a second-quarter touchdown before adding an 18-yard touchdown run for what became the winning points.

Daniels is part of a stable of Hartford ball carriers that includes quarterback Brayden Trombly and running backs Ezra Mock, Brody Tyburski and Austin St. Peter. They have helped Hartford become 10-0. The top-seeded Hurricanes will play second-seeded Burr & Burton (9-1) in Saturday’s division final at Rutland High.

“It’s tough to account for all the kids who can carry the ball,” said 10th-year Hartford coach Matt Trombly. Daniels “stepped up when his number was called. He runs hard and is tough to tackle one on one.”

Utilizing a high-tempo offense, Trombly had 125 rushing yards in 15 carries and a touchdown and Daniels added another 94 yards in six carries.

Middlebury (6-4) took a 3-0 lead on a field goal that capped its first drive. That foray was set up when a Trombly punt deflected off one of his blockers and handed the ball to the visitors at Hartford’s 30-yard line.

The Hurricanes responded with a six-play, 56-yard drive ended when Trombly ran 18 yards up the middle for a touchdown. The Tigers retook the lead at 10-6 during in the second quarter on a drive aided by three Hartford penalties. The hosts committed nine fouls for a combined 80 yards.

““We can’t win a title with the kind of mistakes we had,” Matt Trombly said. “It’s not typical football for us and is something we should be able to clean up.”

Daniels’ first touchdown and a successful extra point put Hartford up, 13-10, heading into halftime. Hartford possessed the ball most of the third quarter and kept Middlebury pinned deep in its end.

Daniels scored again during the third quarter after Hartford took advantage of a 12-yard punt by Middlebury from its 11-yard line. The hosts led, 20-10, but the Tigers used a pair of 15-yard Hurricanes penalties to drive 73 yards and score on a 19-yard touchdown pass that made the score 20-17 with four minutes remaining.

“Our defense tackled well and didn’t give up big plays,” Matt Trombly said. “We were disciplined enough to weather the storm.”

The coach praised Andrew Keenan, who recovered a fumble to snuff out a Tigers drive. 

“Andrew is a leader on both sides of the ball,” Trombly said. “He’s a beast that teams have to account for. He made key tackles when he needed to.”

In other local high school football playoff semifinal action, Woodstock downed Mill River, 13-7, on Friday, and Windsor routed Springfield, 45-15, on Saturday. The results set up a meeting Saturday in Rutland between the top-seeded Wasps (9-1) and the second-seeded Yellowjackets (8-1) for the Vermont Division III crown.

Woodstock won the neighboring rivals’ regular-season meeting, 36-15, while Windsor is the two-time defending state champion. Windsor defeated Woodstock in the 2021 state semifinals. The Wasps’ last crown came in 2018.