"I knew the whole time I could and should make that kick," Farris said. "We didn't even think about going for (a touchdown)."

Farris had reason to be confident. He made four of his five field goal attempts for Pinkerton Academy last season. His longest field goal came from 46 yards.

"We wanted to give him the opportunity to win the game," New Hampshire coach Keith Jones said. "We had time to run another play (seven seconds), but I asked him about the kick and he said, 'I got it.' That's all I needed to know. Give credit to the kid. That was a pressure kick."

Farris, who led Pinkerton to the Division I title last season, was New Hampshire's brightest star. He was the only New Hampshire quarterback who took a snap and completed 16 of his 32 pass attempts for 232 yards. He threw three TD passes and was intercepted twice.

"He's a super player," Vermont coach Dennis Perry said. "We came to win. We felt we could get a shot at a field goal (in the final seconds) and it backfired."

The victory increased New Hampshire's edge in the series to 39-13-2. Vermont's last victory came in the 2000 game.

Vermont may have been the team celebrating if it wasn't for a timely play by the New Hampshire defense. Vermont elected to go for a first down on a fourth-and-one situation from New Hampshire's 15-yard line with 3:06 to play, but Vermont's David Velazquez was stopped for no gain.

After the game, Perry expressed regret for not attempting a field goal in that situation.

"We should have kicked a field goal down there," he said. 'The players wanted to go for it. When the players say they'll get it for you, you trust them."

Neither team scored in the opening quarter, but New Hampshire carried a 20-6 lead into halftime. Farris threw all three of his TD passes in the second quarter. Plante caught a 3-yard TD pass to open the scoring, Andre Garron scored on a slant route that covered 30 yards and Laliberte hauled in a 60-yard TD pass with 2:06 left in the half.

"We just dug too deep a hole for ourselves in the first half," Perry said.

Vermont rallied to tie the game by scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter. Corey Robinson's pass to Matthew Littler on a two-point conversion attempt tied the game, 20-20, with 2:05 remaining in the third.

A Vermont victory, or the third tie in the event's history, looked like the only possible outcomes until Laliberte came up with New Hampshire's fourth interception of the game. All of the second-half points came on the possession following a turnover.

"Knowing that my whole team was counting on me -- I couldn't let them down," Farris said.

Extra Points

Farris will play football at Phillips Andover Academy this season and hopes to kick and play quarterback in college after that. He said he doesn't kick off a block because he felt kicking off the ground would make him more attractive to college recruiters. ... Vermont had the edge in first downs (21-19) and passing yards (273-232), but New Hampshire had more rushing yardage (131-78) and more total offense (363-351). ...Farris and Steve Travaglini (Bishop Guertin) each had a team-high 41 yards rushing. Plante (Winnacunnet) led New Hampshire in receptions (seven) and receiving yardage (81). Vermont's Marcus Hass (U-32) made seven catches for a game-high 130 yards. ... Robinson (Otter Valley) completed 12 of 23 pass attempts for 160 yards and one TD. Reynolds (Rutland)completed seven of 21 pass attempts for 113 yards, but was intercepted three times. ... Exeter's Troy Wilcox led New Hampshire with six tackles. ... Vermont defensive end Robert Keene (U-32) made a game-high 10 tackles. ... Next year's Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl will be played on Aug. 2.

New Hampshire 23, Vermont 20

Scoring summary

First Quarter

No scoring

Second Quarter

NH--Plante 3 pass from Farris (kick failed), 11:12
NH--Garron 30 pass from Farris (Farris kick), 9:21
VT--Hass 16 pass from Reynolds (kick blocked), 2:23
NH--Laliberte 60 pass from Farris (Farris kick), 2:06

Third Quarter

VT--Robinson 1 run (rush failed), 7:58
VT--Plumley 12 pass from Robinson (Littler pass from Robinson), 3:31

Fourth Quarter

NH--Farris FG, 27, 0:03