Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

Teams that compete in the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl rarely lack talent in the offensive backfield, but some years are better than others. This appears to be one of those years.

The Vermont defense will be facing a New Hampshire team led by Nashua South quarterback Billy Ferriter, a run-pass threat who was the state's Gatorade Player of the Year. Ferriter, who will play baseball at the University of Connecticut, completed 99 of 159 pass attempts for 1,012 yards during his senior season. He also rushed for 1,269 yards and 21 touchdowns.

If Ferriter doesn't have the ball, Londonderry running back Alex Theodhosi likely will. Theodhosi set a school record by rushing for 2,041 yards last season. He also scored 28 TDs.

Steve Miller, who gained 1,440 yards on the ground in 1999, held the school's previous rushing record. Theodhosi, who will play football at Brown, was named New Hampshire's Mr. Football for the 2007 season.

The Vermont backfield will feature South Burlington running back Taylor DeVarney, Windsor running back Trevor Varney and U-32 fullback M.J. Rus.

Varney rushed for 2,612 yards as a senior. DeVarney finished his senior season with 1,913 rushing yards, and Rus gained 1,015 yards and scored 17 touchdowns on 145 carries (7 yards per carry).

• Bishop Guertin, which lost to Exeter in the Division II championship game, has more players on the New Hampshire roster (three) than any other school. BG will be represented by Nick Croteau, Jamie Moore and Tim Tuttle. Croteau, who lives in Pepperell, Mass., is the only player selected to play in the game who does not reside in either Vermont or New Hampshire.
• Vermont coach Mike Law selected four players from his U-32 team: Rus, tackle Philip Hall, running back Tucker LaClair and quarterback Ethan Sylvain. Sylvain, who is also a defensive back, missed several games last season following knee surgery. He was also suspended for U-32's playoff game against Spaulding. The Vermont roster also includes four players from Rutland and four from Middlebury.
• Linebacker Peter Lynch is Hartford's only representative on the Vermont roster. Hartford won last year's Division I championship.
• Manchester West (Division I) and Dover (Division II) are the only teams that made the playoffs last season that do not have a representative on the New Hampshire roster.
• Vermont has 34 schools that play varsity football. New Hampshire has added four varsity programs since the end of the 2007 season and will have 55 teams spread across six divisions in 2008.
• New Hampshire has won the last seven games and has a 39-13-2 edge in the all-time series. Vermont's last victory came in 2000 (47-40).
• Pinkerton Academy tackle Josh Lane will be a scholarship player at the University of New Hampshire next season.
• This year's game will be played Aug. 2 at Dartmouth's Memorial Field. Practice begins July 23 at Kimball Union Academy.