Shrine Camp: Day 5
Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
It was more of the same for the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl teams at Kimball Union Academy on Monday. Vermont spent a lot of time throwing the football, and New Hampshire spent a lot of time defending the pass.
"I really didn't think the kids would take to it this fast -- especially the offense," Vermont coach Charlie Burnett said. "Perhaps for the quarterbacks our offense is tougher to learn than most, but outside of those guys I would argue that it's easier."
Vermont will run a no-huddle, spread offense in which the center calls the cadence. It's the same offense Burnett ran at Essex High School last fall.
Burnett led Essex to an 11-0 record and the Division I championship last season, his second as the program's head coach. Essex used a four-wide set and scored 500 points in 11 games.
New Hampshire coach Ken Sciacca said he expects to substitute defensive linemen frequently in an attept to keep pressure on the Vermont quarterbacks. He also said no New Hampshire player will start on both sides of the ball.
"That's at the start," Sciacca emphasized. "At the end we'll do whatever we have to to win the game."
Sciacca said lineman Jesse Green (Winnacunnet), split end Ryan Simpson (Pinkerton Academy) and linebacker Brian Bozek (Laconia) will serve as New Hampshire's captains for this year's game, which will be played Saturday at Windsor (Vt.) High School. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Sciacca said Nashua North's Dylan Brodeur will likely start at quarterback, but added that Souhegan QB D.J. Petropulos will also get plenty of playing time. Petropulos, Timberlane running back Derek Furey and Manchester Central running back Mike Cavanaugh are the only New Hampshire players who are not practicing at a defensive position.
Footnotes
There are seven Essex players on the Vermont roster, but two Essex players who will play FCS football next season will not play in the game. Quarterback Max Librizzi is headed to Holy Cross. He was selected to the Vermont roster, but chose not to play. Receiver Evan McCrea suffered a foot injury during lacrosse season and will redshirt his first season at Colgate. Burnett said McCrea would have been the best receiver on the Vermont roster. ... New Hampshire has 13 players on its roster with a listed weight of 215 or above. Vermont lists 11 players who weigh at least 215. ... Starters for each team are expected to be named Wednesday. ... The New Hampshire coaching staff has more than 200 years of varsity coaching experience. In addition to Sciacca, the staff features Tom Daubney (Portsmouth), Bob Camirand (Concord), Tom Sawyer (Londonderry), Jack Gati (Salem) and Brian O'Reilly (Pinkerton Academy).
