Edd Merritt, contributor

Field goals alone didn’t make it in the state championship game. Photo by Al Frey.

It was not that long ago when CVU was known as “Soccer Central” and football did not exist at the high school level.

Well, that has changed. The top division title game played in Rutland Saturday saw CVU against Essex. Over the course of a 7-3 season, the Redhawks saw much of their offense propelled by quarterback Max Destito passes, and that remained unchanged Saturday. The weather, however, played a bigger role as Essex’s running game made out better between the flakes than did CVU passes. The Hawks, in turn, came very close to the Hornets, losing only by two, 21-19. CVU scored twice in the second quarter, once on a rush, once on a pass. They began the second half only one point behind, 14-13. Destito hit 15 of 30 passes from 197 yards.

New England Cross-Country Championships see Redhawks in the woods at Thetford Academy
CVU freshman Alice Kendell finished 10th among women in the New England championships on Saturday to lead Redhawk runners to a fourth-place finish as a team. The Hawks women were the last Vermont team to win this tournament in 2019.

Second place in the state holds sway for Redhawk teams
In addition to football, soccer and volleyball also placed second in the state. The men and women volleyballers have led this sport for several years, until 2021, when the men fell to Burlington and the women to Essex.

And so, what had been “Soccer Central” for the Peter Coffey era…CVU gave up that moniker and now may be known as “CVU—Number 2!”