D-I football championship: MMU topples Rutland for historic crown

RUTLAND - Asa Carlson took a chance on an impromptu fake punt to gain a critical first down. 

Jehric Hackney, banged-up with ankle and shoulder injuries, shook off lost fumbles to produce a gutsy effort out of the backfield.

And Patrick Burke, the heart and soul of the defense, motored for his first and only varsity touchdown, a scoop-and-score that sparked a second-half comeback.

When it came time to do something they had never done before — win a high school football state title — the senior-heavy Mount Mansfield Cougars reached down for everything they had.

Because nothing would deny these Cougars. Not a hiccup to start the season way back in Week 1. Not a halftime deficit in Saturday night's final against traditional power Rutland, playing on its home field. And certainly not their own 15-year history without any championship hardware to show for it.

When given opportunities Saturday, the top-seeded Cougars pounced on them, delivering one game-changing moment after another for the program's break-through D-I coronation, a 38-27 triumph over the No. 2 Raiders.

"It’s a great feeling and it’s taken a lot of hard work by myself and a lot of other people to get to this point. This never happens by yourself," said Marty Richards, MMU's coach since the program's inception. "There’s kids, there’s coaches, parents all helping out. It’s a team effort, it really is."

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The Cougars (9-2) rode Hackney's menacing 267-yard, three-touchdown performance, Carlson's steady leadership under center and a 108-yard night on the ground, and Burke's fortune-altering TD fumble recovery to out-do Rutland's set of stars in a back-and-forth championship that saw five lead changes.

"We knew what we had to do, we came with the intensity," Hackney said. "We’ve been in every situation, so we know how to maintain, keep our composure.

"I think that’s why we came out on top. So much experience.”

Dakota Peters (163 yards, two TDs) and Lucas Hubbard (76 receiving yards, TD) led a Raiders (8-3) squad that soared in the middle half of the season to emerge as a title favorite one year after missing the playoffs for the first time since 1999. 

"Sometimes you come up short. Now it’s how do you react to this whole thing? What kind of human being are you going to be?" Rutland coach Mike Norman said. "Sometimes we lose sight of that. I love those kids."

Down 20-18 at the break, MMU capitalized on a Rutland mistake. Quarterback Ryan Moore fumbled the exchange on a third-down play and Burke picked it up and rumbled untouched for a 40-yard TD, his first at any level since flag football in second grade.

"It was a little bit of luck but our team’s been working so hard, we get those fortunate bounces when you’re working hard," Burke said.

The TD and the ensuing acrobatic, tipped two-point conversion catch by Harrison Leombruno-Nicholson pushed the Cougars back on top, 26-20, with 9:34 to play in the third quarter. 

"The scoop-and-score, that changed the momentum of the game right there," Richards said. "Who knew Paco was that fast?"

After a Rutland drive stalled, MMU also failed to extend its next possession — until Carlson took matters into his own hands. With the call from the sidelines to punt on fourth-and-short at his own 33-yard line, Carlson received a poor snap and made a judgement to go for it.

The senior quarterback found an opening and dashed 28 yards for the first down, a play that picked up an additional 15 yards following a Rutland late-hit penalty on Carlson.

"The snap went to the right. I don’t even know if our center knew we were going to punt the ball," Carlson said. "I saw a couple people in front of me, I didn’t think I’d be able to punt it so I just side-stepped, made a move and I was off to the races from there."

One play later, Carlson went wide to the left, won the edge and dove for a 24-yard TD and 32-20 advantage with 5:11 to go in the third.

Over the next quarter-plus, the Cougars had multiple chances to ice the victory, but penalties and mistakes, including a Hackney fumble at his own 40 with 3:20 to go in regulation, kept Rutland within striking distance.

Rutland converted the late turnover into points, with Moore plunging in from the 1 to slice the deficit to 33-27 with 1:50 to play.

But the onside kick, which Rutland recovered, was flagged for illegal touching, giving the ball to MMU.

When asked about the penalty on the onside kick, Norman quickly said it didn't decide the outcome.

"I’m not going to get into that. The officials got a tough job," Norman said. "Of course we thought we recovered it, they thought they did, the officials made the call. That’s not the reason we lost."

Given another chance, Hackney and MMU sealed it. Hackney, one of 18 seniors, stiff-armed his way for a 33-yard TD scamper to close out Rutland.

"It was just a well-rounded game. Everybody did their part," Hackney said.

The contest, the final act of a championship tripleheader, opened with a blast: Peters'  52-yard TD dash on the second play from scrimmage was matched by MMU's 89-yard, ground-and-pound scoring drive on the next series, capped by Hackney's 9-yard run to paydirt.

MMU had leads of 12-7 and 18-14 in the first half. Rutland gained advantages at 7-0, 14-12 and then 20-18 in the final seconds of the second quarter on a Moore to Hubbard 29-yard TD reception.

But the MMU depth, the heady plays from their seniors and a well-drilled offensive line proved too much for Rutland in the second half. Dylan Davis, for instance, put up 131 yards and one touchdown to aid MMU's 517-yard rushing total

"It’s something special, being the first," Carlson said. "I’m proud of my teammates. I’m so happy for Coach Richards to get this win, the rest of the staff too, it’s wonderful." 

And for the seniors, many of them who experienced losing to Burr and Burton, this year's D-II champion, 62-0 in the 2015 season opener as freshmen, this championship was almost surreal.

"We’ve always had the athletes. Everyone’s always believed in themselves," Burke said. "But if you told me after we lost 62-0 to Burr and Burton my freshman year that we’re going to win a state title in Division I I’d have said no way. But everyone stuck with it."

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Contact Alex Abrami at 660-1848 or aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @aabrami5.