Each year since 2006, MaxPreps has recognized outstanding performers in high school football. America's source for high school sports continues the tradition to close out the 2024 season by naming the top player in each state. Selections are based on team success and individual excellence in addition to local and state accolades.
Orion Yates of
Champlain Valley Union (Hinesburg) is the 2024 MaxPreps Vermont High School Football Player of the Year. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound sophomore quarterback and outside linebacker helped the Redhawks go 11-0 and claim the Division I state championship.
A 41-14 win in the state title game over Rutland capped Champlain Valley Union's first undefeated season in school history. Yates threw for 172 yards and three touchdowns to go with another score on the ground in that contest.
The Redhawks put together one of the best seasons in state history, outscoring opponents 462-62. They won every game by at least 14 points.
Yates threw for 2,056 yards and 29 touchdowns while completing 63.5 percent of his attempts. He added three scores on the ground and only threw three interceptions on 195 pass attempts. He also made an impact on defense, racking up 50 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, six sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception.
In a 52-13 win over Essex (Essex Junction) in the second game of the season, Yates completed 22 of 30 passes for 240 yards and five touchdowns. He added two sacks and an interception on defense.
In a 55-6 win over St. Johnsbury Academy (St. Johnsbury), he completed 8 of 10 passes for 198 yards and five scores while adding a 60-yard touchdown on the ground. He also finished with two tackles for loss and a sack.
Yates' grandfather, Bob Yates, was a member of the undefeated national
championship Syracuse team in 1959. He was a first team All-America
selection and was an original member of the AFL's Boston Patriots. He
played from 1960 until 1965.
Bryce Underwood of Belleville (Mich.) and Stone Saunders of Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg, Pa.) are the only other sophomores to be named a MaxPreps State Player of the Year. Underwood and Saunders both took home that honor in 2021.
Each state's MaxPreps Player of the Year will be considered for inclusion in the MaxPreps All-America Team.
Past MaxPreps Vermont Players of the Year
2021 — Oliver Orvis, RB, Essex
2022 — Jackson Sumner, WR/DB, Champlain Valley Union (Hinesburg)
2023 — Jack McCoy, QB, Burr & Burton (Manchester)
