By Jim Stout
MaxPreps.com
Let it never be said that the Rutland High football team takes the easy way out.
Vermont high school football may not be prominent in the eyes of many, but the Rutland Raiders have been trying their best for over a decade to re-shape that thinking and improve themselves both culturally and athletically.
Under 14th year coach Mike Norman, Rutland has ventured outside of the Green Mountain State 13 straight years in search of high-level competition, even to the point of getting crushed one season by New Hampton (NH) Prep, 74-28.
Most times, however, the Raiders play competitive and winning inter-state football, whether it's against Boston College High (Norman's alma mater), Lawrence, Mass., Cambridge Rindge & Latin or Connecticut's Southington and Ledyard Highs.
Rutland, the defending Division I state champs in Vermont, will again travel to Connecticut on Friday, Sept. 21, when it makes the 225-mile hike to the south to play FCIAC member Danbury in a 3 p.m. game at the Danbury Stadium Complex.
''We started going out of state originally because we not only had an open date on our schedule, no one else in Vermont wanted to pick us up,'' said Norman, who is also the athletic director at his central-Vermont school.
''Though the Division I football here is a lot better now, we still like the idea of traveling and playing different teams from different states. My take on it is, colleges like to see Vermont kids compete outside of the state. Our top kids are mostly (college) Division III prospects and maybe a few I-AA kids, but those colleges still want to see what we can do outside of Vermont. Plus culturally and educationally, it's a great experience for everyone.''
Rutland, 2-1, is coming off a 19-9 loss last week to Middlebury, the team it beat in the 2006 state Division I final. The championship was the seventh since 1996 by the Raiders.
As for out-of-state games, Rutland lost on both of its tries a year ago, dropping a 33-19 decision to Cambridge Rindge & Latin and falling to Eastern Connecticut Conference member Ledyard, 41-32.
The year before that, 2005, Rutland won at Cambridge, 19-8, and dropped a narrow 19-18 result at Ledyard.
''Football is a big deal at Rutland,'' said Norman, who is a Norwich University graduate and also worked as an assistant earlier in his career with the Cadets.
''We're about the sixth or seventh largest school in the state, with around 1,100 students, and we have about 100 who play football. We've had a decent amount of success. Right now, though, we're trying to find our identity. Last year we had three senior running backs and a senior quarterback so that's an area we're working on. On the other hand, we're pretty experienced up front (led by 6-0, 290-pound Chris Kiernan and 6-0, 260-pound Justin Stewart) and I think our defense is better than it's been.''
Though this will be the first game in a home-and-home series between Danbury and Rutland, Danbury is no stranger when it comes to venerable athletic opponents from Vermont. Danbury's fabled wrestling team, one of the best in the Northeast over the last two decades, regularly faces Vermont kingpin and regional power Mount Anthony of Bennington.
Rutland and Danbury came together for the first of these two football meetings after Norman placed a 'game wanted' listing on MaxPreps and Davis, a Lyndonville, Vt., native, answered it.
Danbury, 0-1, dropped its season opener last week by 15-14 at Westhill.
''We're excited about the trip,'' Norman said. ''I met Rick Davis when we got together to exchange films and he seems like a great guy, as does their athletic director (Chip Salvestrini). It'll be a challenge for our team.''
Jim Stout is the MaxPreps.com Regional Media Manager for the Northeast. He may be reached at 203-563-2297 or at jstout@maxpreps.com.
