Ravens look for title tomorrow
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By Anna Grearson TIMES ARGUS STAFF - Published: October 23, 2009
The Vermont Ravens will play in their second league championship in their three-year existence tomorrow, but the route the Barre-based semi-pro football team took to get there this time was a bit hilly.
The No. 6 Ravens will play at the No. 2 New Hampshire Wolfpack for the Maritime Conference title of the New England Football League at 2 p.m. at Martins Field in Concord, N.H.
"This championship run, for us, it's almost as much of a surprise for us as it is for the media and fans and people around town," Ravens co-founder and assistant coach Mike Salmon said this week. "I've been getting emails asking what happened to us. What happened was we had key personnel return from injuries."
A 2-5 team in late September with one regular-season game left, the Ravens turned all of that around with a must-win game at home against the Rutland-based Central Vermont Rampage.
"We've had some really bad low points, when (the Southern New Hampshire Beavers) beat us 38-6, that made us look horrible," Salmon said. "That first half of that game was the low point, the second half we played them tough. I think they outscored us 7-0 in second half. We should've been dejected, but that's the point where we said we could've been in that game. It was the point during the season we realized we weren't as bad as our record was. We figured if we got healthy and got better, we could get into playoffs. Low and behold, the very next game we beat the Central Vermont Rampage. We were very happy to win that game, 24-6."
That win vaulted the Ravens into the NEFL playoffs as the No. 6 seed. They've since put together three more wins, including a 9-3 quarterfinal win over third-seeded Southern Connecticut Sting and a 6-0 semifinal win over top-seeded Southern New Hampshire Beavers. The Sting win avenged a 63-7 loss at home on Aug. 30 and the Beaver win avenged another home loss – 38-6 – on Sept. 20.
"We lost four games, three in a row at home, and it was devastating to us to lose like that at home," Salmon said. "Then we got the right people healthy. And a lot of it is just being in shape. Coach (Mike) Foster has implemented a rigorous physical training program for practice, one that's not like other semi-pro teams, and he's made sure conditioning is first and foremost. And we have been in better shape than most teams."
Vermont (5-5 overall) came into the playoffs third in the Independent Division, with 120 points scored and 189 points allowed, while the Wolfpack sat atop the division at 7-1 with 202 points scored and just 48 points allowed. New Hampshire enjoyed a bye in the first round of the playoffs and ousted the Woonsocket Sentinels 20-0 last Saturday.
The road has been friendly for Vermont, as the Ravens went just 1-3 at home at Spaulding High School but 4-2 away from Barre.
"We're happy to have Spaulding, but we haven't played well there," Salmon said. "We're amazingly good at traveling. The right people are there, the intensity is there, and we focus more. They band together and say, 'We're going to make this our field.' Coach (Rick) Theken is very adept at these things. What's happened is our overall athleticism has risen and come to the forefront and makes us a team that we knew we could be during the year when we were struggling."
Part of that struggle includes several injuries to key players.
"Two standout defensive players, and defense has been what has gotten us to this point, had surgery," Salmon said. "Clayton Torres and Roy Rose both had off-season knee surgery. Once the season started, they were still working to get better and in shape. Now they're getting into a position where they can run, pivot, and their return has been tremendous."
Gordon Cochran, who played briefly at Spaulding, tore his bicep and had mid-season surgery, but has since returned and made an impact in the Ravens' early playoff success.
One key player who will not return from injury this weekend is Michael Ball.
"He would play great and then be injured," Salmon said. "He was sparkplug for us but has a season-ending injury that has put him out."
Quick thinking on Foster's part refocused the Ravens' efforts from offense to defense, and so far that switch has worked.
"We pound the ball and take what the defense gives us," he said. "We keep the ball and have sustained drives to rest the defense. The thing that hurt the most was when Michael went down. Coach Foster realized he had to do what it takes to win the game rather than take chances."
First-year head coach and a Barre resident, Foster made the jump from player to coach after suffering an injury in the off-season.
"Rather than drop out of the picture with the team, he came on board as a coach," Salmon said. "I had been actively looking for a coach, and he volunteered. He said, 'Coach, I don't have any coaching experience, but I'm a leader.' He owns a business (Cobble Hill Construction), he does youth football with sons, and he knows what it takes to put a good team on the field. He's been learning all year long. He's come around and done a really good job."
A lot of the Ravens' success has come from local talent like Ball (Barre), Corey Matthews (St. Johnsbury), Thomas Estes (Barre) and Jesse Martin (Barre).
"Corey Matthews come over from St. Johnsbury and has been a dynamo on both sides of the ball and now he's punting, too," Salmon said.
Matthews, the team's leading rusher, has racked up 673 yards and averages just over 7 yards per carry.
"He finds hole and gets you the carry," Salmon said. "He's one of the most consistent talents we've had."
Estes (540 yards, 5.2 yards per carry and two touchdowns) and Trevor Williams (480 yards, two touchdowns) also lead the Vermont rushing game.
Quarterback Sean O'Connor has thrown the ball 872 yards for four touchdowns and five interceptions through nine games. He has completed 55-of-90 attempts for 61 percent completion. His biggest game came against Pioneer Valley on Aug. 1, a 26-22 Vermont win, where O'Connor amassed 201 yards in the air and three touchdowns on 7-of-9 pass attempts.
"We run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, and Sean has been asked to control ball," Salmon said. "He was not asked to throw down the field much."
Jordan Young (Montpelier) has picked off opposing quarterbacks five times this season with Martin, Torres and Rose each tallying four interceptions. North Country's Dan Beaumont has recorded three fumble recoveries.
Vermont lost Barre native Steven Noyes midway through the season as Noyes decided to return to school at Johnson State College where he is the goalie for the Badgers' men's soccer team. The Ravens also lost their center, but Northfield native Tyler Baker has stepped in and done well.
"He never played football," Salmon said. "He's one of our most dedicated kids. Our other center left to go to Iowa, and he ended up the main guy and has done a really good job at center. He's solidified our line. Tyler and Sean have worked very well together, and they are super important for controlling the line of scrimmage."
The Ravens, who lost in the league title game in their first season, will look at add one more win tomorrow afternoon.
"This team has been like a family," Salmon said. "They're a close unit, and coming from a small little Vermont town has given these guys that feeling. It's been a magical ride."
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