FOXBORO, Ma. -
No Vermonter has played for the New England Patriots, but for one day, some Essex High School football players could at least pretend they did. The Hornets 7 on 7 football team qualified for a regional tournament at Gillette Stadium recently.
"Once in a lifetime opportunity in a stadium that size," said Essex Quarterback Joey Picard. "Everybody just lived up the moment and had a great time."
"It's funny, I kept going around telling the guys to make sure they soak it up," Essex Coach Charlie Burnett says. "I'm such a competitive Guss, a couple of times, I had to stop and say look up, because you're going to miss it here."
Essex was the lone Vermont representative in a tournament of 10 teams and was a win away from making it to the playoff round. Just a few days after the Gillette Stadium experience, The Essex team participated and won a 7 on 7 tournament held at Middlebury College.
