Rice ready for return to D2

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - The high school football season is rapidly approaching and five teams around the state of Vermont will be looking at a bit of increased competition this year.

The Rice Green Knights are one of those five movers, back up to Division 2 this year after spending 2022 in Division 3. In year one with Chad Cioffi at the helm, the Knights won five games and hosted a playoff game for the first time in four years.

The dramatic fashion in which that game against Mt. Abe ended...and the step up to D2 this year...have served as major motivation for an admittedly small roster to put in the work.

“It feels amazing to be back out here because we had that bad taste in our mouth all through Summer,” said junior quarterback Dallas St. Peter. “We just want to get back to work and get to the eventual goal that we had in mind last year that we couldn’t reach.”

“Kids have been putting in the work all Summer,” added senior guard and linebacker Owen Messineo. ‘We were in the weight room in the Winter. Wo we’ve been really focusing on coming into the season more prepared, having more of the groundwork coming in. I mean this is our coach’s second year so he’s got a bit better of a system built in.”

“I learned a lot about the type of athlete we have here, the committment to athletics and academics,” said Cioffi. “We’ve got a bunch of smart kids that are working hard, want the opportunity, and they’re very self driven. So it’s been nice to coach them and know what we can build. We had a young team last year and we’re really excited for this season.”

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