Vermont was able to go toe-to-toe with New Hampshire in the first half, but Vermont failed to put any points on the board in two trips to the end zone when the Vermonters allowed two crucial interceptions that killed their momentum.
"We felt very good at halftime," Vermont head coach Mike Law of U-32 High School said to the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus. "We felt we were just inches away from being up 14-7. I think we just got tired in the second half. Their speed is a full-team speed. We were chasing them instead of them chasing us."
After a quiet first half for New Hampshire, when the Granite State only managed three offensive possessions, the team's offenses exploded for 35 second-half points.
This was the widest margin of victory ever in the Shrine Bowl, surpassing the previous mark set in 1962 when New Hampshire won by the score of 36-0. New Hampshire now extends its all-time series lead over its neighbors to the west to 40-13-2.
Early on, it looked like Vermont would reverse recent history when the men from the Green Mountain State mounted a 17-play drive down to the New Hampshire 15-yard line. However, New Hampshire cornerback Shawn Sweeney, formerly of Plymouth High School, made an interception in the end zone to keep Vermont from getting on the board.
"Everyone was looking at each other to get one big play," Sweeney said to the Foster's Daily Democrat. "We came out nervous I guess, and they came out pumped up. They got the ball first and they kept driving. We were just looking for each other. We knew somebody was going to make a play, we just didn't know who."
Vermont quarterback Ethan Sylvain troubled New Hampshire defenders with his athleticism, but he was picked off three times.
With the momentum from the interception, New Hampshire put together a 15-play drive of its own, culminating in a two-yard touchdown run by James Moore to put the Granite State up by 7-0.
New Hampshire would maintain its seven-point margin into halftime, as the touchdown was the lone goal in the first half. Vermont had another golden opportunity to score in the first half when the men from the Green Mountain State drove all the way to the New Hampshire four-yard line. However, the Vermonters left empty-handed again as the drive was snuffed out by another interception.
In the second half, the New Hampshire offense exploded with two touchdowns in the third quarter and three in the fourth quarter to erase any doubts about the outcome of the game. Vermont, perhaps feeling the ill effects from letting two scoring opportunites slip by, offered little in the way of resistance.
Billy Ferriter, the New Hampshire quarterback, wasted no time in getting his offense going in the second half when he threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Brown with just over a minute gone by in the third quarter.
Ferriter, the former Nashua South standout, had an exceptional game in the air and on the ground. Ferriter went 9-of-14 passing for 153 yards and a touchdown, and he was also the game's leading rusher with 12 rushes for 94 yards and a touchdown.
After Vermont punted in the ensuing possession, Moore punched the ball in from a yard out to make the score 21-0.
The fourth quarter was all New Hampshire as Ferriter scored a touchdown on the ground to compliment his touchdown pass, and 5'3" running back Robert Moss, a graduate of Laconia, punched in two touchdowns for extra insurance.
New Hampshire kicker Greg Molloy was a perfect six-for-six in extra point attempts.
The game was preceded by the annual Shrine Parade, where men from three local Shrine Units " Mt. Sinai in Montpelier, Vt., Cairo in Rutland, Vt. and Bektash in Concord, N.H. " paraded around in their traditional red fezzes while whizzing around in mini go-carts and model trains. Thousands of spectators watched in awe as the Shrine All-Star Marching Band joined the Shriners and paraded around the streets of Hanover.
Dartmouth's Memorial Field has played host to this event since 1958, save for two years in 1967 and 1968 where the event moved to Burlington, Vt. and Durham, N.H., respectively. The game was first played in 1954 at Holman Stadium in Nashua, N.H., and the inaugural game raised 4,500 dollars for the hospitals. Since then, the game has become the third largest Shrine All-Star Game " behind the East-West Shrine Game which showcases graduating seniors who have played college football, and the North Carolina " South Carolina Shrine Game which features some of the best high school seniors from the Carolinas.
In 55 years, the game has raised 4.5 million dollars towards Shriners Hospitals for Children in Montreal, Springfield, Mass. and Boston.
