New Hampshire leads Vermont after one half; game in weather delay

HANOVER – New Hampshire got out to a fast start, but Vermont stuck around during the first half of Saturday’s Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl at Dartmouth College.

The start of the second half has been delayed because of thunderstorms in the area.

Souhegan’s Chris Chininis put the Granite State on the board just a minute into the game, returning a punt 61 yards for a touchdown. On Vermont’s next possession, Trinity’s Mike Leonard, of Merrimack, returned a fumble 28 yards to make it 14-0 New Hampshire just 1:10 into the game.

Quarterback Evan Bidgood, from Timberlane, finished the first half 11 of 12 for 141 yards and a 3-yard touchdown to Junior Brown of Manchester Central, who had five catches for 94 yards.

Vermont quarterback Rob Coloutti threw 176 yards in the first half, completing 8 of 17 passes with three touchdowns. One of those was a 79-yard scoring pass to Levi Ellis that got Vermont on the board with 4:58 left in the first quarter after New Hampshire had taken a 17-0 lead.