For Brattleboro, any competition in any sport against Mount Anthony usually means an exciting game for the fans. That was the case last Monday night at Tenney Field when the Colonels pulled out a 1-0 win over their arch-rivals from Bennington.
Goalkeeper Galen Finnerty preserved the slim Brattleboro lead with some big saves in the second half. Patriots goalkeeper Patrick Cody was equally great, except for the one shot he didn't stop in the 42nd minute, when Brattleboro's Conner Elliott-Knaggs beat Cody with a shot taken from the end line.
Unfortunately, that was the high point of the week for the Colonels, who then got shut out in Hartford, 3-0, on Thursday, and lost 4-1 on Saturday to Champlain Valley in the homecoming game at Sawyer Field. Sam Kochinskas scored the only goal in that game.
Brattleboro is now 4-4, and has the talent to play better than that record. With four of the last six regular season games on the road, it will be tough.
Football
• Andy Harris reeled in a 45-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Higley with three minutes left in the game to give the Brattleboro Colonels a 12-7 win over the St. Johnsbury Hilltoppers at rainy Natowich Field on Friday night.
The homecoming game victory was the Colonels' first win of the season.
St. Johnsbury took an early 7-0 lead on a run by James Dagasse. The Colonels' defense then prevented the Hilltoppers' lead from getting any larger after that touchdown. This was by far Brattleboro's best effort on defense this season.
Brattleboro struggled on offense, but managed to get a first-half touchdown on a short pass from Higley to Noah Simeon. A two-point conversion try failed, allowing the Hilltoppers to stay in front until Harris' big catch in the fourth.
With running back Jake Gaboriault sidelined for the rest of the season due to injury, Elliott Gragen picked up the slack and ran for 100 yards and five first downs for the Colonels.
Brattleboro is now 1-4 on the season, but the Colonels still have a shot at the Division I playoffs if they can win the rest of the games on their schedule. They travel to Burlington on Friday night at 7.
• Bellows Falls is looking more and more like a team that's going to go deep into the Division II playoffs. On Saturday afternoon at Hadley Field, the Terriers hammered U-32, 41-14.
The one-two rushing punch of Carson Fullam (92 yards and two touchdowns) and Zachary Rawling (127 yards and three touchdowns) did the bulk of the damage. Quarterback Ethan Illingworth also threw for a 22-yard touchdown to Mike LeBeau.
The Terriers are now 4-1, and are in total control of their playoff destiny. BF travels to Newport on Friday night to face North Country.
Girls' soccer
• Goals from Addy Dailey and Brit Moyna gave Bellows Falls a 2-0 road win over Williamstown last Tuesday. Good ball control and defense meant that goalkeeper Enny Mustapha had very little to do all day.
• Jordan Niles scored two goals as Twin Valley beat Green Mountain, 5-1, at Baker Field last Tuesday. Natalie Herrick, Hannah Swanson, and Abbi Molner also scored, and Sammy Cunningham, Savannah Nesbitt, and Molner were all credited with assists.
• Savannah Nesbitt scored two goals as Twin Valley beat Arlington, 2-1, in the opening game of the John Werner Tournament. The Wildcats then faced Springfield in the tournament final on Saturday and lost 5-1.
• In their homecoming game on Saturday at Hadley Field, Brattleboro dropped a 2-1 decision to Hartford.
Boys' soccer
• Twin Valley shut out Green Mountain at Baker Field, 2-0, last Monday. Nick Nilson and Morrow Bernard both scored in the second half for the Wildcats, and goalkeeper Sam Molner made eight saves. Through their first five games, the Wildcats had four shutouts.
The Wildcats followed that up with a 6-3 win over Otter Valley last Wednesday in the opener of the John Werner Tournament in Arlington. This game featured some nice teamwork between Colin Lozito and Tony Tarr. Tarr scored four goals in all, three of them set up by Lozito. Evan Therrien also scored, and Lozito got a goal of his own.
However, the unbeaten streak ended at six last Friday when Springfield's Devin Brady scored with two minutes remaining to give the Cosmos a 1-0 victory over Twin Valley in the Werner Tournament final. The Wildcats were presented the tourney's Sportsmanship Award.
• Bellows Falls had a home-and-home series with Windsor. Last Thursday at Windsor, the teams played a scoreless tie. In Saturday's rematch in Westminster, the Terriers cruised to a 4-1 win to finish the week at 1-6-1.
Field hockey
• Bellows Falls kept their unbeaten streak going when Lauren Rowell popped in a goal for a 1-0 win over Fair Haven last Monday and beat Windsor 3-0 in the homecoming game on Saturday. The Terriers are now 6-0.
Cross country
• Arturo Gutierrez (19:51) and Spencer Olson (19:54) finished sixth and seventh overall to lead the Colonels to victory over Woodstock in a two-team boys meet last Tuesday in Woodstock.
Rounding out Brattleboro's top three was Michael Cioffi, who was 10th in 20:09. Josh Parro finished 18th and Jon Burdo was 20th.
The Colonels still haven't enough female runners to earn a team score. Freshman Catey Yost was 14th in 26:31, while Olivia Hamm was 25th and Dana Alexa finished 38th.
• BF runners Jamie Moore, Willie Moore and Tim Jones all tied for first at Long Trail in a time of 20:45 to lead the Terriers to a win in a meet in Dorset last Tuesday, Matt Chapin took seventh in 25 minutes flat, and Jamie Matthews was eighth in 25:07.
The BF girls finished behind Arlington in team competition, but the Terriers had the top female finishers as Anna Clark was first in 23:51, followed by Lucy Lawlor in 27:53.
Withington Rink passes now on sale
• Season passes to the Nelson Withington Skating Facility in Brattleboro are now on sale. Discounted passes are on sale through Oct. 18.
Season passes are only available at the Recreation and Parks office, 207 Main St. Passes will not be sold at the rink this season. The skating rink is scheduled to open Saturday, Oct. 20, and close on Sunday, March 3, 2013.
Brattleboro Men's Basketball League to hold preseason meeting
• There will be a men's basketball league organizational meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 6:30 p.m., at the Gibson-Aiken Center. A representative from each team must attend the meeting.
The league is still looking for board members. If there are any questions, call the Recreation and Parks office at 802-254-5808.