Twin Valley is cruising toward a top seed in the Division IV boys' soccer playoffs with a high-powered offense and a shutdown defense. The Wildcats showed all of that last Monday in a 6-0 road win at Bellows Falls.
Midfielder Colin Lozito scored four goals, two in each half, to lead Twin Valley. Dal Nesbitt scored the other two goals as the Wildcats moved the ball at will and peppered the BF goal with about two dozen shots.
If you thought they would be hard pressed to top that performance, the Wildcats did on Thursday with a 9-0 demolition of Windsor. Lozito scored three goals and assisted on two others, while Nick Nielsen scored twice. Hunter Therrien had a goal and two assists and Nesbitt and Jacob Hicks each added a goal. Goalkeeper Sam Molner had a relaxing day with only two saves.
On Saturday, Lozito had a goal and two assists as the Wildcats beat Stratton Mountain School, 4-1. Therrien, Juan Carlos, and Tony Tarr each added a goal as the Wildcats improved to 10-1 and now have a two-game lead over Danville for the top spot in Division IV.
Football
• A long bus ride to the Canadian border didn't faze the Bellows Falls Terriers, as Zachary Rawling and Carson Fullam each scored three touchdowns in a 55-20 rout of the North Country Falcons in Newport on Friday night.
The Terriers did need a little time to get rid of their “bus legs.” The Falcons trailed 21-14 late in the first half, but a goal line stand by BF forced them to turn the ball over on downs on the 3-yard line as time ran out.
Bellows Falls then put the game away in the second half as Rawling finished with 218 yards on 11 carries for the Terriers. North Country quarterback Jacob Buckles threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns as the Falcons fell to 0-6.
BF is now 5-1 and still in control of the No. 3 seed in Division II. They host Lyndon at Hadley Field on Friday night at 7.
• After the previous week's comeback against St. Johnsbury, the Brattleboro Colonels knew what they had to do if they wanted to make the Division I playoffs - win the rest of their games.
That plan was dealt a fatal blow on Friday night at Buck Hard Field as Adam Poquette tossed a 49-yard touchdown pass to Josh Hale with 23 seconds remaining to lift the Burlington Seahorses over Brattleboro, 20-12.
The road loss leaves Brattleboro with a 1-5 record, and ended any chance of postseason play.
Burlington (2-4) established a 12-0 lead in the first half as Poquette and Sam Paradiso each scored on two-yard runs.
Brattleboro got back into the game late in the third quarter when quarterback Tyler Higley connected on a 55-yard pass to Noah Simeon and an 11-yard pass to Kyle Patno to put the Colonels in Burlington territory. Five plays into the fourth, Higley found Patno again, this time for an 11-yard touchdown to make it 12-6.
The Seahorses turned the ball over on downs late in the fourth quarter, and gave the Colonels a chance to tie. Higley hit Simeon with a 9-yard TD pass, but the Colonels failed to take the lead when they missed the extra-point kick.
The Colonels travel to Barre on Saturday for a 2 p.m. game against Spaulding.
Girls' soccer
• Corina Stack scored twice, and Brit Moyna added another goal as Bellows Falls blanked Windsor, 3-0, at home last Monday. Goalkeeper Enny Mustapha picked up her third shutout of the season.
Two straight BF losses followed that shutout. The next day, the Terriers lost 1-0 to Mount St. Joseph in Rutland. On Saturday, Leland & Gray got goals from Addie Mahdavi and Chelby Nystrom as the Rebels shut out BF, 2-0.
Goalkeeper Elizabeth Gallup earned the shutout and Stevie Roberts had an assist for the 3-5-1 Rebels, while the Terriers dropped to 4-4-1.
• Brattleboro lost to Burr & Burton, 4-1, last Wednesday in a game that the Colonels were never competitive in. The Bulldogs led 3-0 at the half and Brattleboro did not get a goal until Halie Lange scored in the second half.
The Colonels showed more grit against Burr & Burton, but came up short again in a 4-3 overtime loss at home last Thursday. After trailing 2-0, the Colonels rallied. Lange scored twice and and Biak Chin-Tial added another goal to tie the game in regulation. Burr & Burton got the game-winner with four minutes left in the second overtime.
• Sophomore Miranda Post scored in the 72nd minute to give Twin Valley a 1-0 win over Stratton Mountain School on Saturday. The goal was set up with a nice upfield run by Abbi Molner, followed by a crossing pass from Jordan Niles. Brianna Rafus made five saves for the 4-3-2 Wildcats.
Boys' soccer
• Leland & Gray rolled over Bellows Falls, 7-0, in Townshend on Saturday. Corey Nystrom, Tanner Winot and Jake Sherman all scored two goals each for the Rebels. Frasier Query also scored and Ryan Borgeson had three assists.
Goalkeeper Tanner Karg recorded his third shutout in a row, and his fifth on the season, as the Rebels improved to 7-2.
• Brattleboro traveled to Burlington on Friday to face the Seahorses, and got shut out 3-0 on Friday. The Colonels fell to 4-5 and need to turn it on if they want to avoid a long bus ride in the first round of the Division I playoffs.
Field hockey
• One streak ended for Bellows Falls on Friday, but the more important streak stayed alive.
Springfield became the first team this season to put a goal into the net against the Terriers, but undefeated Bellows Falls came away with a 2-1 win.
Maygen Daly scored for the Cosmos 10 minutes into the game. BF got the equalizer when Lauren Rowell crossed the ball into the circle to Avery Lowe for the tap-in.
The game winner came eight minutes into the second half as Cassidy Santorelli and Lowe got the ball up to Anna Clark, who scored her first goal of the season. Good defense by the Terriers made the goal stand up.
• Brattleboro came close to ending its losing streak last Tuesday, but fell short in a 3-2 loss to Mount Anthony. The Colonels trailed 3-0 in the second half, but rallied for a pair of goals from Kayla Savage and Kebrina Howard.
The Colonels followed that stirring effort with a 2-0 loss at Hartford on Thursday. They held the Hurricanes scoreless in the first half, but Hartford managed to break through in the second half. Brattleboro is now 0-9 on the season.
Cross country
• The Brattleboro boys finished third in a seven-team meet that they hosted on their Orchard Street course last Tuesday. Mount Anthony won the team event, as its top runner Marc Brandmeyer set a new course record in 16 minutes, 55 seconds. Thetford Academy was second.
Bellows Falls finished seventh in the team competition, but had a top five finisher as Willie Moore was fifth in 18:44.
Arturo Guttierez was the top Brattleboro finisher, coming in 10th in 19:21. Spencer Olsen was 12th in 19:39 , followed by Michael Cioffi (22nd in 22:05), Josh Parro (35th in 21:32), and Jon Burdo (39th in 22:09).
Brattleboro's Catey Yost finished in the top 20 in the girls' race with a 19th place finish in 25:42. Bellows Falls' Lucy Lawlor was 23rd in 26:36.
Yost topped that performance at the Thetford Woods Trail race on Saturday at Thetford Academy, as she and almost every BUHS runner ran their best time of the season.
Yost led the Colonel girls with an 11th place finish in her division with a time of 24:28, beating her personal best by more than a minute. Aliza Racine also ran well in her first race, placing second for the team in 27:08. Olivia Hamm (27:14), Luci Hauty (31:31) and Dana Alexa (32:13) also competed as Brattleboro finally had enough runners to compile a team score, finishing 40th out of 41 teams.
The Colonel boys placed 40th out of 52 teams, as Arturo Gutierez (19:29), Spencer Olson (19:33), Josh Parro (21:29), Jon Burdo (21:40) and Clement (22:16) rounded out Brattleboro's top five.
This race is traditionally the dress rehearsal for the state championship meet at Thetford Academy, set for Oct. 27. With two weeks left in the season, coach John Dimick is doing his usual great job in getting his runners to peak at the right time.
Youth basketball sign-ups in Brattleboro
The Brattleboro Recreation and Parks Department will again offer Youth Basketball Leagues this winter for boys and girls in grades 3 through 6.
The girls and boys programs will be in two divisions: Senior Division for players in grades 5 and 6, and Junior Division for players in grades 3 and 4. Registration for both the girls and boys leagues will be held on Tuesday through Thursday, Oct. 16-18, at the Gibson Aiken Center, 207 Main St. from 1:30 to 6 p.m.
The fee for the program is $40 for residents and $55 for non-residents. T-shirts are included in the fee. Volunteer coaches are needed. This program gives children a great opportunity to meet others their own age while getting exercise, instruction and having loads of fun. The season runs from November through March, there will be one practice and one game per week. Games will be held on Saturday mornings.
A kindergarten basketball program will also be offered. It will be held on Mondays, Jan. 7 through Feb. 11, at 5 p.m. at the Gibson-Aiken Center. It is for children currently enrolled in Kindergarten who are looking to learn the fundamentals of basketball. The cost for this program is $10 for Brattleboro residents and $25 for non-residents. Sign-ups will take place at the same times and location as the Youth Leagues.
Call 802-254-5808 for additional information.
Creepy-Crawl 5K race set for Oct. 27 in Guilford
• Guilford Central School will host a 5K run/walk on Saturday, Oct. 27 to raise money for its winter sports programs.
Runners and walkers of all levels and abilities are welcome, and costumes are encouraged. Prizes will be awarded for the best costume and the best times.
Registration is $10 in advance and $15 on the day of the race, starting at 8 a.m.. Pre-register online at https://sites.google.com/site/guilfordschoolboosters/winter-sports/charge. For more information, call the school at 802-254-2271.