The two most dominant teams during the fall high school sports season - the Twin Valley boys' soccer team and the Bellows Falls' field hockey team - were both driven by the need to avenge last season's disappointments.
For top-seeded and undefeated Twin Valley, it was mission accomplished last Saturday as the Wildcats beat the team that defeated them in last year's Division IV final, the No. 2 Proctor Phantoms, by a 3-0 score at Whitcomb High School in Bethel.
For top-seeded BF, they fell just short of their dream of a state title with a 2-1 loss to the Stowe Raiders in the Division III championship at the University of Vermont's Moulton-Winder Field.
• Dal Nesbitt, Troy Felisko and Eli Park scored the goals as Twin Valley completed a 17-0 season and won their first state title since 2005.
The Wildcats, who outscored their opponents 90-1 this season, wasted no time taking control when Nesbitt buried a crossing pass from Nick Nilsen in the fourth minute of the match. Felisko got his goal in the 20th minute during a scramble in front of the Proctor net. Park scored in the 64th minute off a Nesbitt throw-in and a touch by Colin Lozito.
Twin Valley punched their ticket to the final with a 6-0 thrashing of No. 4 Cabot in a semifinal match at Baker Field on Oct. 29.
Lozito scored three goals, Park put away two, and Nesbitt added another goal and two assists as the Wildcats followed the same game plan as in the quarterfinal match against Arlington - score early, and score often.
Lozito got his first goal two minutes into the game, and Nesbitt scored late in the first half for a 2-0 lead. Park, who has been a stalwart on the Wildcats' defense, got a chance to join in the scoring fun with a goal at the start of the second half and a long blast near the end of the game. Those scores were sandwiched around a pair of Lozito goals.
Wildcats goalkeeper Sam Molner had to put in a little more work to get another shutout victory, as Cabot challenged him with some tough shots in the first half. He finished with three saves, while Cabot's Seth Herrick made 17 saves.
When the Twin Valley players arrived home Saturday night, they were treated to an impromptu parade in Wilmington to celebrate. The Wilmington and Whitingham fire departments and Deerfield Valley Rescue guided the champs through the streets.
Nesbitt finished the season with 24 goals and 23 assists, while Lozito had 19 goals and 19 assists. Felisko scored 11 goals while Park, who anchors Twin Valley's back line, scored eight goals. Goalkeeper Sam Molner piled up 16 shutouts.
• Bellows Falls took a 1-0 lead midway through the first half of their championship game when Sarah Wells snapped a shot past Stowe goalie Madeleine Schaal for her 26th goal of the season.
Stowe coach Janet Godin immediately called a timeout to regroup her team, and they responded by scoring a goal 20 seconds later. The front line swarmed around the BF goal as Terriers' goalie Shea Wilkinson stopped one shot, but could not prevent MacKenzie Wardell from knocking in the rebound to tie the game.
The game remained tied until Colleen McGovern dribbled the ball through a couple of defenders and beat Wilkinson for the eventual game-winner early in the second half.
BF had a chance to force overtime in the final two minutes of regulation when a Stowe player was sent off with a yellow card. Despite playing one woman down, Stowe managed to kill off the penalty, but not before a heart-stopping miss by Wells. Her last second shot went just wide of the goal mouth, hitting the side of the net.
It was the 15th field hockey title for Stowe, but its first since 2007. For Bellows Falls, it was a heartbreaking loss for the group of seniors who went from being winless as freshmen to being in the title game as seniors. BF last won a state title in 1991.
To get to the title game, Bellows Falls overwhelmed fifth-seeded Lyndon, 8-0, in an Oct. 29 semifinal at Moulton-Winder Field.
The quintet of forwards that keyed the blowout victory over Missisquoi had equally big performances against Lyndon. Wells scored four goals, while Kya Coursen and Mariah Barnett each had a goal, and two assists. Cassidy Santorelli got a goal and an assist and Anna Clark also scored for the Terriers.
Wilkinson and Quinn Lawrence teamed up for the shutout in goal for the Terriers, while Bryanna Trottier made 15 saves for the Vikings.
Barnett scored 15 goals for the Terriers this season, while Santorelli and Clark scored nine each. Coursen led the Terriers with 15 assists. Going into the Stowe game, BF had outscored its opponents, 64-3,
Football
• The playoff run for Bellows Falls came to a screeching halt last Saturday when they lost a Division II semifinal to Rice, 31-0, in South Burlington.
The Green Knights beat BF, 20-0, in the third week of the season, but Rice did not take the Terriers lightly. They expected a tough game, and instead got a shutout.
Rice junior running back Anthony Phillip scored on a 19-yard run in the first quarter and reeled in a 53-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Rice also got a 28-yard touchdown run at the end of the first quarter by from senior Michael Morrissey and junior quarterback Chris Jansen threw a pair of two-point conversion passes as the Green Knights took a 24-0 lead at the half.
Jansen also scored on a 1-yard run for Rice's final touchdown in the third quarter.
BF had a couple of chances to score, but Rice's defense put plenty of pressure on junior quarterback Ethan Illingworth and his primary offensive weapons - running backs Kyle O'Rourke and Austin Stack and receiver David Dunbar - and kept the Terriers on a very short leash.
It was the second straight year that Rice spoiled the Terriers' title hopes. Last year, the Green Knights completed an unbeaten season with a 23-14 win over BF in the championship game. Rice will play Lyndon for the Division II title this Saturday at Rutland High School.
Running for Khol
• Several Grace Cottage Hospital employees are organizing a 5K fundraiser to help the family of Khol Hitchcock pay for expenses for his recovery from a car accident on Oct.19.
Khol's dad, Scott Hitchcock, is the manager of plant operations at Grace Cottage.
The 5K will be held on Sunday, Nov 10, starting at 10 a.m. There is no set registration fee, but the minimum requested donation for participating is $10. Participants will start at the Townshend Common and go up Route 35 and back. Runners and walkers will not be professionally timed.
People can sign up on the day of the event, or they can preregister on the 5K for Khol Facebook page, or by obtaining a registration form from Gretchen Berrie at Grace Cottage Family Health, 185 Grafton Rd., Townshend.
Checks should be made to payable to Scott Hitchcock. Cash is welcome as well. There will also be a bake sale and a raffle that day, with prizes that include a fleece blanket, an oil change, two large cheesecakes, Grafton cheese, and other items donated from local businesses. For more information about the event, call Meridyth Burbank at 802-365-7920, ext. 300, or Linda Smith, at 802-365-7920, ext. 284.
BCC results
What makes the Brattleboro Country Club Scotch Championships Scottish? It's the alternating shot format, after both players tee off. On Sept. 21, in the Men's Division, there were two playoffs for each title.
The gross score winners were Jon Sessions and John Wong, thanks to a birdie putt on the first extra hole to best Pete Zachary and Ward Dannemiller. On the Net side, Jeff Houle and Jason Kelley made a par on first extra hole to edge Larry Cassidy and Dick Virkstis.
Judy Manley and Alicia Field edged Jill Zachery and Elizabeth Walker by a stroke to take the Ladies title. And in the Net competition Becky Day and Sujin Dakin also prevailed by a stroke over Sherry Bengtson and Cyd Strand.
• The 11th annual Owen Baker Open 2 Ball was contested on Saturday, Sept. 28, with Ryan Kohler and Greg Montgomery lapping the field on the gross side with a 66. Runners-up Bill Pettingill and Wayne Wright were six back with a 72, while Jonathon Wong and Drew Richards tied Jeff Houle and Jason Kelley with a 73.
Carl Hoynoski and Mike Duclos took the Net title with a 60, over Bruce Fenn and Kirk Nims (64) and Dick Virkstis and Larry Cassidy (66).
• The unique Member-Member Variable best ball was took place Oct. 6 with 10 foursome teams using one best ball on par-4s, two on par-5s, and three on par-3s.
On the gross side of the ledger, the team of Hugh Barber, Dan Zumbruski, Syl Murphy, and Clark Anderson managed a 154, beating the team of Peter Zachary, John Murphy, Doug Wisse, and Mike Hertz by two strokes.
Jeff Houle, Frank Lopez, Doug Emery, and Joe Garafolo took the net honors with a 130, also prevailing by two strokes over Greg Montgomery, Dick Noel, Doug Wisse, and Clark Anderson. The closest to the pin award went to Wisse.
• On Oct. 11, Bob Houle screwed up the percentages for other players by shooting his second ace of the season. Playing with Wally Musgrove, Steve Holley, and Jim Coulombe, Houle took out his nine iron on the fourth hole, knocking a 112-yard shot right into the cup. No word on whether his hole-in-one insurance was paid up for the year.
Grammar School Invitational
• The Grammar School in Putney finished up the fall cross-country running season with its annual invitational meet for more than 130 racers from 7 schools, including Brattleboro Area Middle School, Academy School, Putney Central School, and Ludlow, Riverside, and Reading school on Oct. 23.
Nearly 120 students participated in the half-mile, mile, and 1.5 mile races on an open, hilly field near the school. In addition, 16 eager runners joined the second annual untimed Lollipop race for children 5 years and younger, where the prize was a lollipop at the finish line.
The top three finishers in the girls half-mile were Riley Paul from Ludlow in first, Ellie Mellowship from Putney Central School in second, and Sadie Bell from Putney Central School in third place. For the boys half-mile, Marshall Taylor from The Grammar School was first, Sam McMillan from Ludlow was second, and Kyran Dell from The Grammar School was third.
The girls mile race was won by Amelia Opsahl of The Grammar School, with Ava Whitney from Academy in second place, and Wells Mundell-Wood from The Grammar School in third. In the boys mile, Keegan Givens from Academy came in first, Beau Guenther from Putney Central was second, and Colby Clourat from Ludlow was third.
In the girls 1.5 mile, Eva Harris from Riverside came in first, Emilia Dick from BAMS was second, and Liza Bell from Putney Central was third. In the boys 1.5 mile, it was a clean sweep by BAMS, with Isaac Freitas-Eagan in firs, Trevor Kipp in second, and Nate McKenny in third.
For the team awards, the half-mile girls trophy went to Ludlow and the boys trophy was won by The Grammar School. The mile trophies were won by The Grammar School girls and the Academy boys teams. The BAMS girls and boys teams both 1.5 mile trophies.