The fall high school sports season in Vermont has officially begun with the start of officially-sanctioned practice time for football, soccer, field hockey, and cross country.
• The first games of fall sports season is set for Friday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m., when the Brattleboro Colonels open the football season at home against Hartford at Natowich Field, while Bellows Falls is on the road to take on Springfield at Brown Field.
The Colonels' football opener will mark the debut of new varsity head coach Chad Pacheco. A member of the BUHS Class of 2003, he's been an assistant coach with the Colonels for more than a decade, as well as the head groundskeeper of the BUHS athletic fields.
Pacheco replaces John Callahan, who stepped down after two seasons and a total of three wins. Pacheco takes over a football program that hasn't been in the Division I playoffs since 2006, hasn't played in a state championshop game since 1981, hasn't won a state title since 1973, and that barely escaped being relegated to Division II for this season.
The Colonels have their work cut out for them, but Pacheco is optimistic that he has the personnel to be respectable in Division I this season.
The team will look different on offense, with a switch from Callahan's option attack to Pacheco's plan to use the Wing T, the speedy, uptempo attack that is now in vogue in college football. On defense, Pacheco hopes the Colonels can emulate the Seattle Seahawks, and the swarming, hard-hitting style that led Seattle to the last two Super Bowls.
Given his familiarity with the players, his energy, and his total devotion to Colonels football going back to middle school, he may be the guy that makes Brattleboro football exciting to watch once again.
• The soccer, field hockey, and cross country seasons will start soon after football.
Boys' soccer starts on Saturday, Aug. 29, when Leland & Gray travels to Chester to play Green Mountain at 11 a.m. On Monday, Aug. 31, at 6 p.m., Twin Valley hosts Bellows Falls under the lights at Hayford Field, while Brattleboro hosts Springfield for a 7 p.m. game on Thursday, Sept. 8.
Girls' soccer begins with Bellows Falls hosting Long Trail on Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 4:30 p.m., while Leland & Gray is at Twin Valley on Wednesday, Sept. 2, for a 6 p.m. game. Brattleboro faces Springfield in the first round of the Lady Patriot Classic in Bennington on Thursday, Sept. 3,
Brattleboro opens the cross country season at Thetford on Sept. 1, at 4:30 p.m., while Bellows Falls opens with a home meet with Springfield on Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 4 p.m.
Bellows Falls starts the field hockey season at Windsor on Sept. 1, while Brattleboro travels to Hartford for a 4:30 p.m. game on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Corley wins Vermont Women's Amateur
• Brattleboro Country Club played host to the Vermont State Women's Golf Association's State Amateur Championship last week. Madison Corley of the Stowe Country Club was the winner of the three-day event with a total score of 224 (78-73-73). It was her third straight VSWGA state title.
Corley clinched the win with four birdies in her final round. She finished 14 strokes ahead of runner-up Tiffany Maurycy (82-77-79-238) of Williston Country Club.
Maurycy's effort, however, helped lead Williston to win the Paquet Cup for the team with the lowest scores; they had three golfers finish in the top 10. Newport's Katie Goulet was the top junior golfer, finishing eighth (86-86-88-260) overall.
The top local golfer was Tracy Sloan of Brattleboro, who was sixth (85-87-84-256). Other Brattleboro golfers included Elizabeth Walker (92-86-86-264), Sherryl Libardoni (93-92-95-280), Lois Forester (99-94-92-285), Alicia Field (95-94-99-288), Judith Manley (95-102-100-297) , Wendy Scott (96-103-98-297), and Eileen Ranslow (102-101-102-305).
Nancy Gorham-LaSante was the lone representative of the Bellows Falls Country Club. Her three-day total of 264 (87-85-92) tied her for 10th with Brattleboro's Walker and Cindy Paquet of Essex Country Club.
Retreat, Grace Cottage receive Red Sox IMPACT Awards
• The Brattleboro Retreat and Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend were awarded first and third place, respectively, in the 2015 Red Sox Foundation IMPACT Awards.
The Red Sox Foundation, the official team charity of the Boston Red Sox, established the IMPACT (Inspiring More Philanthropy Across Charities Together) Awards this year. The IMPACT Awards allowed Vermont residents to vote for their favorite Vermont nonprofit by casting online votes. Each resident could vote only once in the IMPACT Awards.
The three charitable organizations with the most votes in each New England state received an IMPACT Award from the Red Sox Foundation.
For being the top Vermont vote-getter, the Retreat received $10,000 and on-field recognition during Vermont Day at Fenway Park on Aug. 16.
A Retreat representative also got to make an in-game visit during the NESN broadcast of the Aug. 16 game against the Seattle Mariners. The Retreat also got four premium tickets for a Red Sox game, a free advertisement in the Red Sox game program, and a commemorative plaque and custom Red Sox jersey.
As third place winner, Grace Cottage will receive a $2,000 charitable donation from the Red Sox Foundation, as well as four tickets to a Red Sox game.
The second place finisher from Vermont was the National Gardening Association in Williston.
Semi-pro football comes to BF
• The Monadnock Marauders played their first-ever home football game at Hadley Field at Bellows Falls Union High School in Westminister on Aug. 15, and lost to the Granite State Destroyers, 26-6.
The Marauders, a Keene, N.H., semipro team now in its 14th season in the A Division of the New England Football League, normally play at Keene High School's Alumni Field.
There are several former Brattleboro Colonels (quarterback Teddy Knutson and wide receiver Noah Simeon) and Bellows Falls Terriers (wide receiver Ethan Amidon and offensive lineman Nate Wheeler) on the Marauders' roster. Lineman Jon Smith-Phillips of Putney is another local player.
The team has gone through some tough times on the field over the past few years. They've won only one game last season, and haven't had a multi-win season since 2012, when they won two games.
However, being a Marauder entails more than playing football. A prospective player also has to commit to volunteering at team service events in the Keene area. The team sets an annual goal of at least 1,000 hours of community service each year.
The team is proud of their giving back to the community. For example, a few days earlier, they hosted the Keene Parks and Recreation Department's Peanut Carnival. They are also involved with Special Olympics and often volunteer at the Keene Community Kitchen and the Hundred Nights shelter.
They recently partnered with the Red Sox Foundation to raise money for charitable organizations throughout New England through 50-50 raffles at Red Sox games at Fenway Park.
It's tough to balance football and volunteerism with work and family, but the two dozen or so players - who range from guys just out of high school to guys in their mid-30s - are managing to do it.
If you want to get involved with the Marauders, contact Tim Labouty at 603-313-5866 or email [email protected].
Connecticut River Bikeway routes map released
• Are you looking for suggestions on bike rides in the Tri-State region? A recently-released map of bikeway routes along the Connecticut River Scenic Byway can help you out. The map covers parts of three states and shows bike routes from Putney and Walpole, N.H., in the north to Easthampton and South Hadley, Mass. in the south.
The map was prepared by the Franklin Regional Council of Governments in Greenfield, Mass., in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The Windham Regional Commission contributed data for the Vermont portion of the map, which shows easier, intermediate, and advanced bike routes, off-road bike trails, bike shops, picnic areas, ice cream stops, and more.
Copies of the map are free. In Vermont maps are available in Brattleboro at the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, Burrows Specialized Sports, and Brattleboro Bike Shop; in Guilford at the Vermont Welcome Center on Interstate 91; and in Putney at the West Hill Shop.
If you're looking for more detailed information on biking in eastern Windham County, WRC's Bicycle Suitability Maps are still a great choice. These maps can be downloaded at www.windhamregional.org/bikemap, or from the sources listed above. A small fee may be charged.