The Leland & Gray Rebels ended last week ranked No. 2 in Division III girls' soccer with a 6-1 record, the only blemish being a 2-1 loss to Stratton Mountain School on Sept. 21.
The Rebels faced winless Bellows Falls last Friday in Westminster, and cruised to a 7-0 win. Despite the lopsided result, both coaches had positive takeaways from the game.
For Rebels coach Lucas Bates, the challenge for his team was not to be complacent and to adjust to a different playing style. “Stratton was fast and the game was all go, go, go,” said Bates. “This game was played at a slower pace but, like they always do when they play us, BF hung in there and didn't give up.”
Terriers coach John Broadley knew his young and inexperienced 0-7 team was outmatched. Going into this game, the Terriers had been outscored 41-5 and had shut out twice. He also had to use forward Bri Donohue as his goalkeeper in her first start at that position.
“On paper, Leland & Gray is the toughest opponent we've faced,” said Broadley. “We have kids who have only played soccer for a year or two going against much more experienced players.”
Donohue didn't do that badly in her debut in goal, Broadley said. “She made some mistakes, but she also made 10 saves.”
Midfielder Rachel Borgesen scored four goals, two in the first half and two in the second half, and assisted on another to lead the Rebels. Emma Bourne scored twice, and Alia Bates had a goal and two assists. Goalkeeper Kelsi Bostrom needed to make two saves to earn the shutout win.
“We're still working out what system works for us,” said Broadley. “We'll take our lumps now, but in two or three years, we're going to be better.”
Football
• Brattleboro, fresh off its stunning upset of Middlebury the previous week, did not have a letdown against South Burlington last Saturday afternoon.
Cheick Diakite carried the ball 23 times for 159 yards and three touchdowns as the Colonels delighted a big Homecoming Weekend crowd at Natowich Field with a 40-0 rout of South Burlington.
Diakite's final totals would have been higher, had not a pair of apparent touchdown runs of 61 and 76 yards been negated due to holding penalties by the Colonels.
That was the only knock in a solid effort by the Colonels, especially by the defense, which had two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Kris Carroll started the scoring with an interception he returned for a touchdown with 2:26 left in the first quarter. Diakite later scored his first touchdown on a 19-yard run with 4 seconds left in the quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Brattleboro got the ball back when no South Burlington player bothered to touch the ball after it was booted downfield. The Colonels quickly turned that mistake into a touchdown as Kolton Ravenna ran it in from four yards out. Diakite later scored on a 7-yard run as the Colonels took a 27-0 lead at the half.
The Colonels went scoreless in the third quarter, despite an interception by Matt Gaboriault. They scored twice in the final quarter on a 19-yard run by Diakite and a 41-yard run by Louie Capy.
Now 2-2, the Colonels will play at Colchester this Friday night at 7.
• Bellows Falls stayed undefeated with a 55-8 demolition of Mount Mansfield at Hadley Field last Saturday afternoon. BF had 373 rushing yards, as Jahyde Bullard (10 rushes, 82 yards), Shane Clark (75 yards), Jake Lober (70 yards), and Logan Cota (65 yards) again showed off the depth that the Terriers have in the backfield.
BF scored on its first drive of the game of a 22-yard pass from quarterback Caleb Lisai to split end Jacob Streeter with 8:56 left in the first quarter. Lisai was 5 for 9 through the air for 93 yards and three touchdowns.
The Terriers broke the game open with four touchdowns in the final 7 minutes of the second quarter. After Clark recovered a fumble on the Mount Mansfield 16, Bullard ran the ball in on the next play with 6:56 left.
Bullard then scored on a 7-yard touchdown, followed by a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown by Cota. Lisai then capped off the scoring with a 65-yard touchdown pass to Cota with 55 seconds left for 35-0 lead at the break.
After a halftime ceremony to honor the members of the Terriers' 1971 state football championship team, the 2016 team continued to roll in the second half, as Clark scored on a touchdown run and Liam Hackett caught a 5-yard TD pass from Lisai for a 47-0 lead with 2:56 left.
Mount Mansfield spoiled the shutout bid when they scored as time expired in the third, and the BF reserves got the final touchdown on an 8-yard run by Brendan Kendall.
The defense had another great game, as Lober made 13 tackles as linebacker, while Bullard had nine stops. The 4-0 Terriers travel to Milton this Friday for a 7 p.m. game.
Girls' soccer
• When Brattleboro faced Burr & Burton in its season opener, they lost, 7-0. So, it could be considered a moral victory that the Colonels held the Bulldogs scoreless in the first 38 minutes of last Saturday's game at Tenney Field before losing, 5-0.
Burr & Burton, the top team in Division I with a 6-1 record, outshot Brattleboro, 14-5, in the first half, but junior goalkeeper Megan Ayotte and defenders Gabrielle Carpenter, Evy Williams, and Sophia Capy foiled numerous scoring chances before the Bulldogs broke through in the 38th minute when Brooke Woodward knocked in a corner kick from Sky Woodward.
The Bulldogs' depth and skill carried them through the second half. Carly Gayda scored in the 44th minute, Margaret Sullivan scooped up a misplayed ball for a goal in the 54th minute, Brooke Woodward blasted in a long shot in the 56th minute, and Sky Woodward again set up her big sister with a corner kick for Brooke Woodward's third goal of the game.
The Colonels started the week with a 1-0 loss to St. Johnsbury on Sept. 19 at Tenney Field. Ayotte played a phenomenal game, as she made 17 saves and thwarted several other runs at the goal by the Hllltoppers by intercepting several lead passes.
The game was 0-0 at the half as St. Johnsbury had an 11-1 advantage in shots. Hilltopper goalkeeper Audra Shield-Taylor was just as stellar in goal, particularly in the second half when the Colonels picked up the offensive pressure.
St; Johnsbury got what would be the winning tally in the 56th minute, when Jen Rotti served a corner kick in front of the Colonel goal for teammate Alex Lawson to put away for the score. The Colonels ended the week at 2-3.
Boys' soccer
• Brattleboro snapped Hartford's three-game winning streak with a 3-2 win at Tenney Field last Saturday morning.
Alex McGlone scored first for Hartford in the third minute, but Jack Price got the equalizer for the Colonels in the 16th minute off a corner kick by Ian Fulton-Black. Jasper Reed then got the go-ahead goal near the end of the first half.
Brattleboro scored on an own goal by Hartford two minutes into the second half. Hartford then picked up the intensity and put 12 shots on goal. Only one of them, by Alex St. Martin in the 76th minute, found the back of the net as goalkeeper Jacob Bailey and the Colonel defense hung on for the win.
Since opening the season with two losses, the Colonels beat Springfield and tied Arlington. With the win over Hartford, the Colonels are 2-3-1.
• Skyler Boyd scored with 31 seconds remaining in the first overtime period to give undefeated Twin Valley a 2-1 win over Leland & Gray under the lights at Hayford Field in Wilmington on Sept. 21.
Nathan Claussen scored in the 16th minute to give the Rebels an early 1-0 lead. Logan Park tied the game for the Wildcats when he put away a header off a corner feed from Jack McHale in the 27th minute.
The game-winning goal came off of a throw-in by Chad Bernard. Ethan Fox then found Park, who sent the ball ahead to Boyd, who finished the play drilling a 10-yarder to the near post.
Twin Valley goalkeeper Logan Boyd finished with three saves, while Luc Dugrenier made 13 saves for the 1-4-1 Rebels.
On Sept. 24, the Wildcats improved to 5-0 with a 2-1 win over Stratton Mountain School. Skyler Boyd was the hero again, scoring with 9 seconds left in regulation off a Brett Swanson corner kick. Troy Felisko had the other goal.
Field hockey
• Bellows Falls was five minutes away from suffering their first defeat of the season on the road against Otter Valley. Instead, they dug down deep and rallied for a 3-2 win in overtime in a battle of unbeaten defending state champions on Sept. 21.
Abbe Cravinho scored on an assist from Molly Kelly with 4:55 left in regulation. Cravinho later set up Madison Streeter for the game-winning goal just 2:15 into the extra period. It was Streeter's first goal of the season. Reaghan Baldasaro scored BF's other goal.
The BF defense held firm with the game on the line, stopping an Otter Valley attack in overtime before Streeter's goal. Sophomore goalie Brigid Hodsden also came up big against last year's Division II champs with two saves in OT.
Together with a 4-0 home win over Rutland on Sept. 23, the reigning Division III champs are 6-0.
• Brattleboro is still looking for a win, but they got closer on Sept. 23, when the Colonels lost to Burr & Burton, 1-0, at Tenney Field. The 0-6 Colonels held the Bulldogs scoreless until they finally broke through with 1:48 left to play.
Cross-country
• Brattleboro runners turned in a solid performance at the 42nd Manchester (N.H.) Invitational at Derryfield Park last Saturday.
Going up against some of the strongest teams in New England, the Colonel girls finished ninth out of 28 teams in the small schools division. Sarah Gallagher came in 19th in 20 minutes, 48 seconds, with Liz Morse (38th), Elery Loggia (51st), Annie Takacs (71st), and Alexandra Miskovich (82nd) rounding out Brattleboro's top five.
Isaac Freitas-Eagan was the fifth fastest Vermonter and placed seventh overall in 16 minutes, 43 seconds to lead the Brattleboro boys to a 16th place finish out of 32 schools. Joining him in the top five were Colin Costa-Walsh (48th), Spencer Loggia (58th), Trevor Kipp (132nd), and Dan Jaro (211th).
Fall paddling with the BOC
• Brattleboro Outing Club holds its last paddle trip of the season on Sunday, Oct. 2, on Somerset Reservoir. Meet at the “Coffee House” at the junction of Routes 9 and 100 in Wilmington at 9 a.m. Paddlers coming from the west are welcome to meet the others at the Car-Top launch site at Somerset (very end of the road) around 9:30 a.m.
This is an all-day paddle trip, so bring lots of water and lunch. All BOC paddle trips are free and open to the public. For more information, call Larry at 802-254-3666 or visit brattleborooutingclub.org.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 4 of the fall season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League saw Team 3 (14-6) jump into first place, with Team 7 (13-7) and Team 5 (13-7) tied for second. There's a four-way tie for third with Team 6, Team 1, Team 4, and Team 10 all with 10-10 records. Team 2 (8-12) is in fourth place, followed by a two-way tie for fifth, with Team 8 and Team 9 with identical 6-14 records.
Team 6 had the high handicap game (931) and series (2,530). DeEtt Farnham had the women's high handicap game (255) and tied Lorraine Taylor for the high handicap series (712). Jerry Dunham had the men's high handicap game (277) and high handicap series (655).
Dunham (247), Marty Adams (218), Warren Corriveau Sr. (211), and Peter Gilbert (204) all had 200-plus games.
Shirley Aiken (531) was the lone woman who rolled a 500-plus series. On the mens' side, seven had a 500-series: Tom Johnson (509), Fred Ashworth (527), Peter Cross (518), Wayne Randall (522), Gilbert (520), Dunham (565), and Corriveau (543).