The Bellows Falls and Brattleboro cross-county teams went up to Thetford on Oct. 7 for the 27th annual Woods Trail Run. This event attracts runners from all over New England, but for the Vermont runners, it is a dress rehearsal for the state meet on the Thetford Academy course on Oct. 28.
Brattleboro's Isaac Freitas-Eagan finished 10th, covering the 5-kilometer course in 17 minutes, 23.37 seconds. Together with teammates Colin Costa-Walsh (42nd, 18:16.84), Trevor Kipp (110th, 19:06.59), Bram Tabachnik (143rd, 19:31.80), and Evan Koch (175th, 19:47.30), the Brattleboro boys' came in 12th out of 50 schools.
BF was 24th. Ian Wallace was the top Terrier, finishing 86th in 18:49.80, followed by Tim Salter-Roy (134th, 19:24.30), Nic Potter (148th, 19:33.50), Colton Baldasaro (187th,19:56.43), and Stone Bradbury (287th, 20:54.22).
Delany Bullock of The Putney School finished sixth overall in the girls' race in 20:06.42, while Brattleboro's Sarah Gallagher was 13th in 20:40.11 and BF's Lia Clark was 70th in 22:13.29.
Brattleboro finished 16th out of 42 schools in the girls' event. Scoring for the Colonels were Emily Dick-Floria de Fabio (131st, 23:15.04), Liz Morse (132nd, 23:15.58), Alexandra Mishovich (158th, 23:46.53), and Bella Takacs (215th, 24:44.86).
BF and Putney did not have enough runners for a team score. Finishing for BF were Emma Perkins (251st, 25:25.89), Brigid Hodsden (263rd, 25:41.29), and Haley Covillion (269th, 25:47.39).
• Earlier in the week, Bullock and Gallagher were locked in a bit of a duel in a multiteam meet on the Colonels' home course on East Orchard Street on Oct. 2
A bees' nest that got stirred up by the varsity boys and middle school runners earlier in the afternoon forced the course to be shortened for the girls' race. The change seemed to benefit Bullock, who led wire-to-wire and finished first in 13 minutes, 44 seconds. Gallagher was second in 13:49.
The Colonel girls won the team event with 55 points, followed by Stratton Mountain School (57), Mount Anthony (67), Burr & Burton (98), Rutland (113), Bellows Falls (132), and Hartford (182). Morse was 12th for the Colonels in 15:29, followed by teammates Miskovich (13th, 15:38), Takacs (16th, 16:01), and Elery Loggia (17th, 16:06). Clark was the top runner for the Bellows Falls' girls with a seventh-place finish.
In the 3-mile boys' race, Freitas-Eagan won in 17:05, as he took command on the first lap, and increased his lead midway through the course to defeat Stratton's Ben Hogan (17:09). Also scoring for the Colonels were Costa-Walsh, (fifth, 18:02), Kipp, (sixth, 18:30), Koch (12th, 19:24), and Pierce, (16th, 19:32).
Brattleboro won the boys' team event with 40 points, followed by Stratton (42 points), MAU (66), Bellows Falls (73), Rutland (140), Burr & Burton (171), St. Michael's School (197) and Hartford (209).
Salter-Roy (ninth), Wallace (10th), Potter (13th), Gabe Hakimoglu (20th) and Baldasaro (21st) were the top five runners for the Bellows Falls boys.
Football
• When you're 0-6, you take the glimmers of hope wherever you find them.
Against the undefeated St. Johnsbury Hilltoppers, the winless Brattleboro Colonels lost, 53-20, on Oct. 6 at Natowich Field. That was to be expected.
The Colonels could not contain St. J quarterback Jacob Cady. In the air, he was 23-for-30 for 336 yards and three touchdowns, including a 75-yard scoring strike to Jasper Rankin, as the Hilltoppers raced out to a 32-6 halftime lead.
On the ground, Cady carried the ball 10 times for 91 yards and two touchdowns, including a 59-yard scoring run. Mathew Roy, Nick Guckin, and Shane Alercio all ran in touchdowns, while Renwick Smith and Hunter Palmieri were both recipients of Cady TD passes.
The glimmer of hope for the Colonels was the performance of quarterback Tyler Millerick, who threw three touchdown passes. In the second quarter, he connected with Kyle Derosia on a six-yard strike to break up the shut out, and threw TD passes of 51 and 27 yards to Chris Frost in the fourth quarter.
Millerick has displayed excellent play faking skills, good mobility in the pocket to avoid taking too many sacks, a strong throwing arm, and utter fearlessness. With another year of experience for the corps of sophomores and juniors that make up this season's squad, the Colonels should be considerably better in 2018.
Meanwhile, the 0-6 Colonels need a win, and will host Mount Anthony this Friday at 7 p.m. for the annual Elwell Cup game.
• Bellows Falls has never been known for having explosive offenses. This year, we're seeing something completely different.
The dynamic duo of quarterback Logan Cota and running back Shane Clark are lighting up the scoreboard for the Terriers. On Oct. 7 in Bristol, BF pulverized Mt. Abraham, 60-0.
Clark ran 10 times for 127 yards and a touchdown. Cota threw a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for 75 yards and two more scores. As a team, BF ran the ball for 329 yards.
The combination of Clark's speed and power as a runner, and Cota's athleticism throwing and running the ball, has allowed BF coach Bob Lockerby to diversify his offense and put up points in a hurry.
But don't overlook the BF defense. Reno Tuttle and Cota had seven tackles each, McGregor Vancor reeled in an interception, and Hunter Smith recovered a fumble to give the Terriers a shutout victory.
Now 5-1, the Terriers go on the road to take on Fair Haven this Friday at 7 p.m.
Girls' soccer
• On Oct. 3, the Colonels were shut out, 3-0, by Hartford. Two days later, the Colonels shut out Woodstock, 3-0. How did the Colonels end up with such opposite outcomes?
According to coach Edwin de Brujin, Brattleboro was shorthanded against Hartford and was unable to put together a coherent attack. In the Woodstock game, the Colonels regrouped and got a first-half goal from Hailey Derosia and two second-half goals from Kai Boyd for Brattleboro's second win of the season.
• In the latest installment of “statistics don't always tell the whole story,” Leland & Gray dominated in every offensive category against Windsor, yet it was the Yellowjackets that came away with a 1-0 win.
The Rebels outshot Windsor, 26-5, and had a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks. The difference was that Windsor's Ava Sutton broke through the Rebels' defense and scored in the second half.
• Windsor scored with 16 minutes left in regulation for a 2-1 win over Bellows Falls on Oct. 7 in Westminster. BF is 1-8, and despite the record, they're starting to play better.
• Stratton Mountain School shut out Twin Valley, 2-0, on Oct. 7. It was the third straight game that the 2-6-1 Wildcats failed to score a goal.
Boys' soccer
• Rutland outshot Brattleboro, 21-1, and came away with a 2-0 win over the visiting Colonels on Oct. 7. Eli Henni and Andres Aguilar were the scorers for Rutland. The Colonels ended the week at 4-5-1.
• Twin Valley rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Green Mountain, 7-3, on Oct. 2. Logan Park led the way with three goals and an assist. Jack McHale had two goals and three assists, and Colin McHale and James McGovern each added a goal. Dylan Depuis, Finn Fisher, and McGovern all were credited with assists.
Twin Valley goalkeepers Logan Boyd and Josh Carpenter-O'Hearn combined for five saves.
• Leland & Gray shut out Mill River, 3-0, in Townshend on Oct. 4. Senior midfielder Patrick McDonald figured in all three goals.
A blast on goal by McDonald in the 30th minute turned into a rebound chance for Riley Barton, who tapped it in for the first goal. In the 53rd minute, McDonald made a nice crossing pass that Barton turned into his second goal. McDonald got a goal of his own a couple of minutes later when he converted a penalty kick. Goalkeeper Quinn Kelloway picked up the shutout win.
On Oct. 7, the Rebels lost to Woodstock, 1-0. It was only the second loss in the last eight games for Leland & Gray, which finished the week at 6-4-1.
• Eric Maxham and Slade Postemski each had a pair of goals as West Rutland defeated visiting Bellows Falls, 5-2, on Oct. 6. Kyle Laughlin made seven saves and Matt Harte also scored for the Golden Horde. Gabriel Morris and John Donavan scored for the 1-8-1 Terriers.
Field hockey
• Bellows Falls scored three goals in the first 10 minutes, then cruised to a 7-0 win at Woodstock on Oct. 2. Abby Cravinho led the way with three goals, Reaghan Baldasaro added two goals, and Madison Streeter and Dani Marchica also scored for BF.
The Terriers then won their 33rd consecutive game with a 10-1 beatdown of Windsor on Oct. 6. Cravinho and Baldasaro both scored three times for the 10-0 Terriers. Kelly added two more goals for BF, and Streeter and Marchica each scored once.
• Sabrina Buffa scored three goals as Burr & Burton shut out Brattleboro, 4-0, in Manchester on Oct. 2. Goalie Hannah Callen needed to make just one save to earn the victory.
After a scoreless first half, Hartford got a pair of second-half goals for a 2-0 home win over the Colonels. Kaylyn Bailey made 12 saves for 3-6 Brattleboro in her varsity debut.
Skating rink opens Oct. 21
• The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department says the Nelson E. Withington Skating Facility will open for the season on Saturday, Oct. 21. Discounted season passes are on sale now: buy a pass before Oct. 19 and save 10 percent.
After Oct. 19 season passes for Brattleboro residents are $40 for students, $50 for adults and $80 for families. Non-residents pay $10 for student and adult season passes. Family passes for non-residents are $105. For more information, call the Recreation & Parks Department at 802-254-5808.
Men's Basketball League managers meeting is Oct. 12
• There will be an organizational meeting of the Brattleboro Men's Basketball League on Thursday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m., at the Gibson-Aiken Center, 207 Main St.
A representative from each team must attend the meeting. They are still looking for new board members. If you want to have a say in how the league is run, this is your chance.
Senior bowling roundup
• Team 7 (21-4) remains in the lead after Week 5 of the fall season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League. Team 1 (18-7) moved into second place, with Team 10 (15-10) falling back to third. Team 2 and Team 8 (both 13-12) are tied for fourth, followed by Team 3 (11-14), Team 9 and Team 5 (both 10-15), Team 6 (9-16), and Team 4 (5-20).
Pat Putnam had the women's high handicap game (247) and DeEtt Farnam had the high handicap series (667), while Warren Corriveau Sr. had the men's high handicap game (256) and Richard Dowley had the high handicap series (684). Team 2 had the high team handicap game (902) and Team 8 had the high handicap series (2,581).
Corriveau (648) rolled a 600-plus series with two 200-plus games (211, 246). Others with a 500-plus series were Jerry Dunham (536) and Dowley (573).