It was homecoming weekend at Brattleboro Union High School, and the undefeated Colonels varsity football team got it started with a 56-0 drubbing of the Mt. Abraham Eagles on Friday night at Natowich Field.
This was the most one-sided of the Colonels' Division II games so far, as the Eagles were totally outmatched. The Eagles' defense could not stop a team that has averaged 50 points a game this season, and the offense further hurt their cause by committing six turnovers.
Colonels quarterback Tyler Millerick and running back Chris Frost had their usual outstanding performances on offense, but the Colonels defense were the stars of Homecoming Night as Brattleboro took a 35-0 lead after one quarter.
Millerick began the onslaught with a 1-yard sneak to finish up the opening drive of the game. A two-point conversion attempt failed as the Colonels took a 6-0 lead just 2:03 into the game.
On the Eagles' first possession, Colonels linebacker Henry Thurber got the first of the six takeaways, when he intercepted a pass from Eagles quarterback Caleb Russell and returned it for a 30-yard touchdown. Reed Sargent kicked the first of his six extra points for a 13-0 lead with 7:52 left in the quarter.
Millerick threw the first of his three touchdowns in the first quarter, a 20-yard strike to Aaron Petrie, and ran in the conversion to make it 21-0 with 5:01 to play. Trinley Warren reeled in a 55-yard pass to make it 28-0 with 2:13 left. After defensive lineman Timmy Velaquez recovered a fumble, it was Thurber's turn to score on offense with a 12-yard catch with 54.3 seconds remaining.
Brattleboro's only touchdown in the second quarter came with 7:00 left in the first half, a 57-yard run from Frost for a 42-0 lead. The only suspense left was whether the Brattleboro defense would get a shutout (spoiler alert: they did) and who was going to be selected as the Homecoming Royalty and Court at halftime.
For the record, Millerick and cross-country team member Ernie Brunton earned Royalty honors, while Venus Fu and Sophia Capy of the girls' soccer team, Luke Williams of the boys' soccer team, Student Council members Amelia Glickman and Gus Williams, Edie Cay of the field hockey team, and Lila Alexander of the French Club were named to the Court.
Court nominees included Antonio Ricardo, QSA; Cullen O'Hern, cross-country; Zola van Krusenstiern and Sarah Gordon-Macie, BUHS Band; Jordan Roach and Bram Tabachnick, BUHS Jazz Band; Rachael Rooney, field hockey; and Jessica Tatro and Nick Campbell, National Honor Society.
After the halftime ceremony, the game was played under a running clock due to the mercy rule. Brattleboro got two more scores, as a Petrie interception set up a 75-yard touchdown run by Millerick with 7:48 left in the third quarter and Velaquez took a turn at running back and eventually scored on a 4-yard run.
Millerick had a 4-for-6 night passing for 120 yards, and ran 10 times for 156 yards. Frost piled up 154 yards on 14 carries. On defense, Spencer Lawrence, Sammy Fontaine, Ruchan Karagoz, and Thurber each had a sack, and Alex Kendall. Conrad Auerbach, and Karagoz all had takeaways.
The 5-0 Colonels travel to Barre this Saturday for a night game against Spaulding.
U-32 muzzles Terriers
• The U-32 Raiders took over sole possession of second place in the Division II football standings behind Brattleboro after a 42-29 win over Bellows Falls at Hadley Field on Saturday.
Tight end Carter Pelzel led the Raiders with seven catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Nathan LaRosa passed for 118 yards and ran for 141 yards and a touchdown.
It was 7-7 after one quarter as LaRosa connected with Pelzel for a 12-yard touchdown and BF running back Jeb Monier scored on an 18-yard run.
For the second straight week, the Terriers scored a safety on a punt attempt. This time, it was a bad snap that put the ball into the end zone for BF to recover for a 9-7 lead.
U-32 responded with a pair of touchdowns - a 17-yard keeper by LaRosa and a 7-yard TD run by Crosse Gariboldi to make it 21-9 at halftime.
Pelzel got his second touchdown on a 12-yard toss by LaRosa early in the third quarter, but BF rallied with three straight scores. First, running back Jed Lober ran it in from two yards out. Quarterback Griffin Waryas then found McGregor Vancor with an 18-yard TD pass. Monier scored from three yards out, and suddenly the Terriers were within six, 35-29, with 5:05 left in the game.
The Raiders then closed out the game with a final scoring drive capped off by a 2-yard run by LaRosa.
Waryas was 6-of 13 passing for 54 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and ran for 16 yards on six carries. Lober had a solid day running the ball with 18 carries for 123 yards. Monier gained 62 yards on 11 carries.
Now 3-2, the Terriers head to Brown Field in Springfield for the annual game for “The Trophy” against the 4-1 Cosmos on Friday night at 7.
Boys' soccer
• Brattleboro kicked off a tripleheader Saturday of varsity games at Tenney Field with a 3-1 win over the Green Mountain Chieftains on Sept. 28.
Green Mountain had won six straight games heading into their match against the Colonels, and made them work for the victory. The first 30 minutes, however, belonged to the Colonels as they controlled the flow of play and had numerous scoring chances.
Nick Campbell scored in the 13th minute and Alex Lier scored in the 23rd minute for a 2-0 advantage. A fluky goal credited to Green Mountain's Everett Mosher late in the first half cut the Colonels' lead in half, but Brattleboro regrouped in the second half, clamped on defense, and kept the Chieftains from getting any more goals.
Lier finished off the game with his second goal in the 78th minute.
On the road against Hartford on Sept. 24, Lier had a pair of goals and Sam Hall scored his first varsity goal as Brattleboro rolled over the Hurricanes, 5-1.
Ayoub Lajhar and Luke Williams scored the other Brattleboro goals and Campbell, Owen Bailey, Nick Bingham, Lajhar and Williams were all credited with one assist each.
• After Twin Valley and Arlington battled to a 2-2 tie after 80 minutes of regulation time and two 10-minute overtimes, the Wildcats prevailed 5-4 after one round of penalty kicks to win their seventh straight John Werner Tournament title on Sept. 26.
Lucas Messing and Owen Grinold scored in regulation for the Wildcats; Finn Fisher set up Messing's goal. In the penalty kick round, Casey Sibilia, Colin McHale, Fisher, Grinold and Messing all converted their kicks.
Grinold was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and goalkeeper Jack Kehoe made seven saves for the 6-1-1 Wildcats. Although penalty kicks determined the winner of the tourney, under Vermont Principals' Association rules, the game will count as a tie, since there are no penalty kick shootouts in regular season matches.
• With 39 seconds to play, Riley Barton took a pass from Liam Towle and booted home the winning goal to give Leland & Gray a 2-1 win over Springfield on Sept. 28.
Jeremy Graves scored his first career goal in the first half. Quinn Kelloway made one save for the Rebels.
Girls' soccer
• Brattleboro had mixed results on Homecoming Weekend. On Sept. 27, midfielder Sophie Mikijaniec scored from the top of the box in the second overtime to give Brattleboro a 1-0 win over Green Mountain.
The next day at Tenney Field, the Colonels lost to Burr & Burton, 4-0, in a game that the Bulldogs dominated for long stretches.
Rowan Russell scored in the eighth minute and Grace Pinkus got a goal in the 31st minute to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 halftime lead. Brattleboro picked up the pace in the second half, but couldn't get the ball past goalkeeper Carol Hebert. Burr & Burton picked up a pair of goals in the final five minutes from Julia Brand and Annette Zilkha to seal the win.
• Emma Graham tapped in the winning goal in the second half to give Bellows Falls a 2-1 victory over Sharon Academy in its Homecoming Game on Sept. 27.
Izzy Stack opened the scoring for BF on a 27-yard free kick before Sharon was able to pull even before the half. The Terriers ended the week with a 2-4-2 record.
• Leland & Gray blitzed Green Mountain, 8-0, to improve to 6-2 on the season. Ellie Longo, Arin Bates, and Emma O'Brien scored two goals each and Izzy Ameden and Ainsley Meyer also scored. Rebels goalkeeper Sydney Hescock made two saves to earn the shutout win.
Field hockey
• Katryna Jarvis scored two goals and Rachael Rooney had three assists as Brattleboro shut out the Springfield Cosmos, 4-0, on Sept. 23 at Tenney Field.
Jessica Tatro and Devi Eithier both scored their first varsity goals. Kaylyn Bailey and Brittney Wright combined for seven saves in goal for the Colonels.
In their Homecoming Game on Sept. 28, Rachael Rooney scored three goals to lead Brattleboro to a 4-1 win over Fair Haven.
Jarvis also scored, and Makenna Severance and Jessica Tatro were credited with assists. Bailey made three saves as the Colonels improved to 3-5.
• Bellows Falls lost to Burr & Burton, 2-0, on Sept. 27. Celsey McMahon and Arden Wojtach scored goals in the second half for the Bulldogs, with Riley Callen and Annabelle Gray earning assists.
Bulldog goalie Hannah Callen had nine saves to earn the win, while BF goalie Jaia Caron made eight saves for the 4-5 Terriers.
Senior bowling roundup
• Team 5 (18-2) moved into sole possession of first place after Week 4 of the fall season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl.
Team 1 (17-3) is close behind in second and Team 10 and Team 11 (both 13-7) are tied for third. Team 2 (11-9) is in fourth, followed by Team 3 (10-10), Team 4 (9-11), Team 9 (8-12), Team 6 and Team 7 (both 7-13), and Team 8 (5-15).
Doris Lafortune had the women's high handicap game (242), while Sonya Shipee had the high handicap series (663). Duane Schillemat had the men's high handicap game (255) and series (692), and Team 10 had the high team handicap game (887) and series (2,500).
In scratch scoring, Schillemat rolled a 218 to lead the men with a 581 series, while Robert Rigby had games of 212 and 195 as part of his 575 series. Les Wigdor (531) and Warren Corriveau Sr. (511) also had a 500-plus series.
Josie Rigby had the women's top scratch game scores of 191 and 179, part of her 530 series. Nancy Dalzell rolled a 170 game.
Men's Basketball League to hold organizational meeting
• There will be a Brattleboro Men's Basketball League organizational meeting for team managers on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 6:30 p.m., at the Gibson-Aiken Center, 207 Main St.
A representative from each team must attend the meeting. The league is still looking for new board members. If you participate in this league, here is your opportunity to have a say in how it is run.
For more information, contact Kim Isaacsen at the Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department office at 802-254-5808.