Teams have tried and failed this season to find a way to slow down the high-powered offense of the undefeated Brattleboro Colonels football team.
Although Fair Haven ultimately lost to the Colonels, 41-7, at Natowich Field on Oct. 11, the Slaters may have provided some clues for Brattleboro's future opponents.
The Colonels entered this game with an amazing stat - courtesy of Reformer Sports Editor Shane Covey - Brattleboro had not trailed in a game since falling behind 19-0 against Bellows Falls on opening night. That's 267 minutes and 54 seconds of either being ahead, or tied 0-0 at the start of their games.
Fair Haven broke that streak on the opening drive of the game. Their strategy? Use the maximum time allowed between snaps, and run the ball to keep the clock moving and keep the Colonels' offense on the sideline.
The Slaters capped a 67-yard drive with a 30-yard touchdown run by Andrew Lanthier to take a 7-0 lead. But Brattleboro tied the game on the ensuing kickoff as sophomore Aaron Petrie ran the ball back 85 yards for a touchdown.
Fair Haven tried the same clock-eating strategy on their second series, but everything seemed to fall apart after Lanthier left the game with an injury and didn't return. Deprived of their best running back, the Slaters offense sputtered the rest of the way.
As for the Colonels, the Slaters' success on the first drive was a wake-up call, and wake up they certainly did as Brattleboro ultimately scored 41 unanswered points against Fair Haven.
Senior quarterback Tyler Millerick ran in the go-ahead score. A bad snap caused a rare point-after miss by Reed Sargent, but the Colonels still had a 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
A fumble recovery in Slater territory by defensive lineman Timmy Velazquez set up a 40-yard touchdown run by senior running back Chris Frost to make it 20-7 with 3:52 left in the second quarter. Velazquez scooped up another fumble by the Slaters late in the quarter, but the Colonels couldn't score and were content to have a two-touchdown lead at the break.
The third quarter was a bit of a slog for both teams, but Petrie broke the stalemate with a 51-yard touchdown catch from Millerick in the final minute for a 27-7 lead. Another Fair Haven fumble turned into another Colonel touchdown, with Frost running it in from the Slater 3 on the first play of the fourth quarter to up the lead to 34-7.
Frost ended his big night with a 14-yard TD run midway though the fourth. He finished with three touchdowns and 150 yards of rushing as the Colonels improved to 7-0 to remain in sole possession of first place in Division II. Millerick was 6-of-13 for 129 yards with a touchdown and and an interception, and ran the ball 10 times for 65 yards.
Brattleboro will close out the regular season in Bennington this Friday night when they take on Mount Anthony in the annual Elwell Trophy game. A win would clinch home field advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
• Bellows Falls was trying to keep a streak of road wins alive when they made the long trip to Newport on Oct. 11 to face the North Country Falcons. It took a dominating second half to take control of the game and come away with a 41-21 win to hold onto third place in Division II.
North Country had a 14-13 lead at halftime as it took a little time for the Terriers to get their legs going after their 141-mile bus ride to the edge of the Canadian border. The first sign of trouble was a fumble at midfield on BF's first drive. The Falcons recovered, and took advantage as quarterback Jack Young scored on a 10-yard run for a 7-0 lead with 6:49 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Terriers quickly responded. A 48-yard run by McGregor Vancor set up a 5-yard quarterback keeper by Griffin Waryas, but a missed extra point left the Falcons with a 7-6 lead with 5:04 left in the first.
Vancor then had his second long run of the game, a 40-yard romp for a touchdown, to make it 13-7 with 8:24 left in the half. North Country got the lead back with a 10-yard touchdown by running back Sam Austin with two minutes remaining. The Falcons had a chance to extend that lead, but missed a field goal as time expired.
Any thoughts of an upset by the Falcons were quickly dashed in the third quarter. North Country went nowhere on its first drive, but BF took the lead to stay when it got the ball back, thanks to a 55-yard run by Jeb Monier, who also kicked the extra point to make it 20-14 with 9:41 left.
Running back Jed Lober, who did the bulk of the rushing for the Terriers, scored on a 9-yard run for a 27-14 lead toward the end of the third. North Country's Shawn Fearino scored on a 2-yard run at the start of the final quarter, but Lober would find the end zone two more times. Dylan Clark ended the game by sacking Young in the end zone for a safety.
It was another big night for the BF running backs. Vancor had 105 yards on three carries, Monier had 99 yards on four carries, and Lober had 152 yards on 18 carries.
Young finished with 122 yards passing and 54 yards rushing to lead the 1-6 Falcons. Austin had 72 yards of rushing and 87 yards of receiving yardage. Fearino ran for 51 yards.
The victory kept the Terriers in the hunt for home field advantage in the first round with a 5-2 record. BF wraps up the regular season on Friday night at 7 when they host Milton at Hadley Field.
Girls' soccer
• Leland & Gray is rolling toward the Division III playoffs with a good shot at clinching home field for the first two rounds. After a 2-2 start, the Rebels have won all their games so far.
The Rebels started the week with a 3-1 win over Green Mountain on Oct. 8 in Chester. Leland & Gray outshot GM, 25-4, but GM goalkeeper Alex Hutchins kept her team in the game.
Arin Bates and Hannah Landers scored in the first half for a 2-0 lead. Izzy Ameden added a second half tally. Sarah Warnecke got the lone goal for the Chieftains.
The next day, at Bellows Falls, the Rebels notched a 2-0 shutout. Bates scored both goals. The first goal was assisted by Bay Holmes, while the second goal came off an intercepted pass.
Rebels goalkeeper Sydney Hescock made two saves in earning the shutout, while BF keeper McKenna Milbauer kept the Terriers in it with 16 saves. Leland & Gray finished the week at 11-2 and the No. 3 ranking in Division III.
• Bellows Falls fell to 2-8-2 with a 1-0 loss to Rivendell on Oct. 12.
• Layla Buskey scored the game-winning goal in the 65th minute as the Springfield Cosmos edged Brattleboro, 2-1, at Brown Field on Oct. 10.
The Cosmos scored first when Mycah White hit a free kick and Kayla Gibbons converted in the first half. Brattleboro's Enis Fu got the equalizer in the second half.
Goalkeeper Megan Stagner stopped six shots for the Cosmos, while Eliyah Petrie made five saves for the Colonels.
The next day, the Colonels had another road game against Mill River, and came away with a 3-2 win to improve their record to 3-9-1.
• Twin Valley lost at West Rutland, 4-1, on Oct. 9, but bounced back with a 2-0 home win over Sharon Academy to improve their record to 4-8-1 and the No. 8 ranking in Division IV.
Cross-country
• Bellows Falls runners were competitive in a Southern Vermont League B Division meet in Springfield on Oct. 8.
Mill River had the top runners in the girls' and boys' races as Brogan Giffin covered the course in 16 minutes, 23 seconds, while Annika Heintz won the girls' race in 20:08. The Hartford girls and Woodstock boys were the team winners.
BF placed two runners in the boys' top 10: Colen Robertson (fifth, 18:35) and Bradley Stone (seventh, 18:49) to finish third in the five-team meet.
Molly Hodsden (fifth, 23:07) and Ashley Bartlett (sixth, 23:12) finished in the top 10 for the Terrier girls, but BF did not have enough runners for a team score.
• The Brattleboro boys came away winners in a Southern Vermont League A Division meet in Manchester on Oct. 8.
The Colonels placed three runners in the top 10 - Bram Tabachnick (second, 20:17), Finn LaMorder (fourth, 21:00), and Ben Berkson-Harvey (sixth, 21:19) - to finish with 32 points. Nolan Holmes was ninth and Logan Makay finished 11th to round out the Colonels' top five.
Rutland was second with 40, followed by Burr & Burton (74) and Mount Anthony (86).
Boys' soccer
• Brattleboro is starting to roll in Division I with one of its best teams in years. On Oct. 8, the Colonels showed their mettle against Rutland, 2-1, in double overtime at Tenney Field.
Trailing 1-0 with regulation time running out, Avery Bauer scored the equalizer for the Colonels with 33 seconds to play. Luke Williams then came through with the winning goal with two minutes left in the second overtime.
The win, along with a 6-0 victory over Stratton Mountain School on Oct. 10, lifted the Colonels to a 10-2 record.
• Forward/midfielder Lucas Pugh scored three goals and midfielder Jared Pugh added two more goals in Springfield's 5-2 victory over Bellows Falls on Oct. 8 in Westminster.
With a 2-1 road loss to Otter Valley on Oct. 11, BF is 3-9 on the season.
• Jack and Colin McHale each scored two goals as Twin Valley picked up a 5-1 road win over Windsor on Oct. 11. Finn Fischer also scored for the 8-2-1 Wildcats. Windsor's Eli Milligan spoiled the shutout bid when he converted a penalty kick.
• Leland & Gray had a rough week with three losses leaving them with a 3-9-1 record and are likely out of contention for a home game in the first round of the Division III playoffs.
The Rebels were crushed on the road by Burr & Burton, 8-1, on Oct. 10. They then lost a doubleheader on Oct. 12 with a 3-0 loss to Green Mountain followed by a 3-0 loss to Green Mountain Valley.
Field hockey
• The up-and-down season for the Bellows Falls Terriers continued on Oct. 9 with a 3-0 home loss to Hartford. The Terriers are now 6-7 and ranked sixth in Division I.
• Brattleboro ended its week at 4-7 after a 5-0 road loss to Windsor on Oct. 9 and a 1-0 road loss to Springfield on Oct. 10.
BCC Women win state championship trophy for eighth year
• The Brattleboro Country Club Women's Golf Association recently celebrated an enjoyable and successful 2019 season at their fall dinner meeting.
For the eighth year in a row, the BCC women won the Vermont State Women's Golf Association State Day Mae Murray Jones Trophy for Division 1 with 99 points (second place was Williston with 83 points).
Tracy Sloan, Judy Manley, and Kate Clark placed in the top 10 for the entire state, and 18 players won points. Most improved golfer for B Division was Judy Manley lowering her handicap by 23.8 percent.
BCC Women's Club Championships were awarded: Club Champion - Gross, Elizabeth Walker, and Net, Tracy Sloan; Senior Club Champs - Gross, Elizabeth Walker and Net, Judy Manley; and Scotch Club Champs - Gross, Wendy Scott and Kate Clark and Net, Judy Manley and Alicia Field. Prizes were also awarded to the top 14 league players.
Earlier this summer, the BCC Women's Invitational Tournament hosted 72 competitors and raised $7,500 to be divided between Brattleboro Memorial Hospital's Belcher-Timme Fund and Grace Cottage Hospital's Hospice Suite, bringing their lifetime donations to various oncology funds well over $100,000.
The women also voted at their annual meeting to offer BCC Golf Camp scholarships to two deserving female golfers next summer.
Thirty-two women participated in the 2019 Twilight League. League nights begin again in mid-May and women golfers of all abilities are encouraged to join. For more information, contact Helen Merena at [email protected].
Senior bowling roundup
• The Ageless Wonders (Team 1, 26-4) remain in first place after Week 6 of the fall season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl.
Crash & Burn (Team 10) and Magic in Motion (Team 5) remained tied for second place at 22-8, and Stayin' Alive (Team 11) and Us'ns (Team 2) are tied for third at 16-14. Whatevers (Team 4) are fourth at 15-15, followed by One Pointers (Team 7) and Trash-O-Matic (Team 8), who are both 13-17; Split Ends (Team 3) and The Drifters (Team 9), who are both 12-18; and Delayed Reaction (Team 6) at 11-19.
Arlene Blum had the women's high handicap game (251), while Pam Prouty had the high handicap series (676). Dick Cooke had the men's high handicap game (242) and series (713). Whatevers had the high team handicap game (907) and One Pointers had the high handicap series (2,555).
In scratch scoring, Robert Rigby had games of 224, 213, and 199 to again lead the men with a 636 series, while Gary Montgomery had games of 234 and 195 as part of his 602 series. Warren Corriveau Sr. rolled a 225 and a 186 for his 500-plus series (569). Cook had a 185 game.
Lorraine Taylor had the women's top scratch game score (182), while Donna Corliss rolled a 179 game as part of her 464 series.