Chester was the center of activity in high school girls' and boys' basketball last week with the annual Green Mountain Holiday Tournament.
• Green Mountain, the defending Division III state boys' basketball champs, got off to a rough start on Dec. 14, losing to Bellows Falls, 42-33, in the opening game of the tournament.
It was the third game in five days for the Chieftains, and they looked weary against a rested and ready Terriers squad. Jon Terry led BF with 14 points, and the Terriers' defense forced numerous turnovers. Everett Mosher had 19 points to lead GM.
• Twin Valley also played in the Green Mountain tourney, and the Wildcats got steamrollered by the Mount St. Joseph Mounties in a 66-11 loss on Dec. 14.
The Wildcats were coming off a pair of losses in the Bob Abrahamson Tournament in Proctor, and they were no match for the Mounties.
Andre Prunty scored 20 points to lead MSJ in their first game of the season. Liam Wendel led the Wildcats with six points. MSJ led 25-0 after the first quarter and built up a 33-0 lead in the second quarter before Wendel drained a three-pointer to end MSJ's scoring run.
• Green Mountain and Twin Valley faced off in the boys' consolation game on Dec. 16. Twin Valley played a little bit better than they did in the MSJ game, but the Wildcats were no match for the Chieftains, who came away with a 43-26 win.
Everett Mosher scored 24 points to power the Chieftains, while Eben Mosher chipped in 10 points. Cody Magnant led the winless Wildcats with eight points, and Caleb Dupuis added seven points.
• In the boys' championship game on Dec. 16, MSJ rolled past Bellows Falls, 69-53. Brunty again had a big game for the Mounties with 33 points and Owen Traynor added 12 points. Jack Cravinho led the Terriers with 15 points, while Terry had 10 points and 14 rebounds.
• Mount St. Joseph also swept the girls' side of the tournament, defeating Leland & Gray, 47-23, in the championship game on Dec. 16. MSJ led 22-10 at the half, and got 21 points from Tiana Gallipo, who made five three-point baskets. Brooke Bishop added nine points for the Mounties. Mary Sanderson led the Rebels with seven points, while Maggie Parker added six points.
Leland & Gray advanced into the championship game by downing Long Trail School, 39-22, on Dec. 14. Sanderson and Parker scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Rebels, while Samantha Morse added six points.
• Green Mountain got its first win of the season, beating Long Trail, 45-31, in the girls' consolation game. Kim Cummings led the Chieftains with 23 points, while Grace Tyrrell added 8 points. Camilla Marcy scored 11 points to lead Long Trail.
Boys' basketball
• Leland & Gray picked up their first win of the season with a 62-24 blasting of West Rutland in Townshend on Dec. 14.
The Rebels led 38-9 at halftime and were never seriously challenged by West Rutland. Alex Parker-Jennings and Jeremy Graves each scored 16 points to lead the Rebels, who took a 25-5 lead after one quarter. Trevor Stillwagon added 12 points for the Rebels.
On Feb. 17, the Rebels lost at Arlington, 50-24, to end their week at 1-2.
• South Burlington cruised to a 74-41 win over Brattleboro on Dec. 18. The Wolves broke open a close game by outscoring the Colonels, 27-11, in the second quarter to take a 47-23 lead at the half.
Khalon Taylor led the Wolves with 21 points, while Jack Mayer nailed four three-pointers to finish with 12 points. Cam Frost led the Colonels with 14 points, and Tate Chamberlain added 12 points.
Girls' basketball
• Springfield is looking like one of the top teams in southern Vermont this season, and showed why in a 34-20 win over Brattleboro at the BUHS gym on Dec. 16. The Cosmos took a 21-5 lead at the half and held on in the second half to clinch the win.
Macie Stagner led the Cosmos with 16 points. Diamond Bedward was the Colonels' top scorer with seven points, and Kiki McNary and Chloe Givens each added four points.
On Dec. 18. St. Johnsbury beat Brattleboro, 49-18, as the visiting Colonels fell to 1-3 on the season.
• Springfield also beat up on Bellows Falls, 59-31, in the Terriers' season opener on Dec. 13. Stagner had 23 points to lead the Cosmos, who had 10 different players score at least one point in the game. Laura Kamel led BF with 15 points.
Bellows Falls then suffered one of their most lopsided road losses in years, as Windsor crushed the Terriers, 81-8, on Dec. 17. Eleven players scored for Windsor, who were led by Elliot Rupp, who had 21 points, four assists, and five steals. Reese Perry added 16 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for the Yellowjackets.
• Leland & Gray avenged their loss to Arlington in the season opener in Townshend with a 37-25 road win on Dec. 17 to improve the Rebels' record to 2-3.
• Twin Valley will not field a varsity team this year.
The Wildcats lost all five members of the 2020-21 varsity squad, and longtime coach Buddy Hayford retired. Faced with fielding a team full of eighth- and ninth-graders to play a very tough varsity schedule in the Southern Vermont League, Twin Valley decided it would be best to play a junior varsity schedule this season.
It's a smart move, since it gives new head coach James Anderson a chance to build up a team as his young players go up against comparable competition. Getting blown out game after game playing against experienced juniors and seniors doesn't do much for a young player's confidence. Sometimes, you have to step back before you can step forward.
Bowling
• Brattleboro won their home opener at Brattleboro Bowl on Dec. 18 with a victory over Windsor and Hartford.
The Colonels put up some impressive scores in the qualifying rounds. In game one, Brattleboro turned in a team score of 943. Lucas Forthofer led the way with a 237, Thomas Bell had a 215, Tucker Sargent rolled a 200, Kelton Mager had a 179, and Dorien Phillps had a 112.
The second game was even better, as the Colonels had a team score of 1,030. Bell led the way with a 232, but Forthofer was not far behind with a 221. Philips (194), Sargent (193), and Mager (190) also were also locked in during the game.
That performance gave the Colonels the top seed in the Baker portion of the match, where a single game is shared by five players who each bowl one frame in succession until the game is completed.
Second-seeded Windsor defeated third-seeded Hartford, 171-156 and 152-146, to advance to the final against Brattleboro, which cruised to a sweep of Windsor, 219-116 and 192-143.
Brattleboro's next match is Jan.8 against Windsor and Randolph at Maple Lanes in Claremont, N.H.
Ice hockey
• Brattleboro's Will Taggard scored a pair of goals, but it was not enough as Burr & Burton got three goals and an assist from Matt Grabher as the Bulldogs beat the Colonel boys, 5-2, at Withington Rink on Dec. 15.
Karter Noyes added a pair of goals and an assist for the Bulldogs, who broke a 2-2 deadlock with three seconds left in the first period with the go-ahead goal from Grabher. After a scoreless second period, Grabher scored again to complete his hat trick in the third period and Noyes got an empty-netter to complete the scoring.
• Jenna Powers scored the opening goal of the game for the Colonel girls against Rutland, but the Ravens responded with nine unanswered goals in a 9-1 rout in Brattleboro's home opener on Dec. 15 at Withington Rink.
Rutland's Alyssa Kennedy scored three goals, Isabel Crossman added two more, and Makenna Hubert, Abby Stoodley, Anna Gallipo and Addison Hubert all had one goal each in the win.
Brattleboro goaltender Brittney Wright made 30 saves as she faced a barrage of shots by the Ravens, while Rutland's Sierra McDermott needed to make just two saves to earn the win.
Nordic skiing
• A warmer-than-normal December has put a crimp in the high school nordic skiing schedule.
The season-opening race for Brattleboro on Dec. 14 at Prospect Mountain in Woodford was canceled due to a lack of snow. The home opener for the Colonels on Dec. 22 at the Brattleboro Outing Club also got postponed.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 16 of the fall/winter season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on Dec. 16 saw Stayin' Alive (53-27) have a second straight 5-0 week to remain in first place. Alley Katz (49-31) had a 4-1 week to remain in second place, followed by Pin Falls (44.5-35.5), Pin Setters (38-42), Trash-O-Matic (37-43), Team Four (35-45), Old Farts (34-46), and Rolling Stones (29.5-50.5).
Pat Bentrup had the women's high handicap game (246) for the third straight week, while Josie Rigby had the high handicap series (638), and Fred Ashword had the men's high handicap game (239) and series (687). Stayin' Alive had the high team handicap game (913) and series (2,581).
In scratch scoring, Chuck Adams led the men for a second straight week with a 614 series, with games of 218, 202, and 194. Robert Rigby had a 608 series that featured games of 237 and 202. Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 574 series with a 190 game, while Ashworth had a 570 series with 191 game.
Josie Rigby had the women's high scratch series (503) with high games of 180 and 171. Shirley Aiken had a 178 game, while Bentrup rolled a 172.