Practices began last week for spring high school sports in Vermont and, weather permitting, the season will begin on April 6, when Unified basketball returns after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Brattleboro will open the season at the BUHS gym against Middlebury in a 2:15 p.m. game.
Tennis begins on April 6, when the Brattleboro boys host Northampton, Mass., at the BUHS courts, while the Bellows Falls girls' tennis team opens at Rutland on April 11. The Brattleboro girls start their season on April 16 in Rutland against Mount St. Joseph.
Boys' lacrosse gets going on April 8 when Brattleboro opens the season at Hartford. Girls' lacrosse begins on April 13, as the Brattleboro girls also travel to Hartford for their season opener.
Ultimate disc starts on April 8, when Leland & Gray plays Burr & Burton. Bellows Falls faces Brattleboro in the season opener for both teams on April 11.
Baseball won't get going until April 12, with Leland & Gray opening on the road against Mill River. Bellows Falls faces Brattleboro at Tenney Field on April 14 in the opener for both teams. Also that day, varsity baseball returns to Twin Valley as the Wildcats open the season at Arlington.
Softball will have to wait until April 14 when Leland & Gray opens against West Rutland, while on April 19, Brattleboro hosts Keene, N.H., at Sawyer Field and Bellows Falls hosts Poultney. Twin Valley opens its season in Whitingham on April 26 against Leland & Gray.
As for track & field, Brattleboro will host Mount Anthony for an April 29 meet at the Freeman Track.
Looking ahead to football
• While the focus is on spring sports right now, it's not too soon to think about fall and the Vermont high school football season.
The 2022 fall schedule came out a few weeks ago, and it will start off with a bang as the Brattleboro Colonels, the 2019 Division II champs, will play the season opener at Hadley Field on Friday, Sept. 2, at 7 p.m., against the 2021 Division II champs, the Bellows Falls Terriers.
Since Brattleboro and BF resumed playing each other in football a few years ago, their games have been must-see events for local fans, with the only real clinker in the revived rivalry coming in the 2020 season, where the teams had to play touch football because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Neither team thrived that season, but once normal play resumed in 2021, both made the playoffs and BF had one of its best seasons in years as they went undefeated and beat the Mount Anthony Patriots, 57-35, to win the state championship.
BF will get an early crack at Mount Anthony on Sept. 16. Also circled on the Terriers' calendar is Oct. 16, when BF heads up to Brown Field for the traditional rivalry game against the Springfield Cosmos. The Terriers have won “The Trophy” game for the past 11 seasons.
Brattleboro will seek to bring back the Elwell Trophy in its rivalry game against Mount Anthony at Natowich Field in the regular season finale on Oct. 21. The Patriots won back the trophy last season, but the Colonels have a 27-19 record over Mount Anthony in this series.
• Before the 2022 season can begin, the top senior stars in Vermont and New Hampshire from the 2021 season will face each other on Aug. 6 in the 68th Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl at Castleton University's Dave Wolk Field.
There will be four Bellows Falls players on the Vermont Shrine team - lineman Patrick Barbour, running backs Jed Lober and Jeb Monier and quarterback Jonathan Terry. Wide receiver Aaron Petrie and lineman Tyler McNary will represent Brattleboro on the Vermont team.
The Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl game is a fundraiser for the Shriners Children's hospitals in New England, and it has generated millions of dollars for the cause over the past seven decades. For more information about the game and its long history, visit shrinemaplesugarbowl.com.
Barber, Dunklee named to Vermont Sports Hall of Fame
• A BF basketball legend as a player and coach and a two-time Olympian in Nordic skiing are among this year's inductees to the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place on April 30 at the Delta Marriott Burlington Hotel in South Burlington.
Jane Barber was the first girls' basketball player at Bellows Falls to score 1,000 career points. Her 1,114 points stood as a school record for nearly 30 years. After graduating from Springfield College in 1980, she returned to BF in 1981 to lead the Terriers to 369 wins and five state championships in 28 years as head coach, including a 23-0 season for the Division I state title in 2003.
Stan Dunklee was a Vermont high school champion, NCAA champion, and an eight-time U.S. national champion in Nordic skiing. He competed for the U.S. ski team in the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics, finishing 36th in the 50K at Innsbruck in 1976, and skied in four events at Lake Placid in 1980. At UVM, he won the 1976 NCAA 15K title and, at BUHS, he was unbeaten in Nordic skiing and cross-country running.
Joining Barber and Dunklee in the Class of 2022 are Taylor Coppenrath, Cathy Inglese, Bill O'Neil, Erin Sullivan Lane, Tim Thomas, and Ted Ryan. For information on tickets for the induction dinner, visit www.vermontsportshall.com.
Hunter education courses offered
• The Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife's Hunter Education Program will present two courses at Sportsmen Inc., 2081 Creamery Rd., Guilford.
Don Rosinski will be the instructor for Hunter/Bowhunter combination course, which is planned for April 18, 20, 22, 25, 27, and 29, from 7 to 9 p.m., while Gary Sherer will lead a weekend session of the Hunter/Bowhunter combination course on April 9 and 10, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. One must attend all the classes at either session to complete the course.
Would-be hunters must successfully complete the Hunter Education course in order to purchase their first license. All courses are led by certified volunteer instructors, all are free, including materials, and all are open to all ages and experience. All courses, reading materials, and exams are written at a sixth-grade reading level.
Class size for both courses is limited, so register now online at www.register-ed.com/programs/vermont/109-vermont-hunter-bowhunter-combination-course.
Rec. Dept. offers 'Intro To T-Ball' program
• The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department has a new program, “Intro To T-Ball.” Effective immediately, they will be accepting registrations for this program. Children who are born between Sept. 1, 2017, and Aug. 31, 2018, are eligible to participate.
The fee for this program is $20 for Brattleboro residents and $35 for non-Brattleboro Residents. Intro to T-Ball will meet on Tuesdays in May from 5 to 5:45 p.m. at Living Memorial Park on the upper Softball Field, and is limited to 15 participants.
This is an instructional skills and drills program for youth who are not quite old enough for the traditional T-Ball program. There will be no games. Coaches will go over the basics of throwing, catching, and running bases. Gloves are not required. Participants should bring a water bottle and wear sneakers or cleats. They will be using “safety soft” whiffle ball equipment. Helmets are optional.
For more information, call the Recreation & Parks Department at 802-254-5808, Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., or visit their website at www.brattleboro.org. Once you are on this page, hover over the “Sport and Recreation” tab found on the blue horizontal bar. A new drop-down menu will appear and click “Recreation and Parks.”
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 12 of the winter/spring 2022 season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on March 24 saw first place Trash-O-Matic (41-19) have a 1-4 week, while second place Bowling Stones (35-25) had a 4-1 week. Stayin' Alive (34-26) went 5-0 to stay in third, followed by The 844s and Slow Movers (both 29-31), The Anythings (28-32), A Rose/Tulips (26-24), and Good Times (17-43).
Pat Bengtrup had the women's high handicap game (226), while Carol Gloski had the high handicap series (641). Warren Corriveau Sr. had the men's high handicap game (235) and series (681), while The Anythings had the high team handicap game (855) and series (2,515).
In scratch scoring, Corriveau led the men with a 654 series that featured games of 225, 216, and 213. Chuck Adams had a 643 series with games of 226, 225, and 192. Gary Montgomery had a 543 series with games of 204 and 187. Notable games included Robert Rigby (196), Marty Adams (187), and Pete Cross (185).
Gloski had the women's high scratch series (524), with games of 177, 177, and 170. Josie Rigby rolled a 167 game.