Rosters were announced last week for the Vermont squad that will play in the 70th annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl on Aug. 5 at Castleton University's Dave Wolk Stadium, with four Bellows Falls players and one Brattleboro player making the team.
Bellows Falls is sending running back Caden Haskell, center Jake Moore, quarterback Jamison Nystrom, and guard Dillon Perry, while Brattleboro is sending wide receiver Tristan Evans.
In all, seniors from 31 high schools will be part of the Vermont team, which will be led by Windsor's Greg Balch. They will face their football counterparts in this game played for the benefit of the Shriners Children's facilities in the Northeast. In its first 69 years, the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl has raised millions of dollars for the Shinners hospitals.
Rebel boys fall in quarterfinals
• First, an apology to “Rebel Nation” for leaving this out of last week's roundup, but in a rare Sunday playoff game, seventh-seeded Leland & Gray was knocked out of the Division IV boys' basketball playoffs with a 65-45 loss to the second-seeded Rivendell Raptors in a quarterfinal game on March 5 in Orford, N.H.
The loss overshadowed a significant milestone for the Rebel boys - hosting their first home playoff game in a decade. On Feb. 28, they beat 10th-seeded Poultney, 62-49. Free throw shooting clinched this opening round win, as the Rebels went 12-for-12 in the final quarter. Parker Jennings led the Rebels in that game with 26 points, while Cody Hescock added 14 points.
Leland & Gray finished the season with an 11-11 record, while Rivendell went on to defeat Mid Vermont Christian School for the state championship on March 11 at the Barre Auditorium.
Rec. Dept. begins spring sports sign-ups
The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department is now accepting registrations for these spring youth sports programs:
• Youth Softball is for those in grades 3-6. The fee is $45 for Brattleboro residents and $60 for non-residents. Youth will learn the fundamentals of softball in an appropriate way, stressing safety, skills, and fun. Players will be assigned to a team and will have 2-3 games and practices a week at Living Memorial Park or away against neighboring towns such as Vernon, Hinsdale, N.H., and Erving, Northfield, and Greenfield, Mass. Participants will need to bring their own gloves, water bottles, and appropriate footwear (sneakers or cleats) to each practice and game. Practices will begin the week of April 17 (weather permitting). Games will begin the week of May 1 and continue until early June.
• Small Fry baseball is for those born between Sept. 1, 2013 and Aug. 31, 2016. The fee is $40 for Brattleboro residents and $55 for non-residents. Youths will learn the fundamentals of baseball in an appropriate way, stressing safety, skills, and fun. Players will be assigned a team and will have 2-3 practices and games a week. Participants will need to bring their own gloves, water bottles, and appropriate footwear (sneakers or cleats) to each practice and game. Please note that gray pants are required, the Brattleboro Recreation and Parks Department has pants available upon request. Each player will be assigned to a team as well as a practice location. Practices will begin the week of April 17 (weather permitting). Games will begin the week of May 1 and continue until early June.
• T-Ball is for those born between Sept. 1, 2016 and August 31, 2018. The fee is $35 for Brattleboro residents and $50 for non-residents. During the T-ball season, youths will learn the fundamentals of baseball in an appropriate way, stressing safety, skills, and fun. Players will be assigned a team and will have one practice and one game per week. Participants will need to bring their own gloves, water bottles, and appropriate footwear (sneakers or cleats) to each practice and game. Each player will be assigned to a team as well as a practice location. Practices will begin the week of April 17 (weather permitting). Games will begin the week of May 1 and continue until early June.
• Girls' and boys' youth lacrosse for those in grades 3-6. The fee is $20 for Brattleboro residents and $35 for non-residents. There will be 1-2 practices a week focusing on fundamentals and skill building. A minimum of 10 participants are required to run each age group. Participants should provide their own equipment. This includes mouth guards, cleats or sneakers, a water bottle, a stick, and goggles. Please contact the Brattleboro Recreation and Parks Department office at 802-254-5808 if you need equipment. We have a very limited supply available. At this time this group is strictly skills and drills based and will not play any games against other towns. Practices will begin the week of April 17 (weather permitting) and will continue until early June.
Registration for these programs can be done in person at the Gibson-Aiken Center Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m., or online at register1.vermontsystems.com/wbwsc/vtbrattleboro.wsc/splash.html. There is a $10 fee for late registration beginning March 27. For more information call the Rec. Dept. at 802-254-5808.
Little League sign-ups begin
• Brattleboro Little League baseball will be holding sign-ups for the upcoming 2023 season on March 15, 16, 21, 22, and 23 at American Legion Post 5 on Linden Street. Sign-ups will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. on those dates.
Youths from Brattleboro, Guilford, Vernon, Dummerston, Putney, Newfane, Marlboro, Townshend, Dover, Wilmington, Halifax, Wardsboro, and Hinsdale and Chesterfield, N.H., are eligible to play.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 8 of the winter/spring season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on March 9 saw Slo Movers (29-11) have a 5-0 week to take over first place. The Markers (27-13) had a 1-4 week to slide back into second place, followed by Fab Four (22-18), Split Happens (18-22), The Strikers and The A-1's (both 17-23), Trash-O-Matic (16-24), and 10 Pins (14-26).
Roberta Parsons had the women's high handicap game (233) and series (665). Fred Bump had the men's high handicap game (264) and Duane Schillemat had the high handicap series (704). The Markers had the high team handicap game (910), while Fab Four had the high handicap series (2,538).
In scratch scoring, Schillemat led the men with a 593 series that featured games of 222 and 193. Other bowlers with 500-plus series included Chuck Adams (576), Milt Sherman (546), John Walker (544), Warren Corriveau Sr. (540), Gary Montgomery (535), Robert Rigby (525), Jon Peters (515), and Wayne Randall (506).
Bowlers with 200-plus games included Marty Adams (224), Chuck Adams (206), and Sherman (206). Bump had a 199 game and Robert Rigby rolled a 193.
Shirley Aiken had the women's high scratch series (448), while Carol Gloski had the high scratch game (166). Aiken also rolled a 161 game.