With the help of several local players, Vermont snapped a three-game losing streak in the 70th Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl with a 28-6 win over New Hampshire on Aug. 5 at Vermont State University Castleton's Dave Wolk Stadium.
Vermont had a slim 7-6 lead late in the second quarter when Essex defensive back Tanner Robbins picked off a pass by Concord quarterback Zach Doward and returned it 73 yards for a touchdown.
That was the second New Hampshire pass that was intercepted by the Vermont defense in the first half, as Robbins also picked off Doward in the drive that preceded his pick-six.
Vermont's defense was just as stout in the second half of the game, shutting out the Granite Staters. Jamison Nystrom of Bellows Falls, playing as a defensive back, recovered a New Hampshire fumble and had two interceptions.
On offense, Brattleboro receiver Tristan Evans was part of the wildest play of the game. Evans caught a pass from Champlain Valley quarterback Max Destito, who then lateraled the ball back to Colchester's Caleb Levasseur, who raced down the right sideline for a touchdown.
The "hook-and-ladder" play, a play that Colchester has been known to run with success, worked to perfection thanks to the teamwork of Destito, Evans, and Levasseur. It served as the finishing touch on Vermont's first victory in the Shrine game since 2018. New Hampshire still has a 50-17-2 record in the series (there was no game in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Evans finished with two receptions for 38 yards for Vermont. Bellows Falls running back Caden Haskell, who was one the co-captains of the Vermont squad, was the leading rusher with 34 yards on nine carries.
Both Evans and Haskell were in the starting line-up for Vermont, as well as Bellows Falls offensive lineman Jake Moore. Nystrom was a starter at defensive back and returned one punt for 18 yards, and BF's Dillon Perry also saw action in the game on special teams and as a linebacker.
It was also a big day for Windsor coach Greg Balch, who won his second Shrine game. Balch was also the winning coach in Vermont's 24-13 win over New Hampshire in 2018.
Of course, the biggest winners in this game are the local Shriner's Children's Hospitals, for which this game has served as a fundraiser since 1954. Since the game's inception in 1954, it has raised nearly $5 million to support the Shriner's hospitals in Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts and Montreal, Quebec.
Rec. Dept. offers youth soccer programs
• The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department is now accepting registrations for youth soccer programs for kids from pre-Kindergarten to sixth-grade.
Pre-Kindergarten soccer for children ages 4 and 5 years old will be offered from 5 to 5:45 p.m. on Wednesdays, beginning Sept. 13 and continuing until Oct. 11. This program will be held at the Lower Field at Living Memorial Park. Children must be 4 years old by registration. Pre-Kindergarten soccer has a limit of 16 participants.
The fee is $25 for Brattleboro residents and $40 for non-residents and includes a t-shirt. Basic soccer skills will be taught in a fun format. Shin guards are required, and sneakers or cleats are recommended.
• Kindergarten soccer will also meet on the Lower Field on Mondays from Sept. 11 to Oct. 16, with no session on Oct. 9. The fee is $25 for Brattleboro residents and $40 for non-residents. They will offer two options, from 4 to 4:45 p.m., and 5 to 5:45 p.m., with a maximum of 15 participants per group. Shin guards are required for all games and practices, and don't forget to bring a full water bottle.
• Youth soccer for grades 1-6 will also be offered, starting Sept. 11. The fee is $35 for Brattleboro residents and $50 for non-residents. Teams will have one practice and one game a week. The fifth- and sixth-grade teams will be participating in the Tri-County League and will have games against neighboring towns. Shin guards are required for all games and practices, and don't forget the water bottle.
Register online at register1.vermontsystems.com/wbwsc/vtbrattleboro.wsc/splash.html. In-person registration at the Gibson-Aiken Center main office is available Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m. There is a $10 fee for late registration, beginning Sept. 1. Anyone registering on or after Sept. 8 will be added to a wait list and will be permitted to register for the program only if space allows.
For more information, call the Gibson Aiken Office at 802-254-5808 or visit the Recreation & Parks page at www.brattleboro.org.
Youth Services golf tourney raises more than $20,000
• With 103 local golfers and strong corporate support, the Youth Services' 38th Annual Golf Tournament was a rousing success, generating more than $20,000 to help underwrite the agency's programs.
The charity tournament at the Brattleboro Country Club (BCC), was presented by G.S. Precision and NorthStar on July 26 on a warm and humid 85-degree day, one of few this summer without rain showers.
The Prentiss Smith team of Bob Cullinane, Jerry Carbone, Prentiss Smith, and Tom Bedell won First Gross, with the 802 Credit Union team of Ethan Grimes, Amanda Rosenbeck, Sean Gammon, and Steve Adams winning First Net.
The Dimension-Cold River Bridge JV team of Joel Petrie, Chad Contaldi, Jim Hollar and Tom Lentocha took Second Gross with team of Susan Buhlmann, Joel Robinson, Paul Soccoccio, and Loren Forrister taking Second Net.
Nanette Stevens won the prize for the Women's Longest Drive. Susan Buhlmann won the prize for Women's Closest to the Pin. In the Men's Division, Griffin Waryas took the prize for Men's Longest Drive. Rich Cogliano took Men's Closest to the Line with Amos Ireland winning Men's Closest to Pin.
Youth Services' Executive Director Russell Bradbury-Carlin and former board member Timm Harris ran a Putting Contest, won by Melanie Boese, which raised $243 for the agency.
The Helicopter Golf Ball Drop took place for the 11th year, thanks to the Renaud Bros, Inc. helicopter, piloted by Mike Renaud. Nearly all 100 balls, priced at $100 each, were sold this year, according to organizers, who credit Karen Bergstrom of Belle Notte, who singlehandedly sold the vast majority of the balls to patrons of the Bella Notte bar.
A bucket of golf balls was dropped from 20 feet on the BCC fairway, and the winner of the $3,000 cash prize is Tami Purcell of Berkley & Veller Greenwood Country Realtors with ball #29, winning for the second year in a row, only 32 inches from the pin. Second closest was ball #75 which was 43 inches from the pin and Jim Woodberry's ball #77 which was 49 inches from the pin.
All proceeds from the tournament, which annually nets close to $20,000, will help support Youth Services' programs. For more information or to get involved in Youth Services, call 802-257-0361 or visit www.youthservicesinc.org.
Brattleboro Ski Hill seeks to upgrade its snowmaking
• As we start seeing more winters with less snow, snowmaking has become crucial to ensuring there is a ski and snowboard season in Vermont.
The volunteers who operate Brattleboro Ski Hill at Living Memorial Park knows this well, and are in the midst of a fundraising effort to upgrade its snowmaking equipment. They started a GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/f/the-brattleboro-ski-hill-snowmaker-fund and, as of this week, have raised nearly $3,000 toward their $10,000 goal.
According to their GoFundMe page, Living Memorial Park Snow Sports Inc., the nonprofit group that has run the hill for the past 26 years, says that the snowmaking equipment it purchased second-hand in 2006 dates back to the 1990s and "is getting very old, tired, and expensive to maintain." They are down to two operative units and say they "need to make a significant capital investment in additional equipment."
Snowmaking made a big difference in the 2022-23 season. The hill was able to open on Christmas Eve and offer a total of 68 days of skiing and riding. They say that their top focus is "to be able to provide the level of skiing and riding next season as we just did, but without a third (or ideally a fourth or fifth) gun, this won't be possible."
To keep costs down, they are currently looking at second-hand equipment from other ski areas around New England. They want to be able to continue to offer $5 daily lift tickets and provide local skiers and riders an inexpensive entree into snow sports, and hope to do so with continued community support.
If you prefer to make a donation to the campaign by mail, you may send your cash or checks payable to LMPSS Inc. to P.O. Box 1945, Brattleboro, VT 05302.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 14 of the spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on Aug. 3 saw Five Pins (50-20) have their third straight 5-0 week to stay in first place. Turkeys and Slo Movers (both 43-27) are tied for second place, followed by No Splits (42.5-27.5), Skippers (40.5-29.5), Stayin' Alive (31.5-38.5), The Bowlers (31-39), Wrecking Crew (29.5-40.5), and High Rollers (27-43).
Diane Cooke had the women's high handicap game (238), while Vicki Butynski had the high handicap series (677). Chuck Adams had the men's high handicap game (244), while John Laamanen had the high handicap series (643). Skippers had the high team handicap game (888), while Wrecking Crew had the high team handicap series (2,543).
Chuck Adams led the men's scratch scoring with a 635 series that featured games of 244, 202, and 189, while Robert Rigby had a 512 series with a 193 game and Marty Adams had a 504 series with a 185 game.
Butynski had the women's high scratch series (464) that featured games of 162 and 160, while Cooke had the high scratch game (171) and Pam Greenblott rolled a 165.
Randolph T. Holhut, deputy editor of this newspaper, has written this column since 2010 and has covered sports in Windham County since the 1980s. Readers can send him sports information at [email protected].
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.