The Bellows Falls Terriers capped off a successful regular season Saturday with a 42-24 demolition of the undermanned Springfield Cosmos at Hadley Field.
It was the 99th game between these long-time rivals, and BF holds a 50-45-4 lead in the series. Springfield only dressed 19 players for this game, and they had few answers against the top team in Division III.
Normally, the Terriers give teams a heavy dose of running back Ryan Hayward. But after he scored the first two touchdowns on runs of 20 and 37 yards, junior quarterback Jeremy Kilburn took over.
Kilburn threw for three touchdowns and ran for another. Will Bourne hauled in two of those touchdown passes, while Brendan Hackett reeled in the third.
With the win, the Terriers (6-3 overall, 6-1 in division play) took possession of “The Trophy” and earned a home playoff game on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Oxbow.
• The Brattleboro Colonels ended a disappointing season on Friday night with a 40-13 loss to archrival Mount Anthony at Natowich Field.
Junior running back Alex Cross gave the Patriots their first win of the season with 244 yards of rushing and three touchdowns. Brattleboro quarterback Nate Forrett threw for two touchdowns, a 30-yarder to Josh LaValley and a 36-yarder to Griffin Sparks. The Colonels ended the season at 0-9.
Cross country
• The Vermont Cross Country Championships were held at Thetford Academy on Saturday, and our local competitors did well.
Brattleboro's Jacob Ellis finished sixth in the state with a time of 18 minutes, 4 seconds on a muddy 5-kilometer course. That time allowed him to qualify for the New England championships, and helped the Colonel boys to finish ninth in Division I. Rounding out the Colonel top five were Zeke Fitzgerald (51st in 19:41), Allen Unaitis, Spencer Olson and Austin Lester,
Brattleboro's Hannah Reichel was the top local girls finisher, she was 41st in 22:54. She led the Brattleboro girls to a 13th place finish in Division I. Placing in the team scoring was Maud Benit (54th in 23:50), Helen Manning (81st in 25:44). Leah Silverman (86th in 27:28) and Emma Straus (87th in 27:54).
Bellows Falls sent four runners to compete in the Division III event. Jon Punger took fourth in the boys race with a time of 18:50. Colin Johnson was 28th in 20:18 and Tim Jones finished 29th in 20:31. Becky O'Neill came in 21st in the girls race in 20:31.
Boys soccer
• Leland & Gray has been a high scoring team all season, but in their Division III quarterfinal game in Townshend on Friday, they needed defense to get a win.
Noah Chapin, the Rebels' scoring machine, was held to only one goal, but that all that was needed as top-seeded Leland & Gray advanced to the semis with a 1-0 win over the No. 8 Enosburg Falls Hornets.
Chapin scored in the 21st minute off a nice pass from Matt Bizon. The goal stood up as Rebels goalkeeper Jared Van Osdol made seven saves. It was rainy and windy for most of the match, which negated some of the speed of both teams, and set things up for a tense defensive struggle.
The Rebels were scheduled to host fifth-seeded Stowe on Tuesday in the semifinals.
• Twin Valley's playoff run ended far earlier than many thought it would when the second-seeded Wildcats were upset in the opening round of the Division IV playoffs last Tuesday by the No. 15 Black River Presidents, in a tense overtime match that ended up being decided on penalty kicks, 3-1.
The game was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation. Freshman Colin Lozito scored first for the Wildcats in the 26th minute. Noah Schmidt then got the equalizer for the Presidents in the 65th minute. After two scoreless overtime periods, it all came down to the most pressure packed moment in soccer.
Schmidt and Tim Rumrill converted their penalty kicks before George Molner found the net to make it 2-1. That turned out to be the only successful penalty kick for the Wildcats as Victor Cucullo drilled in the decisive kick to end Twin Valley's season.
Twin Valley entered the game with plenty of momentum - 10 straight wins to finish the regular season at 11-3. Instead, a familiar foe from Marble Valley League play pulled off a shocker.
Girls soccer
• Leland & Gray's playoff run ended early with a 3-0 road loss to Oxbow in the first round of the Division III tournament. The Olympians scored all of their goals in the first half. The Rebels ended the season with a 5-7-3 record, as seniors Keira Capponcelli, Aly Marcucci, Chelsea Cox, Sarah Seaton, Michaela Tietz, Kathryn Finegan and Cassidy Anderson played their final game.
• Twin Valley also had an early exit with a 3-1 road loss to BFA-Fairfax. After Devin Logan scored in the seventh minute, the Bullets scored the next three goals. The Wildcats ended the season with a 8-6-1 record as seniors Logan, Sam Bernard, Bryer-Lyn Crawford, Kylie-blu Crawford and Emily Furlon finished their high school careers.
Field hockey
• It was a challenging season for first-year coach Deb Patria, but she and the Colonels kept their heads held high despite all the adversity they faced. Brattleboro's playoff run ended in the first round of the Division I playoffs with a 5-0 road loss to Colchester last Wednesday. The Lakers scored three goals in the first 10 minutes to put the game away.
Brattleboro ended its year with a 3-9-2 record, as seniors Brenna DeVincentis, Kelsey Kinsman, Tatiana Frizzell and Jessie Woodcock played their final game.