-Both the Brattleboro Bears and the Bellows Falls Terriers opened their football seasons at home, and both teams met with similar outcomes in Week 1.
Both teams struggled with first-game sloppiness, but both came close to winning their respective contests despite the mistakes. In the end, the Bears lost to the Burr & Burton Bulldogs, 28-21, on Aug. 30, and the Terriers lost to the Lyndon Vikings, 21-20, on Aug. 31.
Bulldogs bite Bears
• Brattleboro held their own against the defending Division I champs at Natowich Field in a game that had some spectacular plays and major frustrations for the Bears.
Burr & Burton opened the game with a 28-yard touchdown catch by Jackson Johnson on a sideline pass from quarterback Sam Dowd with 7:44 left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.
That lead would last all of 12 seconds as Brattleboro's Jack Cady took the ensuing kickoff on the Bears 21, got some good blocking, and raced into the end zone for a 79-yard touchdown. Silas Golding's point-after kick made it 7-7 with 7:32 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Bulldogs took back the lead with a long drive capped off by a 15-yard touchdown pass from Dowd to Thomas Sheldon on the last play of the first quarter to make it 14-7.
A short drive by the Bears to start the second quarter fell short, and the Bulldogs got the ball back for another scoring drive, this time featuring a 34-yard screen pass to running back Sam Gilliam that set up a 2-yard TD run by Gilliam to make it 21-7 with 5:58 left in the half.
Brattleboro responded with another score, but it took a bit of doing to get. A good kickoff return by Kmar put the ball on the Bears 45, but a series of penalties pushed them back to the 27. Once again, it was Cady that provided the spark.
Quarterback Sean Cozza threw the ball up near midfield in front of the Bears sideline. Cady was defended by Sheldon, and they both went high in air for the ball. Cady got just high enough with enough body control to pull down the ball, stay in bounds, and then sprint into the end zone untouched to complete a 73-yard touchdown play with 4:36 left in the first half.
Brattleboro had a chance to tie the game when they got the ball back late in the first half, but were stopped short. While they trailed 21-14, the momentum seemed to be on the Bears' side for the start of the second half. But penalties and fumbles plagued both teams. Still, the Bears seemed to have chance going into the final quarter.
Sheldon, by far the best player for the Bulldogs, started the fourth quarter with a long punt return that gave Burr & Burton great field position on the Bears 19. Two plays later, Shelton caught his second TD pass to up the score to 28-14 with 11:25 to go.
The Bears weren't done yet, though. Twice, they got into Bulldogs territory and twice had nothing to show for it. A 12-play drive ended with an interception by Sheldon that he ran in for a touchdown, only to have it nullified by a penalty during the return. However, the Bulldogs retained possession with 6:09 left to play.
A great sequence by the Bears defense to stop the Bulldogs, combined with a short punt, gave Brattleboro the ball back on the Bulldogs 30. Cozza connected with Cady for a 29-yard pass that gave the Bears first-and-goal from 1. However, a fumble on the next play snuffed out that scoring chance.
But once again, Brattleboro still wasn't done. The Bears got the ball back on a fumble recovery on the Bulldogs 16 with 2:01 to play, and Cozza found tight end Dillon Jenks over the middle for a touchdown to make it 28-21 with 1:53 on the clock.
Brattleboro tried an onside kick, and they recovered the ball at the Bulldog 49. Once again, it was Sheldon to the rescue as he intercepted Cozza with 1:31 to play. The Bulldogs then ran out the clock and escaped with a win that was not totally certain until the very end.
The road ahead for the 0-1 Bears will not be easy. They will travel to Rutland this Friday at 7 p.m., and to Hartford on Sept. 13, before the Bears return to Natowich Field to face St. Johnsbury on Sept. 20.
Vikings prevail over BF
• Bellows Falls fans can relate to what the Brattleboro fans went through. The Terriers had their chances, but in their Saturday matinee against Lyndon, BF too succumbed to the same sorts of early season mistakes that doomed the Bears the night before.
Lyndon took a 7-0 lead in the opening drive of the game that ended with a 2-yard run by Jaden Smith with 5:56 left in the first quarter. The Terriers responded with a long drive of their own, with Carson Clark scoring on a 4-yard run, but kicker Tristan Boylan missed the extra point to make it 7-6 with 1:27 remaining in the first.
BF quarterback Eli Allbee helped negate that miscue when he scored on a 1-yard sneak, and then ran in the two-point conversion to give the Terriers a 14-7 lead with 6:22 left in the second quarter.
The Vikings took to the air on the next possession as quarterback Ethan Lussier threw to Logan Wheeler for a 43-yard touchdown. The Vikings decided to go for two, and Lussier ran in the conversion to give Lyndon a 15-14 lead with 1:31 left in the first half.
That decision came in handy in the second half after Wheeler scored on a 23-yard run with 7:25 left in the third quarter. Again, the Vikings went for two, and this time, Lussier was stopped as Lyndon took a 21-14 lead.
Lyndon then tried an onside kick and recovered the ball at midfield, but they failed to turn their good fortune into some points, giving the Terriers a chance to take back the momentum. Unfortunately, the BF offense struggled to move the ball for most of the second half while the Lyndon offense controlled play and ate up the clock in the second half, but could not score.
Finally, with 3:42 to play, BF got the ball back on their 25 for one last scoring try. Allbee floated a pass to tight end Will Hallock, who was wide open and hauled in the ball for a 70-yard reception. Fullback Patrick Connors then ran it in from the Viking 4 to make it 21-20.
BF decided to go for two to win it, rather than try for an extra point that could force overtime if successful. A pass to Hallock was intercepted in the end zone, and Lyndon was able to run out the clock to seal the win.
The 0-1 Terriers will head north to East Montpelier to take the U-32 Marauders this Friday at 7 p.m.
Field hockey
• Brattleboro's Leah Lane scored the only goal of the game, assisted by Mary Cady, with 7:22 left in the third quarter as the Bears won their season opener over the Fair Haven Slaters, 1-0, on Aug. 31.
Goalie Ericka Fletcher stopped 11 shots to earn the shutout victory for the visiting Bears. Slaters goalie Victoria Kelly made five saves in the loss. The 1-0 Bears host Woodstock in the home opener on Sept. 4 at Sawyer Field.
Boys' soccer
• Twin Valley got two goals and an assist from Brayden Brown as the Wildcats stopped the Leland & Gray Rebels, 5-2, under the lights at Hayford Field in Wilmington in the season opener for both teams on Aug. 30.
The Wildcats took a 2-0 lead early in the game on goals by Brown and Steve Oyer. The Rebels then got a pair of goals to tie the game before Alex Sullivan scored to break the deadlock and send Twin Valley into halftime with a 3-2 lead.
Niko Durgin and Brown each added a goal in the second half to clinch the victory for the 1-0 Wildcats.
• Visiting Springfield pounded Bellows Falls, 9-1, in the season opener on Aug. 31. BF trailed the Cosmos, 5-1, at the half as Malik Gordon got the Terriers' lone goal of the match.
Springfield's Braden Wright and Oliver Kelley had two goals each, while Mateo Fuentes had a goal and three assists, and Rowan Pilapil and Cooper Palmer each had a goal and an assist. Justin Roy and Ryan Gould both scored a goal, while Kamden Roy had an assist.
The 1-0 Cosmos head to Townshend to face Leland & Gray on Sept. 4. BF will get their crack at the Rebels in Townshend on Sept. 7.
• Brattleboro clobbered Woodstock, 11-0, in the Bears' season opener on Aug. 31. The Bears will host Burlington on Sept. 6 at 5:30 p.m. at Natowich Field for the home opener, and then get ready for the annual John James Tournament in Bennington on Sept. 12 and 14.
Girls' soccer
• Springfield's Meadow Murchie scored two goals and Amelia Murchie, Macie Stagner, Ella Donohue and Kimber Considine each added a goal as the Cosmos shut out visiting Bellows Falls, 6-0, on Aug. 30.
The Terriers trailed 4-0 at halftime and gave up another goal just 45 seconds into the second half. Cosmos goalkeeper Kylee Nadeau earned the shutout victory. The 0-1 Terriers travel to Fair Haven on Sept. 7.
• Leland & Gray opened their season with a 1-0 win over Twin Valley at Hayford Field in Wilmington on Aug. 31. Abigail Emerson scored the Rebels' goal on a penalty kick in the 30th minute. Rebels goalkeeper Annabelle Brookes needed to make just one save in the victory. Twin Valley goalkeeper Alanna Bevilacqua had six saves in the game.
Senior bowling roundup
• The spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl concluded on Aug. 29 with Misguided (58.5-31.5) finishing the season in first place despite having an 0-5 week. Slo Movers (57-33) finished in second place, followed by Half Normal (50.5-39.5), Spare Change (48.5-41.5), Split Happens (46-44), Fab 4 (43-47), Stayin' Alive (41-49), Three Musketeers (40-50), High Rollers (27-63), and Incredibowls (32.5-31.5).
Diane Cooke had the women's high handicap game (258) and series (666). Fred Ashworth had the men's high handicap game (249) and Warren Corriveau Sr. had the high handicap series (699). Split Happens had the high team handicap game (891) and series (2,498).
Corriveau had the men's high scratch series (615), with games of 215, 211, and 189. John Walker had a 551 series with a 210 game, Gary Montgomery had a 526 series, and Fred Ashworth had a 506 series with a 204 game. Marc Shelly had a 504 series, Milt Sherman had a 206 game, and Wayne Randall had a 180 game.
Nancy Dalzell had the women's high scratch series (468), while Cooke had the high scratch game (189). Dalzell had a 178 game, and Debbie Kolpa rolled a 163.
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.