Another year. Another undefeated season. Another state championship.
Twin Valley kept its remarkable run of excellence going as the top-seeded Wildcats blanked previously unbeaten Sharon Academy, 2-0, to win its second straight Division IV championship last Saturday at Whitcomb High School in Bethel.
It was the 34th win in a row for the Wildcats, and it was the 36th career shutout for Wildcats senior goalkeeper Sam Molner.
Twin Valley kept its date with history by defeating No. 4 Craftsbury, 3-0, at Hayford Field in Wilmington on Oct. 28.
Nick Nilsen opened the scoring against Craftsbury in the 16th minute with a blast to the far post that was set up by Javier Mateos.
Despite being outshot, 10-2, by the Wildcats in the first half, Craftsbury kept the game close. Craftsbury goalkeeper Chris DelaBruere was the main reason why with some great saves and long clearing kicks that sailed deep into Twin Valley's territory.
The Wildcats finally got the insurance goal they needed in the 53rd minute, when Nilsen scored again off another set-up pass for Mateos.
Mateos then got a goal of his own in the 63rd minute as he headed in a corner kick by Brett Swanson in a reprise of his game-winning goal against Proctor in the quarterfinals.
In the championship game against Sharon, Tobi Will scored first for the Wildcats in the fifth minute.
Will shot low at Sharon goalkeeper Sawyer Levy, who made the initial save. But Levy couldn't hang on to the ball in the cold, wet conditions, and Will pounced on the rebound to knock in the goal.
Once they had the lead, Twin Valley dominated play the rest of the way. The depth, experience, and physical play of the Wildcats was simply too much for Sharon to handle, as the Phoenix were held to six shots on goal.
Nielsen scored the Wildcats' second goal in the 75th minute, but it was barely needed. Between Molner's goalkeeping (four saves) and a lockdown defense, there was little chance of a collapse by Twin Valley on the way to its second straight championship.
For Wildcats coach Buddy Hayford, the winningest high school soccer coach in Vermont history, it was his eighth state championship. It's too soon to think about a three-peat for Twin Valley, but you can bet the Wildcats will do their best to uphold the winning tradition and play for another title.
Rice bests BF again
After Bellows Falls lost to Rice. 26-6, in Week 3 of the football season, Terriers coach Bob Lockerby told reporters that he wasn't all that concerned about losing that game.
“I fully expect to play them twice,” he said at the time, “and the next one will be a lot more important.”
Lockerby wasn't exactly playing Nostradamus. When the two teams faced each other in the Division II semifinal last Saturday in Burlington, it was the third straight postseason that the Terriers and the Green Knights were opponents. Unlike the September contest, this was a rock-'em, sock-'em game that featured eight lead changes.
While grinding out yardage on the ground is the hallmark of these two teams, the running game was set up by the passing game for both Rice and BF.
Rice got off to a fast start as quarterback Chris Jansen scored on a three-yard run on their opening drive. After BF's offense made little headway on its first possession, it was the BF defense that put points on the board, thanks to two sacks and a fumble recovery of a bad snap in the end zone for a safety that cut Rice's lead to 6-2.
BF took the lead in the second quarter on a 55-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Illingworth to Brian McAnuff. The extra point was no good, but the Terriers were now in front, 8-6, with 8:54 left in the first half.
The Green Knights responded with another scoring drive, capped off by a one-yard TD run by Anthony Phillip. With the missed extra point, Rice had a 12-8 lead with 4:21 left in the first half.
The Terriers took back the lead with 4:51 left in the third quarter on a 20-yard touchdown run by Jahyde Bullard to make it a 14-12 game.
Again, Rice responded with another scoring drive, and another touchdown run by Jansen. His two-yard carry, and a two-point conversion pass to Alex Bond, made it 20-14 with 2:03 left in the third quarter.
BF came right back and scored in the first minute of the fourth quarter. This time, Austin Stack had the honors with a two-yard run. Brendan Kelly's extra point kick made it 21-20 Terriers.
Rice countered with another touchdown run from two yards out by Phillip for a 26-21 lead with 8:16 to play. The Terriers could not respond, as their final drive was stopped at midfield.
BF finished with a 7-3 record, with two losses to Rice and another to top-seeded Burr & Burton. Illingworth, Stack, McAnuff, Carson Fullam, and Kelly are graduating, as are Bandera Swastono, Cody Kerry, Jakob Mead, Kyle Record, Khol Hitchcock, Preston Li, and Chris Armstrong.
Terrier stickers fall in semis
• Bellows Falls knew it had a tough path to travel to get to the Division III field hockey final. Standing in their way were the defending champs, the Stowe Raiders.
It took overtime to do it, but the No. 4 Raiders punched their ticket for their 15th trip to the finals in the last 18 years with a 1-0 semifinal win over the top-seeded Terriers last Thursday at Middlebury College.
Maya Barrett got the winning goal at 2:29 in overtime to hand the Terriers their first loss of the season.
But Stowe's 15th state title was not to be. North Country won the title, 1-0, last Saturday for its first state crown since 1980.
Rebel booters fall in semis
• The story was also not joyous for Leland & Gray. The fourth-seeded Rebels were upset by No. 9 Hazen, 2-0, in a Division III boys' soccer semifinal on Oct. 28 in Townshend.
Hazen goalkeeper Dennis Lecours made five saves for the shutout victory. Alex Vetere scored in the 30th minute, and Nate Gilbert got a goal in the 50th minute for Hazen.
Rebels goalkeeper Nick Morrow had four saves in the loss. The Rebels ended the season with a 14-4 record.
North-South game rosters announced
Bellows Falls will be well-represented in the 14th annual North-South Senior All-Star Game, which will be played Nov. 15 at Castleton State College.
Kelly, Fullam, Illingworth, McAnuff, and Record were selected. Tanner Freeman was the lone selection for Brattleboro.
Soccer refs help out Special Olympics
Eric Evans of Putney, president of the Vermont Soccer Officials Association (VSOA), sent us a note recently to remind us about the people behind the whistles.
Evans wrote that VSOA members officiated more than 2,500 games at 66 schools in 14 counties this fall. Yet a number of members carved out time last month to volunteer with annual Special Olympics Vermont games in Northfield and West Rutland.
Recruiting and training for new soccer officials for 2015 will be held next August before the season begins, Evans added, with classes and clinics to be scheduled in different locations around the state. For more information, visit www.vermontsoa.com.