It wasn't the best of homecoming weekends for the Brattleboro Colonels.
The field hockey, football, and boys' and girls' soccer teams played home games over the weekend, netting three losses and a tie.
In football against undefeated St. Johnsbury last Friday night, things looked good for the Colonels when Tyler McKinney scored on a 54-yard run in the first quarter. Unfortunately, the undefeated Hilltoppers then scored 27 unanswered points and went on to beat Brattleboro, 27-14, at Natowich Field.
The telling statistic of the game was that Brattleboro amassed 103 yards of total offense in the first quarter and only 10 in the second.
The Brattleboro defense did its best to contain the Hilltoppers, but still gave up 141 yards rushing by Caleb Stowell and 150 yards of passing by quarterback Colton Hudson. Stowell ran for three touchdowns, while Hudson threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Chris Connolly and rushed for 69 yards.
Matt Gaboriault scored a touchdown on a one-yard run with 27 seconds left in the game to save some face for the Colonels, now 1-4 and looking like they will miss another Division I playoff. Brattleboro travels to Rutland this Friday for a 7 p.m. game.
In the field hockey showcase game on Friday afternoon at Tenney Field, Windsor shut out the Colonels, 4-0.
A scheduling snafu resulted in the game starting an hour late, which seemed to affect Windsor more than it did Brattleboro. The Colonels held the Yellowjackets scoreless in the first half but they broke through in the second half as Haley Wood, Ashleay Wilcox, Katey Comstock, and Carissa Kinsman all scored.
Brattleboro, now 0-7-2, has scored only one goal this season, in the season-opening tie against Fair Haven.
In last Saturday's soccer games against Mount Anthony, the Colonel boys lost, 2-1, while the Colonel girls salvaged a 1-1 tie.
For the boys it was an improvement, considering MAU blasted Brattleboro, 7-1, in the John James Tournament a couple of weeks earlier. In the 10th minute, Brad Anair put the Patriots ahead. Brattleboro's Jack Maples scored the tying goal 10 minutes later, assisted by Matt Dulmaine. MAU got the go-ahead goal in the 28th minute and held on for the win over the 2-6 Colonels.
The girls' game was scoreless in the first half, but MAU's Grace Page and Brattleboro's Kira McCloskey each scored in the second half. Tori Svec made seven saves in goal as the Colonels improved to 3-3-2 on the season.
Football
• Undefeated Burr & Burton scored two touchdowns in the final 7:39 to rally past Bellows Falls, 40-34, at Hadley Field last Saturday.
There was no shortage of offense in this clash of offensive philosophies. BF did what BF does - run, run, and run the ball some more, with 55 carries in all - and the Bulldogs put on an air show. Bulldog quarterback Griffin Stalcup had a 16-for-24 day, throwing for 260 yards and five touchdowns.
Stalcup's prime target was Wilson Vickers, who scored on receptions of 38 and 10 yards, respectively, to win the game. Vickers finished with eight catches for 173 yards and three scores. His younger brother, Carter Vickers, had five catches for 81 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Will Tucker ran for 91 yards on 15 carries, including a 30-yard touchdown run.
The Terriers kept pace with the high-flying Burr & Burton attack until the final quarter. BF quarterback Ethan Illingworth ran for two touchdowns and threw a pair of TD passes: one to Brian McAnuff and the other to Chris McKeen. Jayhde Bullard rushed for 169 yards; Carson Fullam had 137 total yards of offense.
The 3-2 Terriers host Spaulding this Saturday at 1 p.m.
Boys' soccer
• Brattleboro's week began with a 4-1 loss to Burr & Burton at Tenney Field on Sept. 23. Wes Lord scored two of the Bulldogs' goals, including the first goal of the game in the 11th minute. Kassidi Ramirez tied it a bit later with an assist by Jack Maples and Jasper Reed.
The Colonels fell apart after that as Burr & Burton closed out the first half with three more goals in the final 20 minutes. Pedro Barbosa had two of them, and Lord the other. The Colonels were plenty speedy but inconsistent on defense.
• Leland & Gray continued its roll last week. Against Green Mountain on Sept. 22, they scored five goals in the final 14 minutes to down the Chieftains, 5-1. After a scoreless first half, GM's Mack Brown drove one in in the 50th minute.
That goal looked like it would stand up until the Rebels unleashed a scoring barrage. Evan Daigneault got the equalizer, and Owen McDonald scored the go-ahead goal. Julian Plumadore and Tanner Winot added a goal each, and McDonald got a second tally.
The Rebels scored early and often in shutting out Windsor, 6-0, the next day. McDonald scored three shots, John Peloso scored twice, and Plumadore claimed a a goal.
The Rebels finished a successful week by beating Proctor, 3-0, last Friday in Pittsford. McDonald again had a two-goal game, and Cody Cutler scored. Leland & Gray finished the week at 8-1, with six straight wins - and six shutouts on the season.
• Twin Valley remains undefeated after playing in the John Werner Tournament in Arlington last week.
In last Wednesday's first-round game, they blitzed Springfield, 9-0. Tobi Will had two goals and two assists to lead the Wildcats. Justin Hicks and Morrow Bernard each added two goals; Chad Bernard, Brett Swanson, and Javier Mateos had a goal each. Sam Molner and Kyle Murdock combined for the shutout in goal.
Hicks again had the hot hand for the Wildcats in the championship game against Arlington. Wyatt Shippee, Will, Trey Fellisko, Bernard, and Nik Nielson also scored.
The 8-0 Wildcats, who have outscored their opponents by a combined 52-3 this season, have won 25 straight matches going back to last season.
Girls' soccer
• Julia Lacoste scored twice and Brooke Hawley added another goal as the Arlington Eagles topped Twin Valley, 3-2, in the opening round of the John Werner Tournament on Sept. 22. Jessica Fox and Caitlin Hunt scored second-half goals for the Wildcats.
• Daisy Sullivan scored three goals to lead Burr & Burton to a 6-1 win over Brattleboro at Tenney Field last Wednesday night. Maddy Derosia scored the Colonels' only goal: an unassisted shot from 25 yards out in the 69th minute.
• Long Trail won its first game against Bellows Falls in four years on Sept. 22: a 6-5 overtime victory. BF led 3-1 at the half before Long Trail rallied to win. Nieva Schemm, Chelsea Wilder, Stephanie Parsons, Keri Ticino, and Emily Perry were the goal scorers for the 0-6-1 Terriers.
• Gianna Gaspero-Beckstrom scored the game-winning goal seven minutes into overtime as Leland & Gray beat Black River, 1-0, in Ludlow on Sept. 23. Goalkeeper Jordan Gouger had five saves. The Rebels finished the week with a 7-1 record after 4-2 win over Green Mountain in Chester last Friday.
Field hockey
• Cassidy Santorelli scored three goals as undefeated Bellows Falls crushed Fair Haven, 8-0. Molly Dufault and Sarah Wells each scored twice for the Terriers, and Leia Robinson added a goal for their seventh straight win. Goalie Quinn Lawrence faced only one shot in the game.
BF stayed undefeated last Friday with a 2-1 home win over Otter Valley. Avery Lowell scored first for the Terriers off a Wells pass in the first half, and Santorelli added another goal early in the second half, assisted by Wells and Lowell.
Cross-country
• For the second straight race, Willie Moore of Bellows Falls was the fastest male runner, but the Brattleboro boys put out a strong team effort in placing second behind host school Woodstock in a six-school meet on Sept. 22. Burr & Burton was third, followed by BF, Thetford, and Springfield.
Moore covered the course in 17 minutes, 31 seconds to win the boys' race, but Brattleboro's Ryan Gilligan placed third in 18:14. Tyler Clement (12th, 20:19), Colin Costa-Walsh (14th, 20:27), Jonah Koch (19th, 20:57), and Devin Rinaldi (22nd, 21:21) rounded out the Colonels' top five.
The rest of the Terriers' top five included Cody Tallent (13th, 20:21), Jackson Purdy (21st, 21:09), Nic Potter (25th, 21:40), and Matt Chapin (35th, 23:45).
In the girls' event, Brattleboro came in third behind Woodstock and Burr & Burton. Thetford came in fourth. Becca Freeman led the Colonel girls with a fourth-place finish in 23:42, followed by Gwen Harris (13th, 26:30), Annie Takacs (23rd, 28:45), Jazmin Smith (28th, 29:18), and Emily Gale (38th, 31:01).
Last Saturday, the Colonels ran in the Manchester (N.H.) Invitational, one of the biggest high school meets in New England with 1,736 runners who competed in nine races over the hilly 3.1-mile Derryfield Park racecourse. It has long been used by the Colonels as a tune-up for the Marble Valley League and state meets.
The Brattleboro boys were 22nd out of 32 teams in the small-school division. Gilligan finished 19th in 17:36 - the ninth best time of all of the Vermonters competing.
Also finishing in the top five for the Colonels were Costa-Walsh (130th, 19:57), Clement (133rd, 20:05), Dan Burdo (161st, 20:46) and Rinaldi (193rd, 21:44).
The Colonel girls were 26th out of 28 teams. Yost led the way with 110th place in 24:07, and Freeman just three seconds behind her in 111th. Harris was 145th in 25:39, Katie Reynolds was 182nd in 30:01, and Takacs placed 191st in 31:01.