Opposing girls' soccer teams think they know the secret to beating the Leland & Gray Rebels - shut down senior forward Ashley Bates.
Bates has scored 49 goals in her high school career, establishing herself as one of the top players in the state.
The problem with the strategy of focusing your efforts on stopping Bates is that there are several other Rebels who can put the ball in the net, and you ignore them at your own peril.
Fifth-seeded Leland & Gray made it to the Division III semifinals by beating teams that tried both approaches.
Against their cross-mountain rivals, No. 12 Twin Valley, Bates scored three goals in a 4-0 win over the Wildcats in a first-round game in Townshend on Oct. 25.
Four days later, fourth-seeded Hazen shut down Bates, but Emma Densmore scored in the 65th minute to give the Rebels a 1-0 victory in a quarterfinal match in Hardwick.
Bates put on a show against Twin Valley. She scored her first goal in the third minute, assisted by MacKenzie Boyle, and later added a pair of breakaway goals, set up by Rachel Borgesen and Arin Bates, respectively. Densmore also scored for the Rebels.
Twin Valley had some hard luck in the game. Their playmaker, midfielder Karlee Walkowiak, injured her back early on and was not a contributor. They were outshot, 11-3, as Rebels goalkeeper Kelsi Bostrom made three saves for the shutout victory.
The 12-4 Rebels are now scheduled to travel to top-seeded Thetford for a semifinal match on Nov. 2 at 3 p.m.
Twin Valley finished its season with a 5-8-1 record.
Field hockey
• Bellows Falls took care of business in a big way as Leia Robinson scored five times to lead the top-seeded Terriers to a 9-0 demolition of the winless Montpelier Solons in a snowy Division III quarterfinal game in Westminster on Oct. 27.
The busiest player in the game was Montpelier goalie Emily Bashura, who made 24 saves, including stopping a penalty shot in the first minute by BF's Molly Kelly.
BF took a 4-0 first half lead. Abbe Cravinho scored just 1:48 into the game on an assist from Robinson. Robinson made it 2-0 90 seconds later with an unassisted goal.
Cravinho added her second goal of the game with 9:05 left in the first half. Fallon Vancor assisted. Dani Marchica then scored with 5:41 left in the half, assisted by Robinson.
The Terriers kept the pedal to the metal with five more goals in the second half - four from Robinson and another from Kelly. BF did not allow a single shot on goal.
The Terriers advanced to the semifinals for the fourth consecutive season. At press time, they were scheduled to face No. 5 St. Johnsbury at Burr and Burton on Nov. 1.
Football
• Bellows Falls played the regular season finale at Fair Haven last Friday. Since both teams had already clinched playoff spots in Division II, the Terriers needed to beat the Slaters to ensure a home game this week.
The Terriers accomplished the mission with a relatively easy 32-12 win over the Slaters.
As usual, BF dominated with its running game. The Terriers rushed for 318 yards as Shane Clark (133 yards on 10 carries), Logan Cota (90 yards), Jake Lober (84 yards) and Jahyde Bullard (20 yards) all scored once on the ground.
Quarterback Caleb Lisai completed two of his seven passes for 25 yards, with completions going to Cota and Clark.
BF led 16-6 at the half as the Slaters never seriously threatened.
On defense Lober and Clark finished with 15 and 10 solo tackles, respectively, and Bryce Smith had an interception.
The two teams will meet again this Friday night at 7 at Hadley Field as the second-seeded Terriers host the third-seeded Slaters in a Division II quarterfinal.
• Brattleboro beat BFA-St.Albans, 27-13, in a Division I consolation game last Friday night at Natowich Field.
Cheick Diakite had touchdown runs of 11 and 55 yards. Kolton Ravenna also scored on a 36-yard run, and emergency quarterback Matt Gaboriault scored from five yards out.
Quarterback Hunter Laroe had touchdown carries of 3 and 9 yards for the 2-7 Bobwhites.
BFA-St. Albans got within a point of Brattleboro, 14-13, in the second half before Diakite's 55-yard scoring run and Gaboriault's scramble for a score put the game out of reach.
The Colonels finished the season at 4-5. The other wins came over Middlebury, South Burlington, and Mount Anthony this season.
Boys' soccer
• Twin Valley, the top seed in Division III, had to wait until the quarterfinal round to open the playoffs after the winless No. 16 seed Oxbow forfeited their first round match.
The Wildcats then had to wait a few more days to play their quarterfinal, as rain and snow left Hayford Field unplayable last Friday. Twin Valley faced No. 9 Green Mountain on Oct. 31, but a score was not available at press time. The Chieftains advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Enosburg, 2-1, in the first round.
• Fifth-seeded Rice had no problem defeating No. 12 Brattleboro, 6-1, in a Division I first-round playoff game on Oct. 25. Eric Benz scored two goals, while Liam Dillon had a goal and two assists, and Evan Rouleau and Colby Scott each had a goal and an assist.
Daniel Briggs also scored and Kyle DeCoster made two saves for the Green Knights (10-5). Brattleboro finished its season at 6-8-1.
• Thirteenth-seeded Leland & Gray ran into a buzzsaw in its Division III first-round playoff on Oct. 25 as they faced fourth-seeded Stowe, the four-time defending state champs.
Stowe (8-3-3) scored two goals in the second half to win the game, 3-0. Gabe Eliasson, Trent Gutstein, and Ethan Barrett were the goalscorers for the hosts, and goalkeeper Mark Infante made three saves to shut out the Rebels. The Rebels ended a frustrating season with a 3-10-2 record.
Girls' soccer
• Fourth-seeded Champlain Valley shut out 13th-seeded Brattleboro, 6-0, in a Division I first-round playoff game on Oct. 26 in Hinesburg. Charlotte Hill led the way with a goal and two assists for the Redhawks. Signy Shumway, Sara Kelley, Lindsey Albertelli, Natalie Durieux, and Hannah Swett also scored.
CVU goalkeeper Maryn Askew made one save, while Brattleboro's Megyn Ayotte stopped 11 shots. The Colonels finished their season with a 4-9-1 record.
Cross-country
Brattleboro and Bellows Falls had a good tuneup for this Saturday's state meet at Thetford Academy with some strong performances at the Russ Pickering Invitational in Westminster on Oct 26.
The Brattleboro girls won the team event with a score of 43 points, followed by Rutland (50), Woodstock (63), and Burr and Burton (94).
Sarah Gallagher was second in 20 minutes, 9 seconds on the 3.05-mile course to lead the Colonels. Liz Morse came in fifth, Annie Takacs was seventh, Alexandra Miskovich finished 14th and Bella Takacs was close behind in 15th to round out Brattleboro's top five.
Brattleboro's Isaac Freitas-Eagan won the boys race in 16:40. Rounding out the scoring for the Colonels were Trevor Kipp (fifth), Colin Costa-Walsh (sixth), Logan Makay (34th) and Phelan Muller (41st), while Stephen Borst of St. Michael School was 47th.
Host team Bellows Falls won the boys' event with 65 points, followed by Rutland (75), Brattleboro (87), Otter Valley (207), Woodstock (211) and Springfield (294).
Cody Talent was seventh overall in 17:40 to lead the BF boys. Nic Potter was 11th, Tim Salter-Roy came in 14th, Jackson Purdy was 16th and Ian Wallace finished 17th for the Terriers.
Annual ski & skate sale this Saturday
• The Phil & Mary Dunham Ski, Skate, Snowboard & Hockey Equipment Sale, directed by the Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department and the Brattleboro Outing Club will be held Saturday, Nov. 5 from 8 to 11 a.m., at the Gibson-Aiken Center, 207 Main St.
If you are interested in selling or buying snowboards, skis, ski boots, poles, and bindings (both downhill and cross country), skates, all winter sports clothing and hockey equipment, this is the event for you. People who wish to enter items in the sale must bring them to the Gibson-Aiken Center, Friday, Nov. 4, between noon and 7 p.m. only.
Any winter sport article can be listed for sale, but only 20 items per person will be accepted. Equipment brought in for the sale will be checked for DIN numbers. This means that sports shops might not service those items without a DIN number. Equipment that does not have a DIN number will be marked with a red dot on the price tag.
All those who displayed articles in the sale must return to the Center on Monday, Nov. 7, between noon and 6 p.m. For more information, contact the Recreation & Parks Department Office at 802-254-5808.
Senior bowling roundup
• At the midpoint of the fall season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League, Team 5 (30-15) is still in first place, while Team 3 (27-18) is second and Team 1 and Team 9 are tied for third at 24-21. Team 10 and Team 4 are tied for fourth at 23-22, followed by Team 6 (22-23), Team 7 (21-24), Team 8 (18-29) and Team 2 (15-30).
Team 9 had the high handicap game (937), and series (2,670). Pat Bentup had the women's high handicap game (247), while Jeanne Czuy had the high handicap series (661). Fred Ashworth had the men's high handicap game (252), while Bob Wistrom had the high handicap series (693).
Three men rolled a 600-series: Ashworth (633), Warren Corriveau Sr. (627), and Marty Adams (601), while Charles Marchant (512), Wistrom (549), Jerry Dunham (522), Peter Cross (557), and Jon Peters (543) all notched a 500-series.
Marchant (202), Corriveau (200, 227, 200), Adams (200, 220), Wistrom (200), Jon Peters (200), and Ashworth (203, 237) all had 200-plus games.