Can speed and energy overcome a lack of experience and skill? The Leland & Gray girls' soccer team is trying to find an answer to that question this season.
The Rebels are a team where ninth- and 10th-graders have to assume a major role. Going up against an equally young team, the Twin Valley Wildcats, on Sept. 21 in Townshend, the Rebels showed in a 4-1 win that speed can overcome inexperience.
“Speed kills,” said Rebels coach Lucas Bates. “You can't win without it.”
A lot of that speed was provided by ninth-grader Ellie Longo, who scored three goals as she torched the Wildcats' defense. She started the scoring on a breakaway off a feed by Hannah Petronic in the fifth minute.
Erin Bates scored on a penalty kick in the 12th minute and Longo scored two minutes later after taking a long punt from goalkeeper Kelsi Bostrom, who got an assist. Longo completed her hat trick in the second half, with Bates assisting, in the 55th minute.
Sally Boyd scored Twin Valley's only goal in the 19th minute. Bostrom finished with eight saves while Twin Valley goalkeeper Tayler Courchesne made 10 saves.
Coach Bates credited his midfielders - Sydney Hescock, Erin Bates, Maris Linder, and Petronic - for providing field leadership. “They are our most skilled players, but they're still learning their roles,” he said.
Earlier in the week, the Wildcats battled Otter Valley to a 0-0 tie at Hayford Field in Wilmington on Sept. 19. Otter Valley's Gabby Poalino made 10 saves, including on a penalty shot, while Courchesne had three saves for the Wildcats.
Girls' soccer
• Brattleboro picked up its first win of the season on Homecoming Day, with a 6-0 victory over Springfield on Sept. 23 at Tenney Field. The Colonels put 12 shots on goal as Axis Balsley scored two goals and Olivia Romo, Dori Abdallah, Sophia Capy, and Rachel Rooney all scored one each. For Abdallah and Capy, they were the first varsity goals of their careers.
On Sept. 20, the Colonels lost at home to Rutland, 2-0. Ayotte had 10 saves as the Colonels pushed hard to tie the game up, only to have Rutland score in the final minute of regulation time to wrap up the win.
• Bellows Falls is still looking for its first win. On Sept. 18, Jenna Veysey got a pair of goals as the Springfield Cosmos got a 4-1 home victory. Shanice Fischer got BF's only goal and Terriers goalkeeper Madison Pencek did her best to keep the game from getting totally out of control.
The Terriers finished the week with an 8-1 loss at home to Leland & Gray on Sept. 23.
Boys' soccer
• Leland & Gray kept the momentum going after winning the Josh Cole Tournament in Ludlow with a 4-1 win over Otter Valley in Brandon on Sept. 19. Nathan Claussen, Pat McDonald, Liam Towle, and Rain Holmes all scored a goal for the Rebels.
• On Sept. 18, freshman Colin McHale scored three goals and assisted on two other scores as the Wildcats rolled to a 9-0 win over Fair Haven at Hayford Field.
James McGovern and Finn Fisher each added two goals, and Logan Park and Jack McHale both added a goal each. Goalkeeper Josh Carpenter-O'Hearn was hardly tested, needing just three saves to earn the shutout.
• Brattleboro lost on the road to Colchester, 1-0, on Sept. 20, but bounced back three days later with a 2-1 win over Woodstock in the Homecoming game at Tenney Field. The Colonels ended the week at 4-3.
Football
• Brattleboro again got off to a fast start, and again flamed out early as the Colonels fell to the Burlington Seahorses, 36-20, in the Homecoming game at Natowich Field on Sept. 23.
Everything seemed to be falling into place early for the Colonels as the defense created points in the first eight minutes of the game.
Linebacker Kris Carroll ran back an interception for a 45-yard touchdown on Burlington's first possession. Following a strip sack of quarterback Gunnar Bierbaum by Colonels linebacker Alex Province and recovery from linebacker Jem Cohen, running back Chris Frost scored on a four-yard run and quarterback Tyler Millerick ran for a two-point conversion to give the Colonels a 14-0 lead.
Burlington seemed to be on the ropes, especially after their star running back, Kevin Garrison, injured his ankle on the Seahorses' sixth play from scrimmage. But Garrison not only came back into the game, he was able to return a punt for 50 yards, caught a 41-yard pass, and ran for 176 yards.
The Seahorses' defense also asserted itself, blocking a punt and holding the Colonels to just nine plays from scrimmage in the first half. After Brattleboro's two quick scores to start the game, Burlington sacked Millerick six times and limited the Colonels to just 14 total yards from scrimmage.
Meanwhile, the Seahorses got back into the game with three touchdowns in the second quarter. Bierbaum connected with Tenzin Kelley for a 25-yard touchdown, and then Garrison scored on runs of 10 and four yards, respectively, for a 22-14 lead at the break.
The unseasonably hot and humid conditions for late September were taking a toll on both teams. Neither could score in the third quarter, but Burlington's Ryan Mitchell ran a punt back 45 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. A Niels Arentzen PAT put Burlington up, 29-14.
Brattleboro responded as Millerick threw a 35-yard TD to Kris Carroll to get the Colonels within nine points. Garrison then took control of the game at that point. He carried the ball six times for 73 yards on the ensuing drive, including a two-yard run into the end zone.
The Colonels (0-4) will play at Hartford (3-1) on Friday at 7 p.m.
• Quarterback Logan Cota pulled off an unusual hat trick as he threw for two touchdowns, ran for another TD, and caught a touchdown pass from Griffin Waryas as the Bellows Falls Terriers rolled over the Springfield Cosmos, 45-6, on Sept. 22 at Brown Field in the 102nd renewal of their rivalry game for bragging rights and “The Trophy.”
Running back Shane Clark added with 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns for the Terriers. Hunter Holmes ran 100 yards and a TD, Ryan Kelly caught a touchdown pass, and Svent Bossart kicked three PATs.
On defense, McGregor Vancor made a team-high seven tackles. Springfield quarterback Kyle Monier threw a pass to Matt LaChapelle for the Cosmos' only score.
In the first quarter, Cota threw touchdown passes to Kelly and Clark as BF led 21-0 after one quarter and 33-0 at the half.
The 3-1 Terriers play at Otter Valley this Saturday.
Cross-country
• Brattleboro's Isaac Freitas-Eagan seems to love running in Bennington. In a four-school meet on Sept. 19, he won in 17 minutes, 18 seconds, just four seconds off the course record time he set a week earlier.
That performance helped lead the Brattleboro boys to a team victory with 26 points, followed by host school Mount Anthony (30 points), Burr & Burton (69), and Rutland (79).
The Colonel boys had four other runners in the top 15 - Colin Costa-Walsh (third, 17:56), Trevor Kipp (fourth, 18:36), David Pierce (seventh, 19:13), and Bram Tabachnik (11th, 19:20).
As impressive as that win was, the Colonel girls were even more impressive in winning their team meet. Their top runner, Sarah Gallagher, was ill, but the rest of the team more than picked up slack as the Colonels finished first with 26 points, followed by Mount Anthony (53), Burr & Burton (69) and Rutland (74).
Brattleboro had five girls in the top 10 - Annie Takacs (fourth, 22:41), Emilia Dick Fiora del Fabro (sixth, 23:25), Alexandra Miskovich (seventh, 23:27), Liz Morse (eighth, 23:43), and Mollie Patenaude (ninth, 23:54).
Field hockey
• Bellows Falls keeps on rolling along. The Terriers started the week with an 8-1 beatdown against Burr & Burton on Sept. 18 in Westminster. The full spectrum of BF's attack was on display as Reghan Baldasaro and Dani Marchica scored two goals apiece, and Molly Kelly, Abbe Cravinho, Sophia Hyslop, and Meghan Vanik each got a goal.
It was a little tougher for the Terriers the following afternoon in White River Junction. Hartford did the seemingly impossible as they held Bellows Falls scoreless in the first half of their game on Sept. 19.
But the Terriers rallied in the second half and scored four unanswered goals against the Hurricanes to get a big 4-0 road win. Kelly scored a pair of goals to lead the Terriers, while Cravinho and Marchica each added a score.
Bellows Falls finished the week by again shutting out Hartford, 5-0, at home on Sept. 21. The Terriers led 2-0 at the half and added three more goals in the second half. Baldasaro scored three goals and Hyslop and Madison Streeter chipped in with the other two goals.
That was the 28th consecutive victory for BF, which has won back-to-back Division III state championships and put together an undefeated season in 2016.
• Brattleboro dropped a close one, 2-1, to Windsor in the Homecoming game on Sept. 23 at Tenney Field. The Yellowjackets got the game-winning goal with eight minutes left in regulation.
The Colonels played a strong first half, and took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Kalin Noble, assisted by Lacy Slade, before Windsor rallied to win.
On Sept. 19, Brattleboro lost at home to Mount Anthony, 2-0. The Colonels finished the week at 2-3.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 3 of the fall season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League saw Team 7 (13-2) remain in first place, with Team 1 (11-4) and Team 10 (10-5) not far behind.Team 5 (9-6) is fourth, followed by Team 2 and Team 8 (both 8-7), Team 3 (6-9), and Team 9 and Team 6 (both 3-12).
Arlene Blum had the women's high handicap game (246) and series (674), while Warren Corriveau Sr. had the men's high handicap game (246) and Howard Manley had the high handicap series (632). Team 2 had the high team handicap game (881), while Team 1 had the high handicap series (2,513).
Josie Rigby led the women with a 521 series. The men with 500-plus series were Fred Ashworth (505), Jerry Dunham (523), Corriveau (553), Robert Rigby (555), and Marty Adams (525). Corriveau (232) and Robert Rigby (205) were the only bowlers with 200-plus games.