For only the third time since 1980, the Brattleboro Colonels varsity football team finished the regular season undefeated.
The 8-0 Colonels completed their first regular season schedule in Division II with a 56-20 win over the Mount Anthony Patriots in the annual Elwell Trophy game at Bennington's Spinelli Field on Oct. 18.
The victory also clinched the top seed in the Division II playoffs, and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Through eight games, the Colonels have scored a total of 408 points, or an average of 50 points per game. But after the first quarter of play against the Patriots, it seemed like the Colonels would be hard-pressed to meet that average.
The first quarter ended in a 0-0 stalemate as both teams had promising drives snuffed out by turnovers. Patriots quarterback Caleb Hay was effective mixing running and passing plays on the opening drive and got his team down to the Colonels 25, but he threw an interception to Chris Frost at the 5-yard-line.
The Colonels drove the ball down to the MAU 5, but Frost had a rare fumble and the Patriots recovered. The Colonels' defense forced MAU to punt, but a roughing-the-kicker penalty gave the Patriots a first down.
Again, the Colonels looked like they would stop the Patriots for a second time with a score. However, a roughing-the-passer penalty gave MAU yet another chance and they cashed in on a 1-yard touchdown run by Nathan Gaudette. A missed extra point gave MAU a 6-0 lead with 10:08 left in the second quarter.
From that point on, Colonels quarterback Tyler Millerick took over the game as only he can. He ran 16 yards for the first of three rushing touchdowns and Reed Sargent kicked the first of his nine extra points to give the Colonels a 7-6 lead with 8:44 left in the half.
Another MAU turnover, this time on a botched handoff by Hay, gave the Colonels the ball deep in Patriots' territory, and Millerick scored on a 17-yard run to make it 14-6 with 8:05 remaining in the half.
The Patriots responded with a touchdown on their next drive, an 18-yard-grab by Braeden Billert, but a two-point conversion failed, and the Colonels still had a 14-12 lead with 3:33 left in the half.
Brattleboro responded with another scoring drive capped by a 20-yard-run by Frost with 1:32 left, then got the ball back after MAU fumbled a kickoff. Millerick threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Petrie to push the lead to 28-12 with 14 seconds left. Another fumbled MAU kickoff almost led to another Brattleboro score, but a 37-yard field goal try by Sargent fell short as the half ended.
The Colonels had the ball to start the second half, but couldn't score on their opening drive. That left the door open for the Patriots as Hay found Gavin Johnson in the end zone for a touchdown. A two-point conversion catch by Gaudette cut the lead to 28-20 with 7:48 left in the third.
However, that would be it for the Patriots as the Colonels scored four unanswered touchdowns to put the game away.
Gavin Howard caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Millerick with 4:53 left in the third. Millerick then scored on a 18-yard run for a 42-20 lead with 10:15 left in the fourth quarter, Petrie got his second touchdown catch, a 20-yarder, with 6:41 to play, and Henry Thurber caught Millerick's third touchdown pass with 4:05 to play.
Millerick finished with 152 yards of rushing and 139 yards of passing as he accounted for seven of the Colonels eight touchdowns. Frost ran for 193 yards on 17 carries with one touchdown.
Hay was 14-for-27 for 188 yards for the Patriots, while running back Brody Bossong rushed for 96 yards on 16 carries and Johnson had six catches for 95 yards.
Brattleboro will open the playoffs with a first-round game against eighth-seeded North Country (1-7) this Friday night at 7 at Natowich Field.
BF clinches No. 3 seed
• Bellows Falls clinched the third seed in Division II with a 39-16 win over Milton on Oct. 18 at Hadley Field.
It was the third win in a row for the 6-2 Terriers, whose only losses this season have come at the hands of top-seeded Brattleboro in Week 1 and No. 2 seed U-32 in Week 5.
Running back Jed Lober had a career night with 315 rushing yards and five touchdowns on runs of 28, 15, 3, 9, and 6 yards. Harrison Gleim also scored on a 1-yard run.
The Terriers put this one away early, leading 20-0 at the half as Lober rushed for 192 yards and three TDs in the first two quarters.
It was 39-0 after three quarters, and Milton got its touchdowns in the final quarter on a 6-yard run by Evan Tinker and a 3-yard run by Damien Tinker.
Bellows Falls will host sixth-seeded Lyndon (3-5) in a first-round playoff game at Hadley Field this Friday at 7.
Unified soccer wins gold
• The BUHS Unified soccer program brought home a gold medal from the Special Olympics Vermont Unified Champion Schools tournament at Norwich University on Oct. 16.
According to co-coach Tyler Boone, two BUHS teams had practiced for eight weeks leading up to this one-day state tournament.
The Division I team finished in sixth place in its debut in the upper division, losing close matches to Middlebury and Woodstock.
The Division II team, which finished third last year, took first place at this year's tournament with wins over both of Rutland's intermediate teams to reach the championship game, where the BUHS squad defeated BFA-St. Albans, 1-0.
Playing for the gold medalists were Trevor Thibault, CC Allembert, Kiki McNary, Fiona Kidder, Rose Isham, Tyler Bolduc, Bobby Petrie, Silvia Galdamez, Joanie Tuttle, Kayli Nicholson, Kyle Simuro, Robert Chaffee, Timothy Galdamez, Ashley Haskins, and Billy Galdamez. Boone shared coaching duties with Lauren Allembert.
Boys' soccer
• Twin Valley earned the top seed in Division IV with an 11-2-1 record, which means they avoid a first-round playoff game and are off until the quarterfinals. On Oct. 26, the Wildcats will face the winner of the first round game between No. 8 Blue Mountain (6-6) and No. 9 Sharon (6-8).
The Wildcats rolled over Springfield, 6-1, on Oct 15 at Hayford Field. Colin McHale and Owen Grinold each scored two goals, while Aaron Soskin added a goal and two assists for the Wildcats. Sebastian Arbogast also scored for the Wildcats and Jack McHale had one assist. Goalkeeper Jack Kehoe made three saves to get the win.
Twin Valley then shut out visiting Leland & Gray, 6-0, on Oct. 18 in the regular season finale. Colin McHale had a pair of goals and Owen Grenold, Casey Sibilia, Aaron Sofkin and Jack McHale also found the back of the net for the Wildcats. Kehoe made two saves to earn the shutout win.
• Brattleboro celebrated Senior Night on Oct. 15 with a 5-0 romp over Mount Anthony at Tenney Field.
Alex Lier scored the Colonels' first two goals in the first half, with Damian Dierkes getting credited with an assist on the first one. After the Patriots scored an own goal early in the second half, Sam Hall and Avery Bauer both scored for Brattleboro. Goalkeeper Paul McGillion made three saves to earn the shutout win.
Rutland upset Brattleboro, 1-0, at Alumni Field in the regular season finale on Oct. 18. Joe LaFarge scored for the 4-10 Raiders. The loss ended an eight-game winning streak for the 11-3 Colonels, who are the No. 4 seed in Division I. They were set to host No. 13 Rice (0-14) on Oct. 22 in a first-round game.
• Leland & Gray finished the season with a 4-9-1 record and the No. 9 seed in Division III. They were set to head north on Oct. 22 to face eighth-seeded BFA-Fairfax (7-7) in a first-round game.
• Bellows Falls ended their regular season with six straight losses, including a 9-0 loss to Leland & Gray on Oct. 14 and a 7-1 loss to White River Valley on Oct. 18. As the No. 14 seed in Division III, the 3-11 Terriers were set to go north on Oct. 22 to play third-seeded Hazen (11-3) in a first-round game.
Girls' soccer
• Leland & Gray finished the regular season with a 10-game winning streak to finish 12-2 and earn the third seed in Division III. The Rebels draw a familiar foe in the first round, as No. 14 Green Mountain (5-9) was set to travel to Townshend on Oct. 22.
• Bellows Falls had a pair of losses to end the regular season - a 3-1 loss to White River Valley and a 2-1 loss to Windsor. At 2-10-2, the 15th-seeded Terriers were set to head north on Oct. 22 to play second-seeded Vergennes (8-4-1) in a first-round Division III playoff game.
• With a 7-2 win over Poultney on Oct. 18, Twin Valley finished with a 5-8-1 record and the No. 7 seed in Division IV. They were scheduled to host No. 10 Hazen (4-10) in a first-round game on Oct. 22 at Hayford Field in Wilmington.
• Brattleboro lost its season finale to Rutland, 2-1, on Oct. 18 to finish with a 3-10-1 record. As the No. 13 seed in Division I, they travel north to No. 4 Burlington (9-4-1) in a first-round game on Oct. 23.
Cross-country
• The Bellows Falls girls look ready to run off with another Division III title. In the Southern Vermont League championship meet on Oct. 15 in Woodstock, BF's Abby Broadley won the race with a time of 19 minutes, 58 seconds.
Stephanie Ager (third), Victoria Bassette (eighth), Ashley Bartlett (12th), and Abby Dearborn (14th) rounded out the team scoring for the Terriers, who were edged by Burr & Burton for first place by two points, 36 to 38.
Brattleboro finished sixth with 126 points. Caitlyn Robinson (20th), Alexandra Miskovich (22nd), Bella Takacs (27th), Hazel Wagner (28th), and Lizzy Wright (29th) were Brattleboro's top five runners.
In the boys' race, BF came in third with 83 points, while Brattleboro finished fifth with 105 points.
Tim Salter-Roy (eighth), Collin Robertson (12th), Stone Bradbury (15th), Justice Bassette (16th), and Curtis Turner (32nd) led the Terrier boys, while Finn LaMorder (11th), Bram Tabachnick (19th), Nolan Holmes (22nd), Ben Berkson-Harvey (23rd), and Jonah Bingham (30th) were the Colonels' top five.
The state cross-country championship meet will be run at Thetford Academy on Oct. 26.
Field hockey
• Bellows Falls finished the regular season with a 7-7 record after a 2-1 win over Rutland on Oct. 18. That left them with the No. 6 seed in Division I. The Terriers will travel north to face No. 3 South Burlington (9-5) in the quarterfinals on Oct. 24.
• Brattleboro got shut out, 7-0, by Woodstock on Oct. 15 to finish the regular season at 4-10. As the No. 10 seed in Division II, they were set to travel to Middlebury on Oct. 22 for a first-round game against the No. 7 Tigers (4-8-2).
Senior bowling roundup
• Despite a 1-4 week, The Ageless Wonders (27-8) remained in first place after Week 7 of the fall season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl.
Magic in Motion (23-12) moved into second place, while Crash & Burn (23-13) fell to third. Us'ns (21-14) is in fourth, followed by Whatevers and Stayin' Alive (both 20-15), Trash-O-Matic (18-17), One Pointers (17-18), The Drifters (16-19), Split Ends (13-22), and Delayed Reaction (11-24).
Nancy Dalzell had the women's high handicap game (238), while Sonya Shippee had the high handicap series (671). Warren Corriveau Sr. had the men's high handicap game (263) and series (704). Trash-O-Matic had the high team handicap game (894) and series (2,574).
In scratch scoring, Robert Rigby once again led the men with games of 224, 213, and 199 to again lead the men with a 636 series, while Gary Montgomery had games of 234 and 225 as part of his 644 series. Corriveau rolled games of 234, 192, and 191 for his 617 series.
Fred Ashworth had a 195 game as part of his 535 series and Gary Montgomery (523) and Wayne Randall (514) also rolled a 500-plus series.
Josie Rigby had games of 203, 185, and 184 in compiling the women's top scratch series at 572. Shippee rolled a 177 game as part of her 506 series. Dalzell had games of 185 and 170 and Carol Frizell rolled at 172.