BRATTLEBORO — At 6-1 heading into the home stretch of the season, the Brattleboro Colonels boys soccer team is looking more and more like a team that will make some noise in the playoffs this year.
The test of a good team is how it responds to adversity. For example, Brattleboro suffered its first loss of the season with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Rutland on a rainy home game last Tuesday night.
The Colonels had plenty of alibis to fall back on - poor playing conditions, a 10-day layoff and 22 shots on goal that never found the back of the net. Instead, they bounced back with a 3-2 win over Monument Mountain the next day. Senior forward Travis Elliot-Knaggs scored two goals and assisted on the third goal.
Brattleboro built upon that win with a 3-0 defeat over Burr & Burton in Saturday's homecoming game at Sawyer Field.
Sophomore midfielder Jackson Batchelder scored in the 13th minute, and only stellar goalkeeping by Burr & Burton's Michael Nolan kept the Bulldogs in the game. But continued pressure by the Colonels resulted in a pair of insurance goals in the 62nd and 64th minute. The first was an own goal by a Bulldog defender, the second came off the foot of junior midfielder Cesar Moore.
Goalkeepers Evan Darling and Galen Finnerty combined on the shutout as the Colonels outshot the Bulldogs, 34-5.
Boys soccer
• Twin Valley started last week with a 2-0 win over Black River in Ludlow on Monday, the first victory for the Wildcats at Dorsey Park since 2004. Nick Birch and Eli Park were the goal scorers. Tony Bernard made five saves to earn his third consecutive shutout.
• Windsor beat Bellows Falls, 3-1, in a home game last Tuesday. Alfredo Jaikel was the only goal scorer for the Terriers.
Girls soccer
• Freshmen Savannah Nesbit and Sammy Cunningham were the goal scorers as Twin Valley edged Arlington, 2-1, at Baker Field on Tuesday. The 3-3-1 Wildcats were then beaten by Mill River, 3-2, in overtime on Saturday. Twin Valley let a 2-1 lead slip away as Emily Osmer scored on a penalty kick with just 14 seconds left in regulation, and then scored the game winner just 36 seconds into overtime.
• It was a rough week for Brattleboro as the Colonels got shut out by Minnechaug Regional, 4-0, on Tuesday, and then were shut out 2-0 by Rutland in the homecoming game on Saturday,
• Bellows Falls, now 0-7-1, is still looking for its first win after losing to Arlington 3-0 on Saturday.
Field hockey
• Windsor scored three goals in the second half to break open a close game in a 4-0 home defeat for Bellows Falls. The Terriers managed only two shots on goal.
• Brattleboro dropped a 2-1 decision at Rutland on Wednesday. Karley Fortier scored an unassisted goal and goalie Caroline McCarthy made eight saves.
Football
• Bellows Falls scored on eight of its 10 total possessions as the Terriers crushed the Montpelier Solons, 53-6, on Saturday at Hadley Field. Running back Ryan Hayward led the attack with 115 yards of rushing and two touchdowns on just seven carried. Quarterback Jeremy Kilburn ran for one touchdown and threw to Brendan Hackett for another score. Joe Aslin, Leo Barnett and Bruce Wells also found the end zone as BF took a 40-0 lead at the half.
In the second half, Ethan Amidon recovered a fumbled kickoff and ran it in 20 yards for a touchdown, and then ran in another score. Hackett converted five of his eight extra points, and the BF defense held the Solons scoreless until the reserves came in to end the game.
Bellows Falls is now 3-2, with all their wins coming against Division III foes. The Terriers travel to Windsor this Saturday for the annual Dale Perkins Trophy game.
• Brattleboro came close, but not close enough as the Colonels lost to the Essex Hornets, 20-12, in their homecoming game Saturday night at Natowich Field. Essex scored 20 unanswered points before the Colonels got on the board with a 14-yard touchdown run by Ivan Jackson and a 38-yard touchdown catch by Josh LaValley.
The Colonels then tried an onside kick after LaValley's score, but couldn't come up with the ball as time ran out. While the Colonels fell to 0-5, the second-half comeback is certainly something the team can build on. The Colonels travel to Barre to take on Spaulding this Saturday.
Cross country
• As a team, the Brattleboro Colonels had a tough time of it on an extremely muddy course at the Thetford Woods Run on Saturday as the girls and boys each placed 42nd. Individually, Jacob Ellis finished 18th out of 1,044 male runners with a time of 17:49, the fifth-best Vermont time in the competition. Hannah Reichel was 147th of 810 female runners with a time of 23:40 and earned a medal for finishing second in her race.
Rockingham wrestlers hold raffle
• Want to win a Jeep? The Rockingham Area Wrestlers (RAW) are selling 250 raffle tickets at $100 each for a maroon 2004 Jeep Wrangler. Money raised from this raffle will help pay for new wrestling mats and remodeling of RAW's new location on 15 Barker Street in Bellows Falls.
RAW is in its 10th year as an independent wrestling club. It has produced many past and present Vermont state champions, as well as high-place finishers at both the New England and the Northeast National competitions.
Raffle tickets will be on sale every Sunday at Hadley Field during the Sunday morning Pee-Wee football games from now until Oct. 17. You can also call Kim Record at 802-843-2579 or Laura Lober at 802-722-4889. The Jeep drawing will be held Nov. 1.
Youth basketball signups in Brattleboro
The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department will offer an instructional co-ed basketball program and kindergarten basketball, as well as a youth league for boys and one for girls this winter.
The instructional co-ed program is for children in the first and second grade. The fee is $25 for Brattleboro residents and $40 for non-residents. The season runs from November through March. Players will have a practice once a week and all games are on Friday evenings.
The kindergarten program is for children who are currently enrolled in kindergarten and are looking to learn the fundamentals of basketball. Kindergarten basketball will begin at 5 p.m. on Mondays from Jan. 3 to 31. The cost is $10 for Brattleboro residents and $25 for non-residents. All athletes are asked to wear sneakers and bring a water bottle.
The boys youth basketball league is for boys in grades 3-6. There will be two divisions: the senior division will be for boys in grades 5 and 6 and the junior division will be for boys in grades 3 and 4. The program's fee is $40 for residents and $55 for non-residents. The season runs from November through March and there will be one practice and one game per week. Games will be held on Saturday mornings.
The girls youth basketball league is for girls in grades 3-6. There will be a senior and junior division split up just like those of the boys league. The fee is $35 for residents and $50 for non-residents. The season runs from November through February. Players will have one practice and one game a week. There will be an all-star team selected from the senior division to compete in tournaments at the end of the season.
Registration for all programs will be from 1:30-6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 13, at the Gibson-Aiken Center, 207 Main St. Volunteer coaches are also needed. If there are special needs required for the boys or girls leagues, or if more information is required, call the Recreation & Parks Department at 802-254-5808.
Claremont Cardinals join CRVBL
The Claremont Cardinals, an over-40 team that has played in the New Hampshire Baseball League for the past several years, are joining the Connecticut River Valley Baseball League for the 2011 season. They play their home games at historic Barnes Park in Claremont, N.H.
To celebrate their new league affilation, the Cardinals will take on the Putney Fossils in an exhibition game on Sunday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. at Dummerston School Field.