You expect a Bellows Falls football team to be able to run the ball, and the Terriers put on a display of power football in the second half to beat the Milton Yellowjackets, 24-6, at Hadley Field on Saturday.
Both teams struggled on offense in the first half as BF took a 6-0 lead. Milton fumbled on its first play from scrimmage, and BF quickly turned it into six points when Austin Stack scored on a two-yard run. The two-point conversion try failed.
After that, neither team got close to the goal line for the rest of the half.
At halftime, BF coach Bob Lockerby told his players that conditioning would be the deciding factor, and that the team that went into the final quarter playing strong would win.
The Terriers made good on Lockerby's prediction by keeping up the defensive pressure in the second half while the offense got it together. Carson Fullham, who recovered the fumble to start the game, scored on a 90-yard punt return.
Quarterback Chad Illingworth threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Mills, and Kyle O'Rourke scored on a one-yard run.
Milton spoiled the shutout bid with a six-yard run by quarterback Logan Bean late in the game.
Bellows Falls ran the ball 45 times for 187 yards as running backs Stack, O'Rourke, and Fullam finished with 63, 62, and 35 yards respectively. Now 1-1, the Terriers travel to Rice on Saturday at 1 p.m.
• A missed two-point conversion was the difference as the Burlington Seahorses edged the Brattleboro Colonels, 7-6, in Division I action last Friday night at Buck Hard Field.
Burlington took a 7-0 lead on a six-yard touchdown run by Montel Kirkland in the third quarter, which was set up by a 65-yard run by Max Moreau.
The Colonels didn't score until the fourth quarter, on a 58-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Patno to Max Bostwick. With kicker Jake Gaboriault out with a concussion, Colonels coach John Callahan called for a two-point conversion, and Burlington's Shaq Cooperwood and Sha'Ron Bilowith teamed up for the game-saving stop.
Now 1-1 overall, 0-1 in division play, the Colonels are home for a Saturday night game this week against South Burlington.
Field hockey
• Bellows Falls opened its season last Thursday at Fair Haven, and the Terriers rolled to a 3-0 win over the Slaters. All the goals were scored in the first half as Cassidy Santorelli, Mariah Barnett, and Anna Clark all found the back of the net. Goalie Shea Wilkinson had an easy day, needing just four saves to earn the shutout win.
The Terriers played their home opener on Saturday morning against Windsor, and played an equally dominating game in a 2-0 win.
BF got its first goal, from Mariah Barnett, with 15:27 left in the first half. In the second half, the Terriers controlled play, but Windsor still came close to tying the game. It took a great save by Wilkinson late in the game to preserve the shutout, followed by a goal from Anna Clark with 3:10 left in regulation to put the game away.
“The defense has been awesome,” said BF coach Bethany Coursen. “We still have some things to work on with our offense, like keeping the forwards from getting bunched up, but everyone is stepping up and working hard to get better.”
• The Brattleboro Colonels did something on Aug. 30 that hadn't been done in the four years they've been coached by Deb Valliere - have both the varsity and JV teams beat an opponent on the same day.
Katie Damian, assisted by Kebrina Howard, scored the only goal of the varsity game 11 minutes into the second half for a 1-0 road win over Fair Haven. Jen Dyer made 12 saves in goal to preserve the shutout. The JV Colonels also won, 3-0.
However, in the Colonels' home opener on Sept. 2, Mount Anthony scored three goals in the second half and defeated Brattleboro, 4-0.
They were shut out again the next day: this time a 3-0 loss at Rutland. All of Rutland's goals came in the second half.
Girls' soccer
• After Leland & Gray journeyed to BFA-Fairfax on Aug. 30 and lost their opening game, 1-0, the last thing that the Rebels expected was a blowout loss in their home opener. But that's what they got as Black River scored four unanswered goals in a 6-1 rout in Townshend last Wednesday.
Morgan Kathan scored a pair of goals in the first 13 minutes to give the Presidents a 2-0 lead. Ashley Bates then scored off a pass from Giannina Gaspero-Beckstrom in the 21st minute to get the Rebels back in it.
Kathan then got her third tally of the first half on a breakaway with 3:38 to play - and the Rebels never recovered. She got a fourth goal just 90 seconds into the second half, while teammate Abigail Schmidt got two more goals in the 53rd and 56th minute.
The Rebels put 13 shots on Black River goalkeeper Elsa Eliasson, but had only one goal to show for their efforts. Rebels goalkeeper Elizabeth Gallup faced 16 shots, including several breakaways.
“We've got a lot to work on,” said Rebels coach Lucas Bates. “We need to improve on every facet of our game. I thought we played great against BFA, but today we didn't go to the ball and we didn't anticipate passes.”
• The Bellows Falls Terriers opened their season with a 1-0 win over Long Trail School in Westminster on Sept. 3. Senior captain Lydia Pedigo got the only goal of the game off a penalty kick early in the second half.
• Twin Valley also got their season off on the right foot with a 3-1 win over Arlington at Baker Field on Sept. 3. Norwegian exchange student Henriette Aas scored a pair of goals, both assisted by Savannah Nesbitt. Caitlin Hunt got the Wildcats' other goal, set up by Jordan Niles.
Then Mill River visited Baker Field last Thursday, and handed the Wildcats a 9-0 loss. Rylee Nichols, Haley Hull, and Ella Bankert all scored in the first half.
Nichols added three more goals in the second half. Mariz Mangandeo and Hull each scored, and the visitors also got an own goal by Twin Valley. Mill River goalkeeper Courtney Lee made just three saves to get the shutout victory.
• The Brattleboro Colonels girls' soccer team drew a tough road assignment on Aug. 30 for their opener - they played the defending Division II champions, the Springfield Cosmos, under the lights at Brown Field.
The two teams played a scoreless first half, but the Cosmos poured it on in the second half on the way to a 7-3 win. Anwyn Darrow had a goal and an assist for the Colonels, and Libby Annis and Molly Gurney scored. Colonel goalkeepers Tori Svec and Aimee Johnston combined for 15 saves.
Next up for the Colonels was the John James Tournament in Bennington, and Brattleboro dropped the opening game last Thursday, 4-2, to Burr & Burton. Annis and Darrow were the Colonels' goal scorers, and Svec made 14 saves in goal.
In the consolation game on Saturday, the Colonels played Springfield to a 5-5 tie. Annis scored three goals, and Anna Gagnon-Burch and Tylynn Kuralt scored the other two as Brattleboro put 36 shots on goal. They finished the week with a 0-2-1 record.
Boys' soccer
• Brattleboro got a 3-0 win at Springfield in its season opener last Thursday. Connor Elliot-Knaggs got the Colonels' first two goals in the first 15 minutes of play; Tony Acevedo assisted on the first goal, while Jack Maples got the assist on the second goal. Cesar Filho scored an unassisted goal in the second half in his varsity debut.
• The Leland & Gray boys had an equally tough opening road assignment on Saturday: travel to the far reaches of northern Vermont to face BFA-Fairfax. Against the bigger and stronger Bullets, a three-hour bus ride didn't help as the Rebels lost, 2-0.
• Bellows Falls cruised to an easy 3-0 home win over Long Trail last Friday. Chris Doucette, Lucas Clark, and Liam Shaw were the goal scorers.
• Twin Valley shut out Green Mountain, 3-0, in its opening game last Friday night at Baker Field. Dal Nesbitt got two goals, both assisted by his brother, Cade, and Eli Park added another goal. Goalkeeper Sam Molner had four saves.
Cross-country
• The Brattleboro girls finished second to a very strong Woodstock team in their first meet of the season in Thetford on Sept. 2. Becca Freeman (25:03) finished sixth; Nevada Powers (25:05) placed seventh; Eve Pomazi was 12th in 26:12; Catey Yost took 14th in 26:27; and Katie Reynolds crossed the line in 23rd.
Woodstock won the girls' meet with 20 points, followed by the the Colonels with 47; host Thetford took third with 62. Woodstock also won the boys' meet with 34 points, followed by Rivendell (60), Thetford (73), Brattleboro (85) and Hartford (107).
Ryan Gilligan (22:20) placed 12th; Oliver Pomazi (22:44) was 14th to lead the Colonels. Brattleboro's Tyler Clement (24:12) was 21st; Jon Burdo (24:10) was 23rd; and Eduardo Rodriguez (25:52) finished 25th.
• The Bellows Falls boys finished third in a four-team meet on Sept. 2 in Rutland. Mount Anthony tied with Rutland for first, while BF edged Fair Haven for the third spot. Willie Moore (18:43) was third for the BF boys. Tim Jones had a time of 20:14, followed by Jonah Bolotin (22:57), Matt Chapin (24:46), Cameron Joy (24:47), Dan Kane (24:48), Jackson Purdy (25:01), Jacob Metcalfe (25:21), and William Scarlett (27:09).
The BF girls didn't have enough runners for a team score. Lucy Lawlor ran the course in 27:00, and Tess Kinney completed it in 31:49.
Night golf fundraiser
• On Saturday, Sept. 21, the Windham County Safe Place Child Advocacy Center and Southeastern Unit for Special Investigations will host its first Night Golf Tournament at the Hooper Golf Club in Walpole, N.H.
This twist on traditional golf fundraisers will have players testing their skills after sunset with flashlights and glow-in-the-dark balls.
Space for teams to play is still available, and the cost is $100 per person, which includes dinner, glow sticks, and special golf balls.
Proceeds support Safe Place's mission of ending child abuse and sexual assault in the community. For more information, call Alyssa at 802-579-1358.
Fun run benefits Black Mountain Assisted Family Living
• On Sept. 29, Black Mountain Assisted Family Living will host its second annual fun run and walk on Upper Dummerston Road in Brattleboro at 9 a.m.
To register, visit www.Active.com and search for Maple 5K, or come to the start location at 669 Upper Dummerston Rd. no later than 8:30 a.m.
The Maple 5K is an event for all abilities. All proceeds benefit Black Mountain Assisted Family Living, which provides permanent housing for four developmentally delayed individuals and is working to provide more services and create more housing for additional people in need.
Refreshments, snacks, and prizes are offered, and the first 100 people to register will receive a commemorative T-shirt. For more information, contact Peter “Fish” Case at 802-380-1077 or www.Maple5k@bmafl.org.