-The Hartford Hurricanes may have dropped down to Division II in football this season, but they still have the same powerhouse team they have had for the past several years.
Just ask the Brattleboro Bears. They got steamrolled by Hartford, 43-6, at Natowich Field on Sept. 19 to fall to 0-3 on the season.
This game was all but decided in the first 4:35 of the first quarter, where everything that could go wrong for the Bears did. It started with a 75-yard touchdown run by junior Rex Baning on Hartford's first play of the game. It continued with a recovered fumble on the ensuing kickoff that resulted in a 5-yard TD run by Hartford quarterback Noah Danieli for a 14-0 lead.
Brattleboro's offense finally got a chance to get on the field, but went three-and-out. Bears punter Brady Sparks had to kick deep in his own end zone, setting up a blocked punt by Hartford's Graham Thompson. The ball trickled out of the end zone, resulting in a safety and a 16-0 lead.
Things got worse for the Bears. Brattleboro's kickoff after the safety led to Hartford senior Matt Nubin running it back 75 yards for another touchdown. And, just like that, the Hurricanes led 23-0.
"It's kinda like a snowball effect," Bears head coach Chad Pacheco said after the game. "It's kind of like a runaway train. It's one of those things at that point, you're just trying to keep the kids focused on what they need to fix individually."
Hartford entered this contest averaging 40 points a game. They almost met that average by the mid-point of the second quarter with two more touchdowns - a 36-yard run by Danieli and a 10-yard run by Connor Peyton - to take a 37-0 lead with 5:28 left in the first half. After that, Hartford put its reserves into the game.
Brattleboro broke the shutout bid in the fourth quarter, when senior quarterback Sean Cozza threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to fellow senior John Harrison with 7:54 left in the game. Hartford's reserves quickly responded with a 62-yard kickoff return by Banning that set up a 2-yard TD run by Peyton. Thompson, a lineman who also serves as Hartford's kicker, then missed his only point-after kick of the night with 4:36 to play.
Hartford finished the night with 390 yards of rushing, and Danieli threw just one pass, an incompletion in the first quarter. Brattleboro struggled on offense as two of their playmakers were missing. Senior Donnevhan Hall was on the injured list, and junior Kymarion Hall left the game in the second quarter after taking a couple of ferocious hits by the Hartford defense. The Bears managed just 16 yards of rushing on 17 carries, and Cozza threw for 70 yards, completing nine of his 20 passes.
Next up for the Bears is a trip to Fair Haven to take on the Slaters this Friday at 7 p.m. Fair Haven won its first game of the season on Sept. 19 with a 48-7 rout of Mount Mansfield.
Terriers pound North Country
• Approaching the midpoint of the season, undefeated Bellows Falls is clearly the team to beat in Division III. Its running attack is punishing and the folks doing the blocking for them - starting offensive linemen Riley Ernst, Steven Joslyn, Brockton Lovell, Cam Perry, and Ben Rumrill, and tight end Jake Tostrup - have controlled the line of scrimmage in every game.
Even a long road trip to the Canadian border didn't faze the Terriers as they pounded the North Country Falcons, 50-6, in Newport on Sept. 19.
Jaden Bazin was the star for BF, as he ran for five touchdowns. The first was a 68-yard romp on the Terriers' first play of the game. He followed with touchdown runs of 12, 10, and five yards, and capped off his big night with a 73-yard kickoff return for a score late in the game.
BF had a 36-0 lead at halftime, and has outscored its opponents 83-0 in the first half of their first three games. In North Country's defense, this year's team has just three seniors and they are taking their lumps this season in the hopes of rebuilding the program in the coming seasons.
Next for the Terriers is the 112th edition of the rivalry game against the Springfield Cosmos this Friday at 7 p.m. at Hadley Field. BF has a 63-45-3 edge in the series and has won 14 straight games against the Cosmos.
Girls' soccer
• Brattleboro is starting to find the scoring touch as they won a pair of home games last week. On Sept. 16, they beat Rutland, 2-1. After a scoreless first half, Emma Frehsee got the Bears' first goal seven minutes into the second half. Rutland's Phoenix Woodard tied the game a short time later, but Reese Croutworst would then get the game-winning goal with 5:45 to play. Naima Harris had nine saves in goal for the Bears.
On Sept. 18 against Mount Anthony, it looked like it would be another low-scoring game. Amara Tuma's first-half goal gave the Bears a 1-0 lead, and the score stayed that way until the final 15 minutes. Then, Croutworst scored three straight goals in the span of about seven minutes to turn a nail-biter into what ultimately was a 5-1 rout.
Croutworst got her first goal, beating three defenders and the goalkeeper with a chip into the left corner of the net with 14:46 to play. Three minutes later, she took a pass from Louise Frehsee and tucked into the net. Croutworst finished her hat trick with 8:27 to play when she pounced on a loose ball in the goal crease and knocked it in.
"There's a reason why Reese is the school's all-time scorer," said Bears coach Jay Cudworth. "Every team knows where's she at on the field, and she is never lonely. She has to work for her goals."
Harris had six saves in goal and narrowly missed earning the shutout when Mount Anthony scored just a few seconds after Croutworst's third goal. It was her only mistake of the game. Juliette Pals then got the Bears' final goal with 4:15 left. The Bears finished the week at 5-2.
• In the girls' side of the Werner Tournament in Arlington, Long Trail School edged Twin Valley, 1-0, on Sept. 15. Nevada Bloechle scored the game's only goal with 10 minutes left in regulation time. TV goalkeeper Kate Oyer made nine saves.In the tourney's consolation game on Sept. 18, Mount St. Joseph shut out Twin Valley, 3-0.
• Bellows Falls beat visiting Mill River, 2-1, on Sept. 17, and beat Sharon Academy, 4-0, on Sept. 20 to stay undefeated at 6-0.
• Leland & Gray was shut out by Windsor, 2-0, on Sept. 17 in Townshend to fall to 0-5 on the season. Goalkeeper Annabelle Brooks made 20 saves for the Rebels.
Boys' soccer
• For the fourth straight year and the 12th time in the 17-year history of the John Werner Tournament, Twin Valley are the champs. The Wildcats won this year's tourney with a 7-2 win over host team Arlington on Sept. 19.
Twin Valley took a 4-1 first half lead as Brayden Brown - who was named the tournament MVP - scored three straight goals, including off a penalty kick, and assisted on Niko Gerding's goal. A penalty kick by Arlington's Ethan Pickering spoiled the shutout bid.
In the second half, Alex Sullivan scored two minutes in, and Gerding then finished with a pair of late goals. Kaelyn Lackey and Davis Cole combined for six saves in goal for the 7-0 Wildcats. Justin Aldrich got Arlington's other goal with 10 minutes to play.
Twin Valley advanced to the tournament final with a 9-1 shredding of Long Trail School in the opening round on Sept. 16. Carson McHale scored five goals, Alex Sullivan had three goals, and Brayden Brown also scored and had two assists. Gerding also had two assists.
• Brattleboro lost to Burr & Burton, 5-1, on Sept. 17 in Manchester, and lost at home to Rutland, 3-2, on Sept. 20 to fall to 3-3 on the season.
• Leland & Gray defeated Rivendell, 5-1, on Sept. 19, and beat Green Mountain, 3-2, on Sept. 20, to win the Josh Cole Tournament in Ludlow and improve their record to 3-3.
Field hockey
• Bellows Falls defeated Hartford, 4-1, on Sept. 15. Avery Maxfield led the way for BF with a pair of goals. Caitlyn Lisai and Elyse Thurber also scored.
The Terriers then played Burr & Burton to a 3-3 draw on Sept. 17 in Manchester. Down 3-0 in the fourth quarter, Maxfield again scored two goals and Veronica Moore added another to tie the game and force an overtime period. Goalie Brook Parker made six saves for the 4-1-1 Terriers.
• Brattleboro is playing great defense, but goals continue to be elusive. The Bears lost to Windsor, 1-0, on Sept. 16. Hannah Tenney had the only goal of the game. It was the fourth straight 1-0 loss for the Bears.
Against Rutland on Sept. 20 at Sawyer Field, the Bears finally broke their scoring drought with their first win of the season, a 2-0 victory.
Cross country
• Willow Sharma led the Brattleboro boys to a win over Mount Anthony in a Sept. 16 meet in Bennington. Sharma was the individual winner in 18 minutes, 32 seconds, and four other Brattleboro runners finished in the top 10 to give the Bears a narrow 27-28 win over Mount Anthony.
Brattleboro runners in the top 15 included Jonas Ackerman-Hovis (sixth,19:49), Liam Conathan-Leach (seventh, 19:57), Jackson Ferreira (eighth, 20:30), Charlie Vaughan (ninth, 21:28), Conor McColgan (12th, 22:10), and Connor Noyes-Urffer (15th, 23:28).
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 3 of the fall/winter season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on Sep. 18 saw Ricochet (12-2) hang on to first place. Pinocent Bystanders, 3 Plus One, and Stayin' Alive (all 9-6) are tied for second place, followed by Slo Movers and Strikers (both 8-7), Lucky 7 (6-9), Strike Away (5-10), and SOS and Wayne's World (both 4-11).
Vicki Butynski had the women's high handicap game (231) and series (637), while Al Dascomb had the men's high handicap game (263) and Kevin Napaver had the high handicap series (718). Pinocent Bystanders had the high team handicap game (995) and series (2,575).
Napaver had the men's high scratch series (718), with games of 258, 255, and 205, while Peter Deyo had a 605 series with games of 209 and 189, and Robert Rigby had a 603 series with games of 217 and 207. Stan Kolpa had a 531 series with a 200 game, Gary Montgomery had a 513 series with a 207 game, John Laamanen had a 513 series with a 187 game, and Jerry Dunham had a 500 series with a 191 game. Notable games included Al Dascomb (223), Milt Sherman (183), and Charlie Marchant (181).
Carol Gloski had the women's high scratch series (450), with games of 160. Butynski had a 158 game, and Nancy Dalzell rolled a 152.
Randolph T. Holhut, deputy editor of this newspaper, has written this column since 2010 and has covered sports in Windham County since the 1980s. Readers can send him sports information at news@commonsnews.org. Thaddeus Sawyer of WTSA Radio contributed to this report.
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.