-The Twin Valley-Leland & Gray soccer rivalry is one of the best in Vermont as the two smallest high schools in Windham County consistently produce hard-fought, passionate games.
On Oct. 8 in Townshend, the girls were in the spotlight and the result was a 1-1 overtime draw after 100 minutes of intense soccer.
Twin Valley is having its best season in years, while Leland & Gray has been struggling, but the two teams were evenly matched in this game."We certainly showed that we can hang with them,” said Rebels coach Joe Towle.
“We had chances to win, they had chances to win. [Our players] should feel really good about what they did today.”
The Rebels struck first in this game when Addi Eldridge scored with 26:34 left in the first half. A defensive breakdown in front of the Wildcats’ goal gave Eldridge the opening she needed. Goalkeeper Kate Oyer was caught out of position and Eldridge tucked the ball into the open net.
Leland & Gray dominated play in the first half, but Twin Valley turned the momentum their way in the second half and made some defensive adjustments to show down the speedy Eldridge.
The Wildcats finally broke through with 10:11 remaining in regulation time as Joslyn Codogni tipped in a pass from Scarlett Cimino for the equalizer.
“We’ve been preaching unparalleled toughness for a lot of this year,” said Twin Valley co-coach Chad Bullock. “I think we showed that in the second half and overtime, kind of gritting our teeth a little bit and playing a little bit more aggressively to those loose balls.”
Oyer and Rebels goalkeeper McKinley Bertram both were outstanding through 100 minutes of intense soccer.
Together with a 2-0 shutout of Mount St, Joseph on Oct. 5, Twin Valley finished their week at 10-2-1. The Rebels entered the final week of the season with a 4-6-2 record.
Football
• The Bellows Falls Terriers and the Lyndon Vikings have played some nail-biters over the past few years, but their game on Oct. 9 at Hadley Field took it up to a new level as the Vikings rallied in the final two minutes of regulation to force overtime and hang on for a 26-20 victory.
Shorthanded on offense due to injuries to quarterback Saul James and running back Jaden Bazin, the Terriers struggled in the first half and trailed 13-6 at intermission.
Lyndon scored first with 2:20 left in the first quarter on a 10-yard run by quarterback Owen Fox. The conversion attempt failed, but the Vikings had a 6-0 lead. BF tied the game on a 12-yard touchdown run by Bryar Barnett with 8:43 left in the second quarter, but Jackson Wells gave Lyndon the go-ahead score on a 35-yard run with 6:23 reming in the quarter.
After slogging through the third quarter, the teams traded touchdowns in the fourth.The Terriers struck first. After lineman Rylan Ernst recovered a Lyndon fumble with 1:47 left in the third, BF went on a 60-yard scoring drive capped off with a 3-yard run by Barnett to cut the Vikings’ lead to 13-12 with 9:04 left in regulation.
BF then took a 20-13 lead with 1:58 to play on a 5-yard run by Brody Davignon and a two-point conversion run by Barnett. Lyndon did not give up, however. On their first play from scrimmage after BF took the lead for the first time in the game, Fox lofted a 59-yard touchdown pass to Grant Newland to tie the game with 1:41 to play and force overtime.
Under high school overtime rules, each team gets four tries from the 10 yard line to score. BF got the ball first, and Barnett could not make progress toward the goal line.
A 25-yard field goal try by kicker Quincy Knapp was blocked by Wells, and Lyndon had the opening they needed. They needed just two plays — a 5-yard run from Wells and a 5-yard run from Fox — to get winning touchdown.
Barnett finished with 27 carries for 142 yards to lead the Terriers’ offense. Davignon gained 51 yards on 11 carriers, and Brock Lovell had nine carries for 49 yards. Quarterback Jacob Kissell had a 3–for-8 passing night for 28 yards. On defense, Andrew Goyette had an interception on Lyndon’s last possession of the fourth quarter to keep BF’s hopes of winning alive.
Now 4-2, the Terriers will host Mount Mansfield this Friday night at 7.
• Brattleboro played its most competitive game of the season in a 28-14 loss at Rutland on Oct. 8.
Rutland led 20-0 early in the third quarter, but the Bears rallied with a 69-yard touchdown run by David Gilbert and cut lead to 20-14 after a Tucker Jenks interception set up another touchdown run for 19 yards by Gilbert.
The Bears’ comeback hopes ended when Rutland scored on its next possession with a 70-yard run by Micah Perez setting up a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Gio Spallieri to tight end Adrian Krakowka.Rutland’s defense created all sorts of havoc as they intercepted Bears quarterback Logan Casey three times and forced several fumbles.
Perez led Rutland’s ground game with 274 yards on 29 carries, while Spallieri threw for 194 yards. Casey had 123 passing yards for Brattleboro, with seven of those completions going to Lucas DiZoglio, who had 95 receiving yards. Gilbert had his best game of the season with 112 yards on eight carries.
Now 0-6, Brattleboro travels to Middlebury this Friday night at 7.
Girls’ soccer
• Bellows Falls finished their week with an 8-4 record after a pair of home victories.
On Oct. 8, the Terriers shut out Green Mountain, 3-0. Abby Nystrom scored three goals, Gracie Patterson and Ari Jensen each had an assist, and goalkeeper Grace Hayes earned another shutout while stopping seven shots.
On Oct. 10, the Terriers topped Proctor, 3-1. Gracie Patterson had a pair of goals and an assist, and Nystrom also scored as BF got its sixth consecutive victory. They will wrap up the regular season on Oct. 17 against Springfield.
• After playing Fair Haven to a scoreless tie on Oct. 3, Rutland spoiled Brattleboro’s senior night with a 4-1 win at Natowich Field on Oct. 6.
After the Bears tied the game 10 minutes into the second half on a penalty kick by Leanna Rago-Marker, Rutland scored three unanswered goals to win it. Elle Crane scored three of Rutland’s four goals, Daniella Bove also scored.
On Oct. 9, the Bears closed out their three-game homestand with a 6-0 loss to Northampton, Massachusetts, to fall to 2-8-3.
Boys’ soccer
• Twin Valley (12-0) remains undefeated after two wins last week.
On Oct. 6 in Chester, the Wildcats beat White River Valley, 3-1, in their toughest game of the season. Twin Valley took a 2-0 lead in the first half. Alex Sullivan scored from Brayden Brown in the third minute, and Brown scored from Carter O’Neil in the 25th minute.
WRV cut the lead in half when Avery Spaulding scored an unassisted goal with four minutes left in the game, but Niko Gerding scored a minute later from Brown to seal the win. Goalkeeper Davis Cole made three saves in the win as Twin Valley outshot WRV, 23-4.
On Oct. 9 at Hayford Field, the Wildcats rolled over Randolph, 8-0. Sullivan, Brown, and Gerding led Twin Valley with two goals apiece.Twin Valley took a 3-0 lead as Sullivan scored off a penalty kick in the sixth minute, Gerding scored off a Brown assist in the 15th minute, and Brown scored from Colton Cunningham in the 36th minute.
The floodgates opened in the second half as Brown scored off a Gerding free kick in the 42nd minute, Sullivan headed in a goal off a Gerding corner kick in the 54th minute, and Gerding scored off a through pass from Brown in the 66th minute.
A hard shot by Jordan Denny deflected off a Randolph defender for the seventh goal with 10 minutes to play, and Liam Mathiau scored off a Denny pass with four minutes left in the game. Cole made three saves in goal for another shutout victory.
Field hockey
• Bellows Falls shut out visiting Burr & Burton, 4-0, on Oct. 6. Callyn Lisai scored goals and Kenna Applegate added another for BF and Brook Parker earned the shutout in goal.
The Terriers then shut out visiting Rutland, 6-0, on Oct. 8. Lisai had another three-goal game, Avery Maxfield scored twice and had an assist, and Johanna Kissell also scored. Elyse Thurber, Annabell Bazin, and Applegate were each credited with an assist to finish their week at 8-2-1.
• After a 1-0 loss to Hartford on Oct. 7, Brattleboro played Rutland to a scoreless tie on Oct. 10 to end their week at 1-8-3 heading into the final week of the regular season.
Golf
• Bellows Falls took seventh place at the Vermont Division II boys’ golf championship at Ralph Myhre Golf Course in Middlebury on Oct. 8.
Lleroy Marino (98), Morgan Haskell (100), Colton Shanks (104), and Wilson Bacon (124) represented the Terriers in the championship match, a respectable showing for a program making its first varsity appearance in 50 years.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 6 of the fall/winter season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League on Oct. 7 at Brattleboro Bowl saw Assisted Living (23.5-6.5) take sole possession of first place, followed by In the Worx (19.5-10.5), Rolos (17-13), SDWM (16-14), Stuff Happens (15.5-14.5), Four On The Floor (15-15), Gutt-ER-Done (14.5-15.5), Girls & Boys (13-17), and Slow Moves and Single Pin (both 8-22).
Diane Miller had the women’s high handicap game (243), while Debbie Kolpa has the high handicap series (631). Skip Shine had the men’s high handicap game (276), while Chuck Adams had the high handicap series (692). Girls & Boys had the team high handicap game (890) and In the Worx had the high handicap series (2,474).
Adams had the men’s high scratch series (668), with games of 241, 226, and 191, while John Walker had a 583 series with games of 211 and 204. Mike Pavlovich had a 579 series with games of 218 and 192, Peter Deyo had a 570 series with games of 204 and 202, Robert Rigby had a 555 series with a 213 game, Shine had a 539 series with a 234 game, and Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 537 series with a 211 game. John Laamanen rolled a 194.
Kolpa had the women’s high scratch series (433), with a 163 game, while Miller (179) had the high scratch game. Carol Gloski also rolled a 163.
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.
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.