-It has been a great autumn of soccer in the Deerfield Valley so far this year.
Both Twin Valley soccer teams have earned the top seed in the Division IV state tournament and both the boys’ and girls’ teams are primed for another deep run in the postseason. Both got a first-round bye before they host the winner of the first-round game in their respective quarterfinals at Hayford Field.
• The Twin Valley boys finished the regular season with a 13-1 record, the only blemish coming in the season finale in Townshend on Oct. 13 as Leland & Gray upset the defending state champs with a 1-0 win. It snapped a 30-game win streak for the Wildcats, who hadn’t lost since the 2024 state championship game.
After a hard-fought 4-0 win over Mill River on Oct. 12 to clinch the Southern Vermont League C Division title, Wildcats coach Buddy Hayford wasn’t shocked at the loss to the Rebels. The team was missing its top player, senior Brayden Brown, who was injured in the Mill River game.
“I think coming off from the Mill River high plays a big part of it,” said Hayford after the game. “So not all is lost, and like we said in the [postgame] huddle, it was better to lose now than next Friday or Saturday [in the quarterfinals].”
The Rebels got the game-winning goal with 2:09 left in the game. Senior Kendrick Ewing, who tormented the Wildcats with his speed through most of the game, found an opening and took a pass across the goalmouth from fellow senior Spencer Claussen, and beat Wildcats goalkeeper Davis Cole with a left-footed shot.
“I’m always persistent, trying to score, and I just saw the ball coming I was like ‘I’m going for it,’” said Ewing after the game as he described how he scored his goal. “Got it perfect, hit it lefty, and scoring it was just perfect.”
Rebels goalkeeper Frank Flood made 10 saves, while Cole finished with 11 saves in a game that had playoff-style intensity, as is usually the case when these schools play each other.
“I think it was a really even match,” said Rebels coach Beth Wells. “We just wanted it more, that’s what it pretty much came down to.”
The loss had no impact on the postseason status of the Wildcat boys. For the fourth straight year, they are the top seed in Division IV. They will host the winner of the Oct. 21 first round game between No. 8 Long Trail and No. 9 Rivendell in an Oct. 24 quarterfinal at 2 p.m.
• At 10-2-2, Twin Valley will be the top seed in the Division IV girls’ tournament. The Wildcats ended the regular season with a 3-1 win at Sharon Academy on Oct. 13 and played Arlington to a scoreless tie in the finale on Oct. 15.
It’s the best regular season record for the Wildcat girls since 2009, when they won 11 games. Twin Valley will host the winner of the Oct. 20 first round game between No. 8 Mount St. Joseph and No. 9 Danville Friday, Oct. 23, at 3 p.m.
As for the other Windham County soccer teams, here is how they were seeded in their respective tournaments, as well as their schedule as of press time:
• In the boys’ tourney, Leland & Gray, at 8-5-1, earned the No. 6 seed in Division IV. They host No. 11 Grace Christian in a first-round game Oct. 21 in Townshend at 3 p.m.
At 7-6-1, Brattleboro finished with the No. 7 seed in Division I, and will host No. 10 St. Johnsbury in a first-round game Oct. 20 at Natowich Field.
• In the girls’ tournament, Leland & Gray was seeded seventh in Division IV with a 4-7-2 record. They will host No. 10 Proctor for a first-round game Oct. 20 in Townshend.
Bellows Falls earned the seventh-seed in Division III with an 8-5 record. They host No. 10 Enosburg Falls for a Oct. 21 first-round game in Westminster.
At 2-9-3, Brattleboro finished with the No. 13 seed in Division I. They travel to St. Johnsbury on Oct. 21 for a first-round game against the No. 4 Hilltoppers.
Field hockey
• With a 3-0 win over visiting Brattleboro on Oct. 13, and a 7-0 over Windsor on Oct. 17 sandwiched around a 1-0 loss at Woodstock on Oct. 15, Bellows Falls wrapped up the regular season with a 9-3-1 record and the No. 2 ranking in Division II. They will face No. 7 Middlebury in a quarterfinal game. At press time, the date and time of the game was still undetermined.
Mckenna Applegate scored less than a minute into the game and Avery Maxfield scored two second-quarter goals in the Terriers’ shutout win in the rain over the Bears.
• Brattleboro played Rutland to a scoreless tie on Oct. 12 and beat Windsor, 2-0, on Oct. 15 to finish their season with a 2-9-3 record.
Football
• For the first time in more than a decade, the annual rivalry game between Springfield and Bellows Falls this Friday night at Brown Field has meaning beyond who hangs on to “The Trophy” for another year.
The Terriers and Cosmos are both tied for second place at 5-2 in Division II heading into the final week of the regular season. The winner of this game can nail down the No. 2 spot in the playoffs. BF has won the last 15 games in this series that dates back to 1894, and holds a 64-45-3 advantage in the rivalry.
In BF’s regular season home finale on Oct. 16 at Hadley Field, the Terriers romped past Mount Mansfield, 60-28. It was total domination as BF scored on its first eight possessions on offense and amassed 558 yards of total offense. The Terriers led 46-7 at the half, and were able to give the reserves plenty of playing time.
After missing the previous two games to injury, BF running back Jaden Bazin made up for lost time with eight carries for 329 yards and five touchdowns. Bryar Barnett had seven carries for 97 yards and a touchdown, and Thomas Nowers ran for 46 yards on five carries. Brody Davignon had a 4-yard touchdown run and caught a 25-yard pass from quarterback Jacob Kissell for another score.
• Brattleboro still has a faint hope of qualifying for the eighth and final spot in the Division II playoffs, but will have to beat Mount Anthony this Friday night at Natowich Field in the annual Elwell Trophy game that closes out the regular season, and hope for losses by Hartford and U-32 in their season finales.
The Bears were at Middlebury on Oct. 16, and lost 42-7. The Tigers took a 42-0 lead into halftime on a phenomenal first half by quarterback/defensive back/kick returner/placekicker Brady Lloyd.
Lloyd started by returning the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, then set up the second touchdown with a 60 yard pass to Adam LaRose, scored the third touchdown on a 60-yard punt return, threw a 16-yard touchdown pass for the sixth touchdown, converted all six of his extra point attempts, and ended the first half with an interception of Bears quarterback Logan Casey.
Brattleboro opened the second half with a long drive, but Casey was intercepted by Tigers defensive back Evan Gillette at the Middlebury 20. After stopping the Tigers’ reserves on the ensuing series, the Bears finally put together a scoring drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown run by Kymarion Hall with 6:36 left in the fourth quarter.
Cross-country
• Bellows Falls hosted the Southern Vermont League (SVL) championship meet on Oct. 16.
Green Mountain senior Desi Broadley successfully defended her SVL Division III small schools individual title, winning the girls’ meet with a time of 19 minutes, 18.1 seconds on the soggy 5K course.
Ninth-grader Grace Rosa was the top Brattleboro runner, finishing fourth with a time of 22:07.6. Other Brattleboro runners included Maayan Coleman (13th, 23:02.9), Louisa Eichalberger (23rd, 25:08), Nya Lawson-Westfall (25th, 25:13.8). Victoria Douglas (35th, 27:43.3), and Luca Barkow (37th, 28:05.8).
Annabell Bazin was the top BF runner (29th, 25:59.4), followed by teammate Sophia Jaouen (40th, 28:25.6).
In the boys’ meet, Peter Horan of Thetford Academy was the overall winner in 16:13.1. Brattleboro placed three runners in the top 20 — Jackson Ferreira (sixth, 16:52.2), Liam Conathan-Leach (ninth, 16:57.3), and Walker Korb (19th, 18:21.7).
Other Brattleboro runners included Conor McColgan (21st, 18:37.1), Jack Schibley (22nd, 18:43.8), Henry Hobbie (24th, 18:56.5), Dylan Bouchard (26th, 19:03.5), Casey Connor (32nd, 19:42.8), Aviv Coleman (36th, 20:04.8), John Duncan (38th, 20:09), Finn Grutta (39th, 20:12.4), Dominic Bond (43rd, 20:29.7), Milo MacArthur (52nd, 21:09.4), and Jude Anders (62nd, 22:19.8).
Bellows Falls was led by Fabian Patterson (17th, 18:09.8), followed by teammates Louis Sunflower (60th, 22:03.9), Joel Robertson (61st, 22:10.7), Jason Doxsee (70th, 26:02.6), Andrew Pratt (71st, 26:34.1), and Atlas Bezanson (76th, 1 hour, 8:35.0).
Next up for our local runners is the state championship meet this Saturday at Thetford Academy.
Withington Rink opens for season Oct. 24
• The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department says the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park will open for the season Saturday, Oct. 24.
Season passes are now available. For Brattleboro residents, the cost is $45 for students, $55 for adults, and $90 for a family pass. Non-residents pay an additional $15 for each pass, For more information, call the Rec. Dept. at 802-254-5808.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 7 of the fall/winter season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League on Oct. 14 at Brattleboro Bowl saw Assisted Living (27.5-7.5) hold on to first place, followed by In the Worx (20.5-14.5), Rolos, SDWM, and Four On The Floor (all 20-15), Stuff Happens (16.5-18.5), Gutt-ER-Done (15.5-19.5), Girls & Boys (13-22), Slow Moves (12-23) and Single Pin (10-25).
Nancy Dalzell had the women’s high handicap game (231), while Vicki Butynski had the high handicap series (627). John Laamanen had the men’s high handicap game (246), while Ian Diamondstone had the high handicap series (671). SDWM had the team high handicap game (876) and Four On The Floor had the high handicap series (2,492).
Kevin Napaver had the men’s high scratch series (644) and Chuck Adams had the high scratch game (258) as part of his 628 series. Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 556 series with a 224 game, Mike Pavlovich had a 550 series with a 214 game, and Peter Deyo had a 538 series with a 191 game. Skip Shine had a 529 series with a 191 game, Gary Montgomery had a 525 series with a 191 game, Rich Westcott had a 500 series with a 181 game, and Laamanen rolled a 189.
Carol Gloski had the women’s high scratch series (505) and game (180). She also rolled a 177. Dalzell had a 172 game, and Darlene Ladabouche had a 154 game.
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.