By Christopher Shaban
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
WESTMINSTER, Vt. — Bellows Falls scored 14 unanswered points in the second half to down Brattleboro 28-14 as they look for their second straight state title next week against Mount Anthony.
With an enormous crowd packing both sides of the field, big plays and mistakes dominated the first half of the exciting Division 2 semi-final game that had an excess of 600 fans in attendance with a 50/50 pot of $585.
The first series for Brattleboro gained zero yards then on the Terriers first possession, Jamison Nystrom hit pay-dirt with a one-yard run giving the Terriers a quick 7-0 after a 59-yard drive. But Brattleboro had two big plays in the half that kept things tense.
The Colonels would answer back later in the quarter when Devin Speno dropped back for and hit Tristan Evans for a huge 59-yard score that had the Brattleboro faithful in a frenzy, tying the game 7-7 as the fireworks were just starting.
On the next Terrier possession, a fumble popped straight up in the air and landed in the hands of Brattleboro sophomore Justin Packard Jr. as players scrambled to find the pigskin not knowing where it went. By the time players discovered what had happened, the big lineman was chugging his way 65 yards into the end-zone as Brattleboro was thinking upset, leading 14-7. “That was huge for us, we had the momentum,” said Brattleboro’s Speno.
Bellows Falls would respond in a big way with less than two minutes in the opening quarter as junior Walker James took the hand off and ripped off a 68-yard gain down the Bellows Falls sidelines, setting up a Caden Haskell score to square the game 14-14. “We dug for this one, the fans were just incredible tonight, this was special,” said Haskell.
The 14-14 score would hold up into the half as Nystrom hit the upright on a 35-yard field goal attempt and the Terriers defense was getting going. Trenton Rumrill and Jake Moore were pushing the Brattleboro offensive line around while Connor Perry made a great open field tackle for a loss on Cam Frost. Bellows Falls would gain 74 yards on the ground in the quarter, but five penalties kept the Terriers out of the end zone as coach Bob Lockerby was seething. “We shot ourselves in the foot time after time and we gave them a score,” Lockerby told our sideline reporter Bill Murphy.
The Terriers came out of the break with a purpose, Lockerby’s team committed 13 penalties and gave up two big plays, but the defense was solid, while the offense just kept grinding out yards. Nystrom had a big kickoff return then the line went to work as the ground game just kept getting chunks of yardage. It took the Terriers seven minutes on nine carries from James and Haskell with James tumbling into the end zone to give Bellows Falls a lead they would not let go of, 21-14. “The line was incredible all night, they are tough and really determined every game this year,” said Nystrom. “We locked it down tonight, we did our jobs,” said center Jake Moore.
The Terriers defense has been rock solid all season and a big reason why Bellows falls is undefeated and that showed on Friday. With Brattleboro looking to put some points on the board, Cole Moore had other plans. “We were beating ourselves; it was time to make a statement,” said the junior. “Moore’s strip sack was recovered by Dillon Perry near midfield that quieted the Brattleboro side of the field and gave the Terriers fans a feeling of a championship game on the horizon. Bellows Falls kept their ground game going with an 11-play scoring drive capped off with a 12-yard TD scamper by Haskell giving the Terriers a 28-14 lead with less than five minutes remaining.
When Eli Allbee tipped a Speno pass that Nystrom grabbed, the Terriers were staring right at a trip to Rutland and a sack by C. Moore was the final dagger as time ticked away on Brattleboro. “We’re going to the ship,” said J. Moore as time ended with a 28-14 Terriers win.
“Our running game was fine tonight, we had some resiliency because of our mistakes, doesn’t matter, we scored more points and that’s all that matters,” said Lockerby.
Haskell finished with 151 yards while James ended with 127 rushing yards and Nystrom chipped in with 30 yards on the ground and 26 yards passing for Bellows Falls. Brattleboro’s Evans finished with 123 yards receiving. “We gave it our all, BF is really good, I wish nothing but the best of luck next week” said Speno.
Next week’s championship match-up will feature the smash mouth running game of the #1 seeded Terriers (10-0) against the let it fly offense of #2 Mount Anthony (8-2). These same teams met in week three with Bellows Falls winning on the road, 28-13.
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