WOODSTOCK, Vt. - A year ago Woodstock beat Windsor twice, by a combined 98-7. On Saturday afternoon the Yellowjackets got their turn, and Woodstock football fell 18-32 to its neighbors at home.
Woodstock put 18 points on the board, its fourth-highest total of the season, but Windsor’s defense has been stingy all month. The Yellowjackets have allowed 47 points over their last four games, and they improve to 4-3 with back-to-back wins.
The Wasps fall to 2-6. Their wins came on Oct. 2, a 26-7 victory over BFA Fairfax/Lamoille, and on Oct. 17, a 27-7 win over Mill River a week before this one.
It has been a difficult stretch overall. Woodstock has lost seven of its last nine games dating back to last season, and the Wasps opened this fall with losses to Newport, North Country, Springfield and Mt. Abraham before breaking through.
The rivalry stays about as close as it gets. The all-time series stood at 14-13 in Woodstock’s favor across 27 meetings coming into Saturday, so Windsor’s win evens it.
Other relevant play on Saturday, October 24:
Mill River 39, BFA Fairfax/Lamoille 0 Mill River, which Woodstock beat 27-7 a week earlier, shut out BFA Fairfax/Lamoille, another team the Wasps beat this fall.
Otter Valley 22, Mt. Abe/Vergennes 3 Otter Valley, which beat Woodstock 42-6 on Oct. 9, handled Mt. Abe/Vergennes.
Bellows Falls 45, Springfield 12 Springfield, which edged Woodstock 32-22 on Sept. 18, fell at Bellows Falls.
GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstock at Peoples Academy | Saturday, October 24
Woodstock girls soccer’s playoff run ended Saturday afternoon in Morrisville with a 0-4 loss at third-seeded Peoples Academy in the quarterfinals.
Peoples led 2-0 at halftime and added two more goals after the break. Peoples improves to 11-5, have won four straight and move on to face Stowe in the semifinals on Wednesday.
The 11th-seeded Wasps earned the trip with one of the upsets of the first round, beating sixth-seeded BFA Fairfax 2-1 on the road on Wednesday. That win capped a strong finish. Woodstock won three of its last five games, including a 2-0 shutout of Mount Anthony on Oct. 14 and a 6-4 win over Stratton Mountain on Oct. 8.
Woodstock finishes 5-10-1. Its other wins came against Windsor (1-0) and Stratton Mountain (4-0), and it played Hartford to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 9.
Other relevant play on Saturday, October 24:
Randolph 0 at Vergennes 4 Top-seeded Vergennes cruised into the semifinals.
Enosburg Falls 0 at Stowe 3 Stowe, Peoples Academy’s semifinal opponent, shut out Enosburg Falls.
Paine Mountain 1 at Fair Haven 2 Fourth-seeded Fair Haven, which beat Woodstock twice this fall, edged Paine Mountain.
CROSS COUNTRY
Woodstock at the state championships in Thetford | Saturday, October 24
Woodstock sophomore Mary Sluka ran with the leaders Saturday at the state cross country championships at Thetford Academy, finishing sixth in her division race in 21:38.3.
Senior Pippa Shaw, one of the team’s top returners, was 26th in 23:45.2, and the Wasps girls packed three more runners close behind her: Aurora Hensel-Whalen in 32nd, Ruth Stallard in 33rd and Aven Westbrook in 34th. Ada McNaughton and Lucia Beckwith rounded out the varsity group.
On the boys side, senior Nicholas Cellini led Woodstock in 20th in 18:55.2, and senior Liam Wheeler was 41st in 20:24.3. Shawn Harriman, Logan Martes, Andrew Murphy, Keller Murphy and Ari Gibson also ran for the Wasps. U-32 swept both team titles in Woodstock’s division.
Last fall the Woodstock girls placed fifth and the boys ninth at states. Coach Martha Perkins set the tone before the season. “To excel this year, cross country runners need to identify individual, tangible, ambitious goals and work with each other to achieve them,” Perkins said.
Woodstock girls: 6. Mary Sluka 21:38.3; 26. Pippa Shaw 23:45.2; 32. Aurora Hensel-Whalen 24:34.2; 33. Ruth Stallard 24:36.7; 34. Aven Westbrook 24:42.3; 64. Ada McNaughton 29:51.3; 67. Lucia Beckwith 30:04.1.
Woodstock boys: 20. Nicholas Cellini 18:55.2; 41. Liam Wheeler 20:24.3; 56. Shawn Harriman 21:18.7; 64. Logan Martes 22:05.0; 74. Andrew Murphy 24:04.3; 76. Keller Murphy 24:19.9; 81. Ari Gibson 29:36.5.
That wraps up the day for Woodstock Union High School sports. We’ll see you next time!