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This and That
Submitted by VT Journal on Tue, 10/14/2014 - 1:21pm
By BILL MURPHY The Shopper
Salute To BF-Springfield Football
This is a special Saturday in the history of the Bellows Falls - Springfield football game. The inaugural game was played in 1914, making this years' encounter, the 100th anniversary of THE GAME. The game goes on. People from both towns should salute the AD's and coaches of these two schools for keeping this rivalry alive. The clash is something much larger than each season's encounter. When the two teams take the field Saturday, it will be the 99th meeting of the rivalry, which Bellows Falls has dominated in recent years and are the heavy favorites this time around, BUT strange things sometimes happen in rivalries.
Theses two schools continue to play, despite the fact, they are no longer in the same division and BF won last years game 77-8. Many people think that score would be reason enough to stop, but here's saying one way or another, the score will not reach those proportions again this time around. If somehow it does, it won't be much different than the first game ever played between these teams, an 88-0 victory for BF in 1914.
There was no game for three of the next seven years, BUT THEN in 1922, the game became part of the annual football calendar with the contest being held every year since, except 2012, when the Cosmos played a junior varsity schedule.
BF is THE TEAM now, BUT just five years ago Springfield beat BF twice, 19-18 in the regular season and 31-21 in the play-offs, as part of three wins in a row in the series. There have been more one sided games than close games over the years. Springfield did not score a point in the first five games of the series, including the 88-0 game. Then in almost miraculous fashion, the Cosmos turned the tables and won the sixth game 72-0, WOW! The most bizarre score of the series came the next year (1923) when Springfield beat BF 7-5. Big scores are not uncommon, as in addition to the 88, BF has put up totals of 75, 60 and 77 and the Cosmos tallied 64 in one of their victories. Football no longer has ties, but there have been four ties in the series, the last in 1948 0-0. I wonder if it rained or snowed that day? By the way, three of the four ties were 0-0.
Currently, BF leads the series having won 52 games to Springfield's 42 with those four ties. Incredibly, only nine of the ninety-eight games in the series have been won by four points or less. The Cosmos have gobbled up almost all the tightly played encounters, as they won seven of those nine close contests. The two teams have each won one one point game in the series, the Cosmos have won four of the five two point games and the Green and White won one three point game and one game decided by four points.
Once again, give these two schools credit for preserving the status quo in football. The public may not realize it, BUT the rivalry has gone the way of the dinosaur in some sports, because the two schools are no longer in the same divisions. Here's saying the two AD's need to get together and play once in every sport, to preserve the greatness in the tradition, that the two schools have established for years. It is time to find a way to bring back the rivalry in soccer, girls basketball and softball to allow athletes in those sports, to be a part of a tradition that is greater than either school itself and have these games scheduled for the future, before they play the 100th football game in Springfield next fall.
Lights Back On In BF!
The lights will be turned back on at the football field in Bellows Falls Saturday night. After almost two full seasons without night football in the Falls, the field will once again become illuminated.
In case you missed the past couple of years, the Terriers were able to play a season of high school football under the arcs at Hadley Field, before it was officially realized that the shields used to cut down the glare of the lights, were not installed appropriately. As a result, the off switch had to be thrown and the school had to go through the approval processes all over. Now all the i's have been dotted and the t's have been crossed and last Saturday the final hoop was jumped through and the RIVALRY GAME between Bellows Falls and Springfield will kick-off Saturday night at 7 p.m.
At first, there was a story out there, that the Cosmos wanted to keep the game in the daytime and there was a chance, that despite the approvals, the game would be played in the daylight. There are some small truths to at least the origin of that story. The Bellows Falls administration had kept up hopes all fall, that the seniors would have at least one opportunity for a home night game this season. To keep the dream alive, they notified each of their final three home opponents (Burr + Burton/Spaulding and Springfield) that they might be asking at the last moment to move their game to a Saturday night. A shortage of officials would likely not allow a switch to Friday Night, in any of those scenarios.
As stated above, the official approval came last Saturday, making the Springfield game, the only possibility. When BF AD Ian Fraunfelder called Springfield AD Joe Brown, there was a little reluctance or should I say disappointment on Brown's part. Wearing his AD hat, Brown knew right away what this meant, the Cosmos Girls Soccer team has their season finale SENIOR NIGHT, under the lights Saturday against Otter Valley at 6 p.m. Brown knew this meant a smaller crowd for this occasion and that is too bad. Saturday is the last day girls soccer teams can play.
So both games will go on Saturday night and in both settings, teams will get to play under the lights. Night games are still a big thing to athletes. Here's hoping everyone has fun.
