Kebs make a pair of announcements

Vermont Frost Heaves' PBL divisional opponent Quebec appears to have signed shot blocker extraordinaire Jonas Pierre and brought on a new head coach familiar to Frost Heave fans: Rob Spon. Yep, THAT Rob Spon, who used to coach the Manchester Millrats. 

Also, I learned this weekend that the Saint John Mill Rats is spelling Mill Rats as two words, whereas the Manchester team was one word, Millrats. Interesting.

The Quebec releases are in French, and I admit my French is a bit shaky, but that appears to be what they're about. I like it  - Jonas Pierre is fun to watch and provides a lot of matchup problems because of his size, and Rob Spon, well, at least that will make fans want to beat the Kebs. But on the other hand, it's a good move for Quebec - Spon won in Manchester, and the Kebs haven't won a whole lot lately. Perhaps it's a great, needed change for them.

-Anna Grearson

NU women's rugby wins 120-0. That's no typo.

There's the match report, written by NU coach Austin Hall, from this weekend's college rugby match between Norwich and Smith. Not a bad way to start the season.

-Anna Grearson

Women’s Rugby: Cadets Curb Smith, 120-0.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The Norwich Women’s Rugby team started off the league season in dramatic fashion with a 120-0 rout of Smith College. 

Sophomore flyhalf Emily Baugus and Freshman center Rose Bernheim led the Norwich attack with 26 and 25 points respectively.  Baugus’s points all came from her conversion kicking, slotting an incredible 13 of 13 kicks following Norwich tries.  Bernheim, who just started playing rugby this fall, jumped to the top of the league scoring tables with 5 tries on the day. 

Freshman wing Joya Clark and Junior flanker Hannah Bushey each notched 3 try performances.  Bushey scored two tries on scrambles near the goal-line and added a third on a kick return and breakaway.  Clark was dominant down the wing and ended the match with a simply phenomenal try.  Junior flyhalf, Katie Gingras, kicked a long ball from midfield into the opposition try-zone and a race was on.  Clark sprinted 50 meters to outrun the opposing wing and jump on the ball in the try zone.  Clark also slotted two conversions to give her 19 total points on the day. 

Junior center Katie Hathaway added two tries and was dominant in the center of the field all day long.

Senior scrumhalf Ashley Potvin scored the second try of her career and junior lock Ferne Ryder (who has been a wing for two seasons) scored the fourth try of her career.

Scoring their first tries for the Maroon and Gold were junior hooker Allissa Amodeo, sophomore fullback Andrea Vogt, and sophomore flanker Meaghan Weppner, who not only dazzled on attack, but landed some monster tackles as well.

“Well, we’ve raised the bar once again,” said NU coach Austin Hall.  “Now we put our consistency to the test as we will continue to perform at this level at practices and games.  You don’t get time off for winning matches.”

“Smith College has much potential to move forward with their program.  They have a beautiful field and their players kept their smiles even though the score was in Norwich’s favor.”

“Many thanks to our parents and friends who attended the match and made it feel like a home game for us.”

The Cadets, who are currently ranked #2 in the country by RugbyMag.com, travel to Williams College on Saturday, September 25 for their next league game.  Kick-off is slated for 11:00.   

Line-up:

1 – Bell (Williamson); 2 – Roswell (Amodeo); 3 - Balboa (Annis); 4 – Aye;  5 – Ryder; 6 – Weppner; 7 – Bushey (Dwyer); 8 – McElroy (Smutnick); 9 – Moreno (Dudley); 10 – Baugus (Potvin); 11 – Clark; 12 – Hathaway; 13 – Bernheim; 14 – Lee (Gingras); 15 - Vogt  

Tries: Bernheim – 5, Bushey – 3, Clark – 3, Hathaway – 2, Amodeo, Potvin, Ryder, Vogt, Weppner

Conversions: Baugus 13-13, Clark 2-5

Akingbade signs overseas

True to his word, former Frost Heave Dokun Akingbade sent me a note last week updating his latest basketball activity.

"I'll be playing in Austria," he wrote. "The name of the team is FURSTENFELD PANTHERS."

Akingbade last played in Sweden with another former Frost Heave, Issa Konare, with Jamtland Basket.

You can follow Akingbade and his new team online (I found the main page by Googling Furstenfeld Panthers), though the site is not in English, it's easy enough to get the idea of what's going on.

-Anna Grearson

Fall Sports Guide released tomorrow

Our fourth installment of a season guide to high school sports will be available starting tomorrow, Sept. 17. I remember (and still have!) these special sections from when I was in high school, and last fall we started putting them together again.

So far, the "tabs" have been widly successful. Several athletic directors have said they can't keep them on the shelves. I know they have become an invaluable resource here at the Times Argus in terms of checking the spelling of names, roster number questions, etc. We have even had youth programs wanting to purchase copies of team photos for when their little athletes attend varsity games and want autographs from their "big kid" role models.

We also have one fantastic photography department, and these guides give us more of an opportunity to showcase the work of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur, Stefan Hard and Kyle Martel. Sports editor Jamie Biggam and I have even contributed a few team shots (Jamie has some in this guide, mine have been in earlier guides).

The guide also contains schedules and past champions for the fall sports. The middle of the guide features a big map of Vermont with yellow numbered dots for each high school corresponding with a list of Vermont's high schools with addresses, phone numbers, etc., to plug into your GPS or mapquest or google directions.

It's a keepsake, it's a reference, and it's a whole lot of work, so be sure to pick one up on Friday!

-Anna Grearson