Courtesy Vermont Sports Media Association
COLCHESTER – A standout soccer player from Milton High School and a top two-way football player from Bellows Falls Union have been voted as the state’s top male and female Athletes of the Month for November by the Vermont Sports Media Association.
The VSMA selected Tatum Shappy, a Milton sophomore for soccer and Jake Lober, a Bellows Falls senior for football in statewide balloting seeking the top high school athletes of the month.
Association members submit detailed nominations about top individual performances by student-athletes across the state for the previous month, VSMA President Andy Kirkaldy of the Addison Independent said. All fulltime and part-time sportswriters and sportscasters, including play-by-play announcers and analysts covering Vermont, are eligible for VSMA membership.
Shappy, a sophomore, was clutch for Milton by scoring game-winning goals in both the semifinals and finals as the Yellowjackets captured the Division II soccer crown with a pair of 1-0 wins. In a nail-biting semifinal, Shappy tallied the game-winner in the second overtime to beat U-32. She followed it in the title game by tallying from 25 yards out with 4:25 gone in the contest to beat Montpelier on the turf field at South Burlington High. It was the second straight state championship and 14th in team history. Milton (15-2-1) ended the year with 7 straight shutouts and 12 for the season.
Shappy edged three other finalists: Hannah Anderson, Proctor, freshman, soccer; Abbe Cravinho, Bellows Falls Union, sophomore, field hockey; and Isabel Valerio, Proctor, junior, soccer.
Lober, ended his 4-year varsity football career as the Terriers upset the No. 1 seed and unbeaten Burr & Burton for the Division II State Championship – and avenged the lone loss for BFU. He had an impressive Nov. 4th semi-final game against Fair Haven at Hadley Field. The fullback rushed for 137 yards, added 39 yards receiving and scored 2 touchdowns. As a middle linebacker he had 6 tackles. For the State Championship game he was used primarily to block and protect the quarterbacks, rushing for 25 yards on only a few carriers. The senior captain had 5 tackles and was a major part of a Terrier defense that held the Bulldogs to 14 points — a team that averaged over 48 during the season. He was selected to the North-South Senior All-Star Game where he played as a linebacker.
Lober edged three other finalists: Tyler Marshall, Champlain Valley Union, senior, cross country; Nick Ojala, Proctor, senior, soccer; Will Ross, Otter Valley Union, senior, football.
Shappy and Lober will be eligible for the VSMA Athlete of the Year (AOY) awards when the honors are voted at the end of the 2016-17 year.
They join the other monthly VSMA honorees on that ballot: Mack Walton, Green Mountain Union, senior, soccer and Hunter Patenaude, Windsor, senior, football for the male AOY; and Brooke Raiche, West Rutland, senior, soccer, and Murphy Hicks, Bellows Falls Union, senior, field hockey for female AOY.
More information about the VSMA is available by calling(802) 654-2442