By Michael Letendre
The Bristol Edition finishes its series on Bristol’s annual Battle for the Bell with a special look at the Bristol Central/Bristol Eastern showdowns from the 21st Century.
The Central Connecticut Conference had been growing strong since 1984 and fast forward to 2019, the CCC was as impressive as ever.
Sure, there were problems with a certain squad from New Britain running up scores but in terms of BC/BE wars, there were plenty of competitive battles.
The start of the century saw Central with the talent advantage as Timmy Washington and the Hernandez brothers (D.J. and Aaron) ran amuck over the Lancers.
But after Aaron Hernandez left to play in Florida, Eastern had its best stretch of victories against its longest pigskin rival.
The Lancers had gridiron warriors like Tommy Tarantino, Ray Ortiz, Tyrell Holmes, and several others that finally saw the series flip to Eastern’s side in a big way.
However, that series edge ping-ponged right back to the Rams’ favor as of late.
Central is currently riding a five-game winning streak over Eastern – halting a stretch of eight consecutive Lancers’ victories over the Rams.
Happy Thanksgiving as the four-part series on The Battle for the Bell concludes, at least for now.
In terms of BC/BE battles of the 21st century, here’s how the records played out:
BC wins: 11
BE wins: 8
Ties: 1
Year/Victor/Score
2000 — Bristol Central, 39-0 – Five touchdowns and 353 rushing yards by All-State talent Timmy Washington saw Central win easily over Eastern. The five Thanksgiving Day TD’s and 353 yards were a holiday record. Central’s Ron Davis made a 64 yard punt return – another record on Thanksgiving as the Rams’ dominated in all facets of the encounter.
2001 — Bristol Central, 36-12 – Washington notches four touchdowns – going for 242 yards on 22 rushes – as the Rams won again. However, Central missed out on a playoff berth but came away with a share of the CCC South Championship. Eastern’s Brian Walker had 105 yards on 15 carries.
2002 — Bristol Central, 38-0 – Eastern doesn’t generate a point over the next three Thanksgiving Day games as D.J. Hernandez and Breyone Evans combined for 256 yards on 36 carries over another blowout victory.
2003 — Bristol Central, 20-0 – D.J. Hernandez was back at it as he rushed for 142 yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns in another shutout victory for the Rams.
2004 — Bristol Central, 20-0 – Central quarterback Cory Brown (10 passes, 107 yards) found Sean Ware (four catches, 78 yards) for several big connections while Steve Ziogas took in 126 yards on 18 carries for a third straight shutout over the Lancers.
2005 — Bristol Central, 20-7 – On a very cold evening, Aaron Hernandez had his finest Thanksgiving showing as he made seven catches for 112 yards and a touchdown as Central won over Eastern again. Quarterback Matt Coyne made 20 passes for the Rams while Dustin Tucker had 20 rushes for 102 yards.
2006 — Tie, 14-14 – On a messy day with wind, snow, and rain – and Central needing a victory to qualify for the playoffs – Eastern held Aaron Hernandez in check as the teams drew a 14-14 stalemate and left the Rams hanging at 8-1-1 on the year – just out of the state tournament picture. The teams shared the bell and it was the first time since 1998 that the Lancers enjoyed their Turkey Day effort. Eastern committed 10 fumbles in the showdown but still managed to keep pace with Central.
2007 — Bristol Eastern, 42-14 – David Casanova racked up just under 200 total yards of offense as Eastern finished the regular season at 10-0 and easily picked off the Rams. The Lancers’ Chris Hazelton had six PATs while Casanova rushed for 181 yards on 14 carries. Eastern earned a Class M semifinal playoff berth, losing to Berlin by a 35-28 final from Muzzy Field. The Eastern squad was only the second public team in Bristol history to finish undefeated during the regular season.
2008 — Bristol Eastern, 34-28 – With Central threatening, Tyrell Holmes made a huge late game pickoff as the Lancers hung on to win the contest by six. Central’s Dymetric Maisonet added 118 yards on 21 rushes while Eastern’s Mike Zeigler went for 109 yards on 27 carries.
2009 — Bristol Eastern, 46-13 – Notching a series best 46 points against the Rams, Eastern easily downed Central as QB Mat Yopp zipped out 10-of-12 passes for 176 yards while Ray Ortiz had a career day (six catches, 127 yards) to lead the Lancers.
2010 — Bristol Eastern, 35-0 – Dylan Ouellette rushed for 208 yards – on 18 carries – and a touchdown as the Lancers posted a rare shutout against the Rams.
2011 — Bristol Eastern, 21-14 – The Lancers led 21-0 but had to hang on to dear life as Eastern earned a seven-point decision for its fifth straight victory over the Rams. Eastern running back Jahmil Effend scooped up 118 yards on 22 carries.
2012 — Bristol Eastern 17-6 – Eastern won for the sixth consecutive time over Central. A 49-yard pass from quarterback Tommy Curtin to Sean Aiudi in the third quarter gave the Lancers some needed breathing room. Eastern’s Nick Crowley rushed for 201 yards on 37 carries while kicker Jeremy Meccariello dropped in a 25 yard field goal – the longest kick ever on Thanksgiving. Central’s defense collected seven sacks over the losing effort.
2013 – Bristol Eastern 21-18 – Gerry Ouellette snared 211 yards on 26 carries as Eastern was a winner over Central for the seventh time in a row, holding on to win by three. The 211 yards by Ouellette was the sixth best Thanksgiving Day performance in school history. Central back Tyler Burrow worked hard as he scooped in 125 yards on 21 carries.
2014 – Bristol Eastern, 20-18 – Eastern won by two points, capturing a school record eighth straight victory over Central in a very close battle. The Lancers were penalized 187 yards in the showdown but Gerry Ouellette managed 144 yards on 27 carries. Central’s D’Andre Conaway added 128 yards on 28 rushes.
2015 – Bristol Central, 12-4 – The Rams finally got in the win column – withstanding a series record two safeties by the Lancers – to nab an eight-point win. Noah Cruz ran for 122 yards on 19 carries to help secure Central’s first Thanksgiving victory since 2005.
2016 – Bristol Central 30-12 – It was two in a row for Central as Eastern was held to negative yardage totals in the 18-point defeat. Luis Medina rushed for 233 yards on 27 rushes while QB Isaiah Miller added 102 yards on 19 carries for the Rams. Eastern’s Edgar Hernandez made a 70 yard fumble return which is a record on Thanksgiving.
2017 – Bristol Central 33-27 – Dathan Hickey went wild for four touchdowns and 333 yards on 28 carries as Central won it by six. The game was tied 21-21 before two huge 75 yard TD rushes from Hickey put the Rams up for good. Central wrangled up 437 rushing yards with Hickey’s 333 yards the second highest rushing total on Thanksgiving ever.
2018 – Bristol Central 24-19 – Justus Fitzpatrick scored the game-winner, a one yard touchdown with 7:17 to play, as Central came from behind to beat Eastern by five. Fitzpatrick had quite a day with 171 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. He also went 5-of-6 in Central’s passing schemes for 65 yards. The Rams out-gained the Lancers, 318-231.
2019 – Bristol Central 34-32 (OT) – In what became an instant classic, the team’s battled into overtime for the first time ever on Thanksgiving. And on Central’s first possession of overtime, Central’s Victor Rosa sprinted 10 yards into the Eastern goal to knot the score at 32-32 before the speedster rushed the ball in for a two-point conversion to salt the thing away. Rosa ended the day with 31 rushes for 171 yards and five touchdowns – tied for the most TD’s scored in a Thanksgiving Day game along with Timmy Washington (2000). Eastern’s Elijah Gagliardo made a Thanksgiving Day-tying eight receptions while Alex Marshall had 37 carries for 159 yards.
This concludes our series on the Thanksgiving Football Rivalry between Central and Eastern. If you are a regular in attendance at the game, this year will definitely be different. You won’t have to thaw out your toes before you sit down to your turkey.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
