By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The Bristol Eastern football team’s return to 11v11 football was a triumphant one on Friday, September 10, as the Lancers steamrolled Edwin O. Smith by a 35-6 final from Alumni Field in Bristol.
It was the 2021 opener for both squads, taking place in front of a hot crowd and – as the Lancers had the contest in the bag – unscheduled fireworks.
Eastern leads the all-time series over Smith, 6-5, and the 35 points were the most the Lancers scored on opening night since 2010 – in Eastern’s 42-36 victory over Bloomfield from Muzzy Field.
Against the Panthers, Marshall had one heck of a night, roasting the Edwin O. Smith defense for a career-high 243 yards on 30 carries to go along with four touchdowns.
Throw in half-a-dozen tackles, one for a loss to boot, and his contributions on both sides of the ball saw the senior do just about everything on the field for his team.
“Alex Marshall was clearly the best football player on the field tonight,” said Eastern coach Anthony Julius. “There was no denying that.”
Overall, with Marshall’s running totals, the Lancers racked up 289 total yards on the ground.
Including the passing yards from quarterback Kamden Laprise (3-for-3, 58 yards, TD), Eastern nabbed 338 yards overall in an excellent opening night performance.
Credit belongs to the offensive line as the group did not give up a sack and allowed just a couple tackles for losses.
Eastern’s running game got on track because of the holes and seams the line was able to help open up.
“You can’t say enough about Alex without crediting the offensive line led by Luke Dauphinee and Alex Vita, our seniors, on the left side,” said Julius. “Conor McCormick [did a great job] at tight end and Austin Shorette at fullback. We did some really good things up front.”
And the two-headed monster at QB worked very well.
With Laprise throwing extremely well, it allowed Brown to capture yardage on the ground to keep the chains moving.
“Brady Brown did a great job at quarterback,” said Julius. “Kam Laprise also did a great job at quarterback.”
Not lost in the victory was the play of kicker Gavin Damboise as he went a sterling 5-for-5 on PAT’s and was excellent in Eastern’s kickoff game.
Defensively, seven different Eastern players tallied tackles for losses while the duo of Shorette and Joshua Aubin both sacked Smith QB Sebastian Szymczak (9-for-16, 60 yards).
Overall, Smith roped up just 109 of total offense – leading to just six total points of offense.
“It was really a team effort on defense tonight,” said Julius. “We made a couple mistakes but we’re going to learn and get better from it.”
After a three-and-out by the Panthers to open the game, Marshall immediately took the ball in for a score on a career-high 63 yard touchdown rush – as Eastern led 7-0 just 2:34 into things.
It got worse for Smith as the Panthers fumbled the ensuing punt attempt and on a short field, Marshall scored on a one-yard jaunt and with 6:38 left in the first period, the Lancers led 14-0.
Another three-and-out saw Eastern score on an eight play, 64-yard drive – capped by a 22 yard scamper into goal by Marshall – and with seven seconds gone in the second period, it was 21-0 and the Panthers were reeling.
And off a fumble recovery by McCormick, Eastern got the ball back with 10:46 left the second tilt in great field position.
“We swarmed. We were all over the place,” said Julius about the defense. “We took the air out of them pretty quickly. E.O. Smith tried to do some things to us and we did a really nice job taking away what they do well. I was very happy with our defensive performance.”
A minute later, Laprise launched a rocket into the air and Rayshon Andrews made a little space, snared the ball, and chugged easily into the goal for a 43-yard TD score and a 28-0 deficit ensued.
Both teams turned the ball over to end the half but Smith was trailing big at the break – down four touchdowns.
After a quiet third period, the Panthers and Lancers traded scores to end the showdown.
Off an Eastern fumble, Smith took the ball deep into Lancers’ territory to end the third and quickly into the fourth frame, Smith quarterback Dar Jankovic found Sebastian Szymczak for a two-yard TD connection and with 9:37 to play, it was a 28-6 game.
Eastern then turned to its time management schemes, burning up chucks of clock off Marshall carries.
And on a 13-play, 80 yard drive, Marshall scored for final time on a one yard jaunt at the 2:07 mark of the fourth – ending the game with an impressive 29-point victory.
“I’m just so happy for the kids. I really am,” said Julius. “To not have a season last year and to be able to start our season with this which, to be perfectly honest with you, is something we’re not accustom to at least early on in the season and the last five years, I’m just super proud of the kids and I’m really happy for them.”
CCC Division III Football
BRISTOL EASTERN 35, EDWIN O. SMITH 6
from Alumni Field, Bristol
Edwin O. Smith (0-1) 0 0 0 6 – 6
Bristol Eastern (1-0) 14 14 0 7 – 35
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
BE – Alex Marshall 63 run (Gavin Damboise kick), 9:26
BE – Marshall 1 run (Damboise kick), 6:38
Second Quarter
BE – Marshall 22 run (Damboise kick), 11:53
BE – Rayshon Andrews 43 pass by Kamden Laprise (Damboise kick), 9:47
Third Quarter
No Scoring
Fourth Quarter
EO – Dar Jankovic 2 pass by Sebastian Szymczak (kick failed), 9:37
BE – Marshall 1 run (Damboise kick), 2:07
Individual Statistics
Rushing – Edwin O. Smith: Connor Ouellette 11-9, Sebastian Szymczak 7-31, Anthony Bolduc 1-(minus-17); Bristol Eastern – Alex Marshall 30-243, Brady Brown 8-15, Kamden Laprise 4-31.
Passing – Edwin O. Smith: Szymczak9-for-16, 60 yards; Bolduc 2-for-3, 9 yards; Bristol Eastern – Laprise 3-for-3, 58 yards; Brady Brown 1-for-1, minus-9 yards.
Receiving – Edwin O. Smith: Team – 11-69; Bristol Eastern – Rayshon Andrews 3-46, Brown 1-3 .
Records: Bristol Eastern 1-0 overall; Edwin O. Smith 0-1
