By Michael Letendre
Once again, Friday is nearly upon us in the Mum City and that means it’s time for a little scholastic football and both Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern are looking to build upon a very successful Week 2 of action.
On Friday, the Rams are home for the second consecutive week – battling CCC heavyweight Wethersfield (2-0) – while the Lancers put their undefeated streak on the line against Wilbur Cross (1-1) in a Connecticut Football Alliance showdown from Alumni Field in Bristol.
Both contests will be unique clashes as the Eagles have some crafty weapons the Rams must contend with while Cross is an absolute unknown to the Lancers.
Either way, Week 3 should be a fun one in Bristol as both local programs are looking to end the month of September with trips to the pay window.
Here’s the deal with the two scholastic games on Friday, starting with Bristol Central:
Wethersfield (2-0) at Bristol Central (1-1)
Location: The turf field at BCHS
Day and Time: Friday, 6:00 p.m.
All-Time Series: It’s the 22nd showdown between the two programs, dating back to its CCIL days. The Eagles currently hold the series edge, 13-8.
Last Encounter…Back on October 11, 2019, Central dropped a 33-8 decision to Wethersfield.
Last Week…The Rams had an excellent bounce-back in Week 2, spinning South Windsor by a 27-0 push while Wethersfield snuck by Berlin, 21-18.
Casual facts…For the second consecutive week, Central’s defense came to the forefront – this time shutting out its opponent…To start the year, the Rams are allowing just 3.5 points-per-game which is the best defense in Bristol…The Rams’ size on the defensive line should be able to bother Wethersfield offense, a program that averages 20.5 ppg… …Offensively for Central, South Windsor allowed Mr. Everything, Victor Rosa, to run wild and the senior did a number on the Bobcats defense during Week 2 – rushing the ball all over the gridiron while making a connection with a receiver or two…And you all remember Rosa’s fun Friday last week: His night included three rushing touchdowns, 20 carries for 239 yards, 77 yards passing and a TD connection with basketball buddy Damion Glasper…If the Eagles want to win, the program knows who to stop…Wethersfield is a talented crew but Central knows what to expect…Last week, Berlin had a chance to topple Wethersfield but a late interception by Torronce Smith sealed the deal for the Eagles…Mathyas Nieves ran in a 72 yard kickoff return for a touchdown and Wethersfield was firmly up on Berlin (14-0) at the half before late game heroics by the Redcoats nearly derailed the Eagles…Berlin had a pretty good night rushing the football against the Eagles and that’s certainly one of the strengths of the Rams’ football program. So Friday night will include lots of running on that turf field at BCHS…If Wethersfield gives Rosa any kind of day light via mistakes, miscues or the BC offense simply provides seams for Rosa to scamper through, then the Eagles could be in for a long night of football.
Bristol Eastern (2-0) vs. Wilbur Cross (1-1)
Location: Alumni Field on the campus of Bristol Eastern
Day and Time: Friday, 7 p.m. and not the usual 6 p.m. start time for a home showdown at Eastern. Wilbur Cross high school is a program from New Haven. The football team plays in the Southern Connecticut Conference in their Tier 2 division. The school is a Class LL program according to Max Preps.
All-Time Series: This is the first of two opponents that the Lancers have never played before this year.
Last Week…Eastern was in a real war against RHAM last Friday afternoon but held on to win, 13-7, off one of the strangest finishes in program history. On the flip side, Wilbur Cross – predictably – fell to Xavier, 56-12. Xavier is a top-10 ranked team in the state.
Casual facts…This is one of two non-conference games for the Lancers program and the squad is already looking for its third victory of the season…The last time Eastern had at least three wins in a season was back in 2014, off a 1-2 start…Eastern’s defense has been tremendous in 2021, giving up just 6.5 points-per-game and making big red zone stops along the way…To date, the Lancers have three sacks and 13 tackles-for-losses with Austin Shorette (4.5 tackles, 7.5 yards lost) and Connor Gimpl (4.0 tackles, 12 yards lost) leading the charge…Want defensive efficiency? Opponents only convert on 21-percent of its third down chances and have come up dry on 10 fourth downs – leading to turnovers against the Lancers’ outstanding defense…In the red zone alone, opponents have been stopped four of six times. That’s a tremendous start for the Eastern ‘D’…Offensively, give credit to the line at Eastern and while the program was out-gained by RHAM to the tune of 200 yards in Week 2, the Lancers found ways to put points on the board when the pressure was at its highest while the Raptors were stopped on all but one drive…Eastern’s Alex Marshall is averaging 6.1 yards-per-carry in 2021 and has five rushing TD’s to his name, including a huge 29-yard jaunt against the Raptors. If Cross wants to stay in the game, guess who they have to slow down?…And then the play at quarterback for the Lancers could be the squad’s biggest surprise to date…The tandem of Kamden Laprise and Brady Brown have missed just one pass while Laprise has thrown for nearly 150 yards with two touchdowns to his credit. Eastern has yet to throw a pickoff this year…Again, credit the offensive line for the Lancers scoring opportunities and expect more of the same against Cross…Eastern must pay attention to junior QB Jamel Lee (21 rushes, 191 yards) who truly does a little of everything for the Wilbur Cross program…He’s only made 5-of-14 passes for 36 yards as the team does all its work on the ground…Cross has tallied 456 rushing yards on the season as Lee has half of the program’s eight TD’s…Senior Ken Flowers (12 carries, 83 yards, TD), sophomore Bryce Thomas (10-74, TD) and Jy’zeyah Scurry (13-56, TD) perform the bulk of the rushing for Wilbur Cross. Stop the running game and Eastern has a great chance at going 3-0 to start 2021.
