By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The Bristol Central football team has been on the cusp of state tournament qualification under the guidance of head coach Jeff Papazian several times now.
And finally in 2021, the Rams are poised to be playoff participants for the third time in school history.
But standing in the way of a possible home playoff berth is a hungry Bristol Eastern program – a team that’s much better than its 4-5 ledger indicates.
The Rams employ the best rushing weapon in the state in the form of Victor Rosa and his outstanding offensive line helps him gain all that yardage – and more.
This won’t be an easy challenge but if all goes right for the team from the school on the hill, Central could be starting postseason play in Bristol.
Here’s a look at Bristol Central on Thanksgiving:
Head Coach: Jeff Papazian (Seventh Thanksgiving Day game as Central’s head coach – winner of five straight clashes against BE).
Date and Time of the event: The squads will duke it out at 10:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day from Muzzy Field.
Last Time (2019): Central came away with a 34-32 win, needing an extra frame to earn the victory. Victor Rosa scored the tying touchdown and go-ahead two-point conversion that day.
The Series: The Rams lead the all-time series 36-23-2 and haven’t posted a loss on Thanksgiving since 2014 (20-18).
Series Fact: Since 1999, the programs have squared off twenty-one times with Central nabbing a 12-8-1 edge in the series. The Rams won seven straight contests, then tied with BE (14-14) in 2006 before the Lancers ran off eight consecutive victories. Central has won every game against Eastern since 2015.
Current Record: Central is a sterling 8-1 – winners of eight straight games and nine of its past 10 in 11v11 games dating back to 2019.
Players to watch: Victor Rosa (sr. QB/DB/ATH); Dan Lauretti (sr. OL/LB); Malachi Jones (sr. OL/DL); Tre Blair (jr. WR/DB), Justin Despins (sr. RB/LB); Ashton Zabka (sr. WR/LB); Zack Vanasse (sr. WR/DB); Jaden Goulbourne (sr. OL/DL); Julius Powell (jr. OL/DL); Damion Glasper (sr. WR/DB); Anthony Paulino (so. WR/DB); Jack Jones (so, OL/LB); Mason Stokes (jr. WR/DL).
Captains: Victor Rosa, Dan Lauretti, Malachi Jones
Why Bristol Central will win…The Rams have the best offensive weapon in the state. And you can’t contest that fact.
Victor Rosa (233 carries, 2,316 yards, 36 rushing touchdowns) is one of the best talents around and is a north, south, east, and west runner – all directions at once.
Rosa doesn’t get phased by contact and if a lane on the field is blocked, he simply changes direction – on a dime no less – and just keeps those legs pumping and he’s off to the races again.
He seemingly makes all the right reads, too.
And regains his balance quickly, displaying a power game few athletes in the state can match.
Rosa can make his own holes but in Central’s usual schemes, it’s very common to see seniors Damion Glasper and Justin Despins blaze the trail for their senior counterpart.
And once Rosa slips through one of those carefully crafted seams – or when the future UCONN star makes a hole of his own – forget about it.
He’ll just bowl anyone over in his way and if Eastern fails to make that first tackle count, it could be a long morning for the Lancers.
Rosa isn’t a bad quarterback either, nearly completing half of his passes (41-of-83) for 670 yards and six touchdowns this year.
Along those lines, however, is the fact that Central isn’t just a one-note pony.
The run game is augmented by Tre Blair (37-339-1) and Despins (41-190-2) and when you can coax over 500 combined yards out of second and third options, those are luxuries every team in the state would love to employ.
Blair (15 caches, 297 yards, three TD’s) and senior Ashton Zabka (4-57-1) have proven to be viable options in the passing game and that offense can score in a variety of ways if Rosa gets bottled up.
Over the team’s first nine games, Central averages 37.8 points-per-game.
The X-Factor…Once again, it’s senior Damion Glasper.
He’s a jack-of-all-trades athlete and excels everywhere on the field.
Need someone to run with the ball?
Glasper’s provided 139 yards on 17 carries and from the air, Glasper leads the squad in both receptions (21) and yardage (307) in 2021.
He’s netted two receptions for TDs and he’s a master of compiling YOC (yards after catch).
Papazian sticks Glasper in the backfield to chase down opposing receivers and the senior isn’t scared of the big play.
And he does the little things to win games.
After touchdowns, he’s run the ball into the goal eight times while his four two-point conversion receptions lead the team.
And speaking of x-factors, what about the Central defense as of late, led by the outstanding senior duo of Dan Lauretti and Malachi Jones?
After a wild midseason “defensive crisis” that saw the Rams allow a combined 98 points against Hartford Public and Tolland, it’s been steady improvement over the last three showdowns.
Central has allowed just 28 points since that stretch and against playoff-bound Plainville, the Rams did not allow the program to tally a single point over a 46-0 effort.
As bad as things got defensively, Central allows only 20.0 points-per-game which included that stretch of 95 points over two games.
Blair (DB), Despins (LB), Zabka (LB), senior Zack Vanasse (DB), senior Jaden Goulbourne (DL), sophomore Anthony Paulino (DB), junior Mason Stokes (jr. WR/DL), along with Glasper, Lauretti, and Jones have been tremendous in Central’s turnaround because the last thing the Rams want to do is get in an up-and-down battle against Eastern speedster Alex Marshall.
Bristol Central can’t…play an emotional game because that will lead to unwanted penalties that the Lancers will capitalize upon.
Eastern is a smart crew and the battle on Thanksgiving always seems to bring the tomfoolery of personal fouls and costly mistakes out onto the gridiron
Hey, it’s a city series game and a few hot-headed plays will take place from Muzzy Field no matter what happens.
But it’s Central’s job to limit those miscues and penalties to a minimum.
Cooler heads by the Rams will go a long way as every personal foul penalty leads to as many as 15 yards (or half the distance to the goal).
And that could lead the Lancers from somewhere around midfield into the red zone.
Lastly…Central is looking for its ninth straight victory and a home seed in Class L state tournament play with a victory over Eastern.
The Rams can win and stay home if everything works out correctly.
Frankly, Central cannot overlook a very talented Eastern team but anyone with any sense knows that Naugatuck (No. 3 in the Class L rankings) has what kind of chance against undefeated Ansonia?
The Rams control its own fate in terms of playoffs, not having to worry about any other team winning or losing if the locals just take care of things on Thanksgiving.
And the winner is…Doesn’t that other non-Bristol newspaper that calls itself a Bristol newspaper make silly predictions for games like this?
Ask Dave Greenleaf (he’s my former Algebra II teacher from Bristol Eastern. He knows all sorts of stuff…).
Otherwise, come out to Muzzy Field to see what happens for yourself.
You won’t be left disappointed.
Games to keep track of in and around Thanksgiving – The teams fighting for top Class L the playoff positioning:
*St. Joseph (8-1) at Trumbull (Thanksgiving Day)
*Maloney (8-1) vs. Platt (Thanksgiving Day)
*Windsor (8-1) at Middletown (Wednesday, November 24)
*Naugatuck (8-1) at Ansonia (Thanksgiving Day)
*Bristol Eastern (4-5) at Bristol Central (Thanksgiving Day)
Bristol Central’s Regular Season Ledger:
Date Opponent Score W/L
Friday, September 10 at Bloomfield 6-7, L
Friday, September 17 vs. South Windsor 21-0, W
Friday, September 24 vs. Wethersfield 28-18, W
Friday, October 1 at Farmington 35-29, W
Saturday, October 9 at H. Public 52-48, W
Friday, October 22 vs. Tolland 68-50, W
Thursday, October 28 at E.O. Smith 44-8, W
Friday, November 5 vs. RHAM 34-20, W
Friday, November 12 at Plainville 46-0, W
Thursday, November 25 vs. Bristol Eastern, ???
