By Michael Letendre
Is this the week the Bristol Eastern football squad finally gets to the pay window for the first time in 2022?
The Lancers are engulfed in a tough four-game road trip and after a stinging trip to Fairfield, the team won’t need as much gas money this week to travel to Avon.
It’s an historic battle as the showdown will be the first ever match-up between the programs.
The Falcons won for the first time last week and have a solid running game that the Kingstreeters will be tasked to slow down.
Outside of the Fairfield contest, Eastern has shown a willingness to compete and easily could have two wins in its pocket already.
However, the Week 4 showdown against Avon is going to be a good one and here’s what to expect:
Bristol Eastern (0-3) at Avon (2-1)
Time: Friday, 6:30 p.m. (Avon High School)
The Series: Eastern and Avon will square off for the first time ever on Friday.
Last Season: Due to COVID, Avon’s regular season started late – opening play on October 1. A non-conference showdown against Notre Dame-Fairfield was cancelled as the Falcons went 7-2 overall – qualifying for the Class M playoffs. No. 4 Avon lost at home to No. 5 Branford in first round play 7-6. Eastern went 4-6 in 2021.
Last Week: Avon came from behind to hold off non-conference foe Stratford 14-12. It was the Falcons’ first win while Eastern fell at Fairfield Warde 27-7. The Lancers have lost two games this season by a single possession (by 10 total points).
Game Facts: Avon rushed for over 215 yards against Stratford which is the exact opposite of what Eastern faced last week at Fairfield Warde. Warde was held to under 50 yards rushing but passed the ball well (283 yards)…It will be interesting to see if the Falcons can mix things up a bit…It starts from center as Avon QB Connor Lavore (163 yards versus Stratford) made the game-winning two-point conversion to seal the deal last week…Tanner Cote, David Minami, and Nikolai Meltser can all run with the ball to help augment the rushing attack for Avon…Special teams was the key against Stratford – stopping a critical two-point reception, blocking a punt and then holding on as Stratford missed 47 and 32 yard field goal tries as the Falcons got away with one late…Avon’s John Murphy recovered that blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown…It was a tough one at Fairfield for the Lancers as the Mustangs’ QB went 19-of-24 as the program scooped up 331 total yards from scrimmage…Eastern just couldn’t stop the opponents on third down which gave Warde several series with a fresh set of downs…But possession in the contest was nearly even…It was 27-0 early in the third period before Eastern finally got into the flow…Current starting QB Alexander Corvo did a very credible job for Eastern at Fairfield, making 12-of-19 passes for just over 100 yards…Jaiden Fore (21 carries, 94 yards) just missed on a 100-yard game while speedster Rayshon Andrews (seven receptions, 83 yards) had a very good second-half showing…Defensively, Eastern had standouts all over the field. Zaveyn Tate had three tackles for losses, scooping up 16 yards, while Joesph Gibson had a big sack to stop a late Fairfield drive…Austin Shorette (10-yard TD reception) led the squad with 7.5 tackles while Tate (7.0) was just a half-tackle behind…Jackson Mitchell played well defensively as did Andrews…Depth continues to haunt Eastern and it’s always next man up due to injuries and the like…If Eastern can play a complete four quarters and slow down the Falcons’ rushing attack, the Kingstreeters will be in business…This is a winnable one for the Lancers and a victory would build a little momentum as the month of September finally comes to a close.
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