By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The road trip of doom is finally over for the Bristol Eastern football program.
The four teams the Lancers dropped games against away from home – Platt, Fairfield Warde, Avon, and undefeated Berlin – have a combined 14-6 record overall (.700 winning percentage).
Throw in RHAM (4-1) on opening night and you can see that the Kingstreeters haven’t been allotted any easy outs.
And don’t ask about the Eastern injury report because at one point, it was a country mile long.
But it’s back to a little home cooking, and maybe a little health, this Thursday as Lewis Mills comes to town.
It’s the first ever showdown between the two programs as the Lancers are looking to notch a big win for the first time in 2022.
Here’s the deal between the squads over a big Week Seven encounter:
Bristol Eastern (0-5) vs. Lewis Mills (1-4) – CCC Tier III/IV Challenge
Time: Thursday, 6:30 p.m. (Alumni Field from the campus of Bristol Eastern)
The Series: It’s the first time the two programs have locked horns.
Last Week: Mills, who had its bye over the previous week, traveled to East Catholic last Friday night and sustained a tough 38-22 loss from the campus of Cheney Tech. Eastern did not play due to the bye week.
Facts: It’s time for the BEHS football team to make its second half of the season push…The next five Eastern opponents enter this week with a combined seven victories which is a huge difference from the competition over the first five games…Mills got its lone win over a depleted Plainville squad in Week One (25-17 from Tinty Field) but the Spartans have lost four contests since…That victory was partially due to Plainville quarterback MJ Bakaysa’s injury on the second play of the game. Credit Mills for taking advantage of an unfortunate situation…But since that victory, the Spartans have dropped four straight games, notching just 37 total points over that four-pack of losses (9.3 points-per-game)…The defense gives up 37.2 ppg and it will be up to the Eastern offense to put the pressure on from the start…But on the flip side, quarterback Larry Weaver (22-for-64, 321 yards) can make things happen but has thrown 10 interceptions to date. A speedy Eastern secondary will be ready for the chucker on Friday as the Kingstreeters are still looking for its first interception grab of the campaign…Mills averages 3.8 yards-per-carry on the ground with seniors Jack Stanislaw and Noah Moriarty running the ball…Against East Catholic, Stanislaw had a big game (four carriers, 101 yards, TD) while Weaver also rushed in a touchdown…Weaver connected on 10-of-20 passes for 97 yards but four of those 10 misses led to pickoffs…The week off certainly helped a depleted Eastern roster and the hope is a week away from game competition will see a reenergized Eastern program ready to pounce on the Spartans…This Eastern squad is hungry and if back Jaiden Fore and the rest of the offense can run the ball down the Spartans’ collective throats, it could be a long evening for the visiting aggression…Fore, coming off an injury at Avon, busted Berlin for 72 yards on 23 carries to go along with a big TD. Josh Aubin and Jack Hartley also ran the ball well and Adam Zavecz made his first ever carries and helped Eastern nab a couple big first downs. He also co-led the Lancers in tackles that evening. You want that kind of effort from all your two-way players…Zaveyn Tate made two tackles for losses against the Redcoats, Austin Shorette also had a very good all-around game while the kicking game from sophomore Gavin Damboise gets better and better by the game…Alex Corvo is doing yeoman’s work as the starting QB and if Rayshon Andrews can return to health, Mills is going to have a busy night on defense…Ladies and gentlemen, it’s pay window time for the Lancers come Thursday evening.
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