By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – All the hard work the Bristol Eastern football program has put into the 2022 season finally paid off on Thursday night as the Lancers ran over Lewis Mills via a 41-21 thrashing from Alumni Field in Bristol over a CCC crossover showdown.
It was the most points scored by the Lancers since hanging a 54-22 loss on Farmington back on November 12, 2021.
The Kingstreeters (1-5) wrangled up 350 yards in offense – all on the ground – as the victor’s rushing assault punished the Spartans’ defense.
“The kids played really well tonight,” said Eastern coach Anthony Julius. “We needed to make big plays in all three phases, and we did that. We blocked a punt, returned it for a touchdown. We had an interception late in the first half and we obviously ran the ball very well. That was the game plan going in and we felt we had an advantage up front. We obviously exploited that the majority of the night.”
And Eastern’s Jaiden Fore put together a career evening against the Spartans.
The grinder found every crease and seam his offensive line created as Fore just pounded the defense for a career best 155 yards on 24 carries for four touchdowns.
“We worked hard,” said Fore. “We put in a lot of work during the bye week, and I think a lot of us came together to put some of those things that haven’t been working together. We worked as a team today.”
And Fore nearly helped the Lancers capture a running clock early in the third quarter as his fourth and final touchdown with 7:35 left propelled the home squad to an imposing 41-7 edge.
“There were a lot of contributors tonight,” said Julius said. “Jaiden, obviously, set the tempo early and did a great job running the football. The offensive line really did a nice job executing what they were capable of doing.”
But it wasn’t just Fore barreling through the defense.
Rayshon Andrews made big drives to the outside to churn up yardage as his speed was too much for Mills to handle.
Andrews picked up 83 yards on 10 carries when Eastern switched offensive packages from Fore.
“Ray came in and gave us a nice spark, got us to the perimeter and changed some things up,” said Julius of Andrews.
Jack Hartley showed grit, churning out 11 rushes for 87 yards and a touchdown and ran another one in – via a 32-yard fumble recovery – after Eastern’s Adam Zavecz blocked a Spartans’ punt 58 seconds into the second frame.
Offensively, Zavecz carried the ball three times for 26 yards late in the fray to keep the chains moving.
“Jack ran the ball really well,” said Julius of Hartley. “Adam ran the ball really well in the end too.”
And then there was the defensive component that put the Kingstreeters over the top.
Michael Sherrill made a big sack on Mills’ QB Larry Weaver (9-of-21, 114 yards, two TDs) while Zaveyn Tate captured Eastern’s first interception of the year.
Cooper Harris compiled three tackles for losses while Connor Gimpl, Chase Dauphinee and Zavecz each scooped in one.
Mills (1-5) was limited to just 80 yards rushing and less than 200 overall for the game.
Kicker Gavin Damboise was a very Wendy’s restaurant like 4-for-4 in extra points for BE.
But the Spartans made things tough off the opening drive, moving the ball downfield on 13 plays to score when Weaver – throwing on a fourth-and-eight situation – found an open Evan Dougherty for an eight-yard touchdown connection and with 6:54 to go in the first frame, the visiting aggression led 7-0.
However, forty-one points later, it was all Bristol Eastern.
Fore scored on a six-yard run with 2:15 to play in the first frame and after Sherrill absolutely drilled Weaver for an eight-yard sack, the ball was fumbled and Eastern recovered it.
Three plays later, Fore added a slick two-yard touchdown score to give Eastern a 14-7 edge with 56 seconds left in the first period.
“I got behind some of the big guys on my team and just ran,” said Fore.
To start the second stanza, Mills was forced to punt but Zavecz blocked it as Hartley scooped up the ball and scored on a 32-yard TD return to give the home squad a 21-7 edge 58 seconds into the second stanza.
Off a turnover on downs by the Spartans, Eastern marched right back into the end zone via a nine-yard jaunt by Fore as the cushion reached 28-7 with 6:45 remaining in the half.
After another three-and-out by the Eastern defense helped fuel a seven play, 52-yard drive which punctuated by Hartley’s one-yard dash up the gut and with 1:04 showing on the clock before the half, the scoreboard read Eastern 35, Lewis Mills 7.
Weaver was intercepted by Tate one play into the Spartans’ next drive – the first interception of the season for Eastern – as the Lancers held a 28-point edge going into the break.
Eastern opened the third tilt with the ball and Fore was right back at it.
Eight plays and 72 yards later, Fore pushed in a 10-yard touchdown score – his fourth and final TD of the contest – to propel Eastern to a 41-7 cushion with 7:35 left in the third that wasn’t seriously threatened the rest of the way.
Late in the third period, Weaver found Dougherty open for a 27-yard touchdown connection to make it 41-14 after three completed periods and a late Eastern fumble saw Cole Renalter generate an 82-yard touchdown score for Mills but in the end, Eastern’s vicious ground game foiled the Spartans over the twenty-point win.
“It was kind of pick the number and they ran the ball with some really good efficiency,” said Julius of the offense. “I’m definitely happy with the offensive line, the receivers blocking on the perimeter and from an offensive standpoint, minus a few miscues, I’m pretty happy with the evening.”
BRISTOL EASTERN FOOTBALL (CCC Tier III/IV Football Challenge)
BRISTOL EASTERN 41, LEWIS MILLS 21
from Alumni Field, Bristol
Lewis Mills (1-5) 7 0 7 7 – 21
Bristol Eastern (1-5) 14 21 6 0 – 41
SCORING
First Period
LM – Evan Dougherty 8 pass by Larry Weaver (Gianluca Dolzadelli kick), 6:54
BE – Jaiden Fore 6 run (Gavin Damboise kick), 2:15
BE – Jaiden Fore 2 run (Damboise kick), 0:56
Second Period
BE – Adam Zavecz blocked punt, Jack Hartley 32 return (Damboise kick), 11:02
BE – Fore 9 run (Damboise kick), 6:45
BE – Hartley 1 run (Gavin Damboise kick), 1:04
Third Period
BE – Fore 10 run (run failed), 7:35
LM – Dougherty 27 pass by Weaver (Dolzadelli kick), 3:29
Fourth Period
LM – Cole Renalter 82 fumble recovery (Dolzadelli kick), 2:30
Individual Statistics
RUSHING – Lewis Mills: Larry Weaver 10-38, Jack Stanislaw 7-19, Evan Pannuto 1-8, James Roben 4-14, Gianluca Doladelli 3-1; Bristol Eastern: Jaiden Fore 24-155, Rayshon Andrews 10-83, Jack Hartley 11-87, Adam Zavecz 3-26, Kyle Babin 1-(minus-1).
PASSING – Lewis Mills: Weaver 9-of-21, 114 yards; Bristol Eastern: None.
RECEPTIONS – Lewis Mills: Marcos Munuz 1-17, Trey Gagne 3-32, Evan Dougherty 3-36, Roben 2-29; Bristol Eastern: None.
Records: Bristol Eastern 1-5 overall; Lewis Mills 1-5.
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