By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The Bristol Eastern football team is going to continue to keep things local this Friday as the opponent for Week 8 is a very familiar one.
Plainville comes to town as the opposition creates an opportunity for the Kingstreeters to win its second consecutive game of the year.
Last week, Eastern coach Anthony Julius talked about playing well in three phases and a big component of that was Eastern’s defense.
Mills was limited to just seven points deep into the third quarter as Eastern answered the challenge via big stops.
Will history repeat itself on Friday in Bristol with another standout effort defensively?
Here’s the deal:
Bristol Eastern (1-5) vs. Plainville (0-6) – CCC Tier III Showdown
Time: Friday, 6:30 p.m. (Alumni Field from the campus of Bristol Eastern)
The Series: It’s a strange one as ties are a big part of the series between the neighboring programs. This is the 18th game between the schools with the Lancers holding a 7-5-5 edge.
Last Week: Plainville played a tough non-conference game against Foran, falling 42-20. On the flip side, Eastern hit the pay window for the first time in 2022 via a tremendous 41-21 win over pesky Lewis Mills.
Last Season: In a showdown that went to the wire, the Lancers just missed out on an amazing two-point conversion reception as Eastern fell 21-20 to the Blue Devils from Tinty Stadium in Plainville on October 1.
Last Eastern win versus Plainville: It’s been over 20 years since the Lancers last hung a loss on the Blue Devils (the teams haven’t been yearly opponents since recent times). Eastern’s last win against the program came back on September 14, 2002, as the Kingstreeters defeated Plainville 16-14 on the road under the guidance of then head coach Jack Krampitz.
Facts: The first victory of 2022 was a fun one for the Lancers. How about another one on Friday against the Blue Devils?…Now, don’t be deceived by that rotten winless ledger by the Blue Devils. Plainville is playing without its senior quarterback MJ Bakaysa, dealing with a severe injury. He hopes to be back for the final game of the season if he heals in time…After just scoring 21 points over its first four games, the Plainville squad has posted 47 over its last two as the offense is trying to get on track…The Blue Devils scared the pants off of RHAM back on October 7, coming from behind as the Raptors snared a huge 34-27 victory. See, our neighbors can be dangerous!…Defensively, it’s a different story…Plainville allows 39.2 points-per-game and that’s a tough mark to overcome when attempting to match that tally on the flip side offensively…Tim Shea is an excellent head coach for the Blue Devils and old friend Rich Klett is still in the coaching mix as an assistant in Plainville…Eastern had an extra day to prepare for Plainville because of the Lewis Mills game being played on Thursday instead of Friday…It was an all-out ground against Mills and if your team can scoop up over 350 yards running the ball, that’s called mission accomplished…What more can you say about that rushing game – highlighted by that amazing job by Eastern’s offensive line?…Jaiden Fore was simply tremendous, following his blockers, finding the creases to run though and did a little slick dancing of his own to the tune of 155 yards and four touchdowns, both career high totals. Again, that effort was amazing in scope by the junior competitor…Rayshon Andrews (10 carries, 83 yards) got to the outside for chunks of yardage and Jack Hartley (11-87, TD) ran in a blocked punt by Adam Zavecz (3-30) for a TD and rushed in one of his own. When all the cylinders are firing, Eastern can make gains all over the gridiron…The Kingstreeters averaged 7.2 yards-per-carry that evening…Let’s talk about the defense for a second…Mills misfired on four fourth down situations, leading to multiple turnovers while Eastern’s defensive monster Cooper Harris led the charge with three tackles for losses…Michael Sherrill added his first sack of the season while Zaveyn Tate notched the squad’s only interception of the campaign to date…And kicker Gavin Damboise was 5-for-5 on PATs, earning Wendy’s ‘Biggie Bag’ for his slick evening of work…Sure, Mills showed some fire late in the fray but when the score is 41-7 midway through the third tilt, the game is all but over…Get ready for another big one on Friday as the Lancers and Blue Devils clash.
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