By Michael Letendre
The question is simple for the Bristol Eastern football program in 2023:
Can the squad finally qualify for the postseason this year?
The Lancers certainly have chances in Tier III of the Central Connecticut Conference with the likes of seniors Jaiden Fore and Adam Zavecz waging on the turf combat on ten different occasions.
And perhaps a little bit more if everything falls into place.
If the Kingstreeters keep their focus and play within the moment, there’s a possibility that 2023 could be a very special year for the squad.
Here’s the deal when it comes to the Lancers this year:
Bristol Eastern Football – 2023
Head Coach: Anthony Julius
Career Record: In his seventh season as coach, Julius is 11-49 overall.
2022 Ledger: The Lancers were 3-7 overall (2-5 in CCC Tier III play). Eastern did not qualify for the postseason.
Strength: Eastern has enough guts and guile to navigate through CCC Tier III play, having plenty of experience at key positions.
Weakness: Depth is always an issue for the Lancers.
Vital stat: The Lancers last winning season came back in 2014 when the Kingstreeters went 7-4 overall.
The question: Will Eastern finally crack through to nab a state tournament berth in 2023?
Key Losses: Austin Shorette (TE/DE); Wyatt Scarritt (T/DL, transferred to Avon Old Farms); Cooper Harris (OL/DL), Joseph Arborio (OL/DL); Josh Aubin (RB/LB); Jeremy Kolloverja (WR/DB); Connor Gimpl (TE/DL); Rayshon Andrews (WR/DB, transferred to Avon Old Farms); Kyle Babin (WR/DB); Brady Brown (WR/OLB); Brandon Camacho (WR/DB), Jack Hartley (QB/DB, transferred to Bristol Central); Zaveyn Tate.
The Line-up: Randy DeNoto (jr., TE/E); Isaiah Monroe-Shaw (sr., T/NG); Adam Zavecz (sr, FB/LB), Ryan Conklin (jr., T/DL), Hunter Wells (sr, G/T); Diandre Diaz-Bazilio (sr., G/DL), Joseph Richer (jr., C); Kamden Laprise (jr, QB); Jaiden Fore (sr., TB/LB); Ryan Corvo (jr., WR/LB); Mikey Sherrill (sr., WR/E); Chase Dauphinee (jr, WR/S); Zion Otero (sr, WR/CB); Gavin Damboise (jr., WR/K/P); Lincoln Bashaw (so., LB); Alex Corvo (jr., QB); Bryce Bacote (so., CB).
Offensive Reserves: Noah Albert (so., WR/DB); Jayden Mack (jr., OL/DL); Sovannara Nuon (sr., OL/DL).
Defensive Reserves: Ryan Zavecz (jr., DL); King Stewart (sr., LB); Damien Colon (sr., DB); Trevin Guardarrama (so., LB).
What to Expect from Bristol Eastern in 2023: The Lancers are itching to get back on the field on Saturday and the squad is looking forward to the 2023 campaign.
And there may be a bit more winning involved if all the elements fall into place.
“For us, the expectations are always the same,” said Julius. “We want to make sure we’re putting a competitive team on the field and our kids have always tried to live up to that standard. And us as a coaching staff doing the same thing.”
The squad has seen a little success over the last two campaigns, tallying seven total wins, but this team has some offensive weapons that should certainly stand out to get the Lancers to the pay window several times.
Tailback Jaiden Fore, Eastern’s lone returning CCC South All-Conference performer, had a tremendous junior season and just missed out on a 1,000-yard campaign.
He racked up 895 yards on 191 carries, good for 4.7 yards-per-carry which was exactly the team’s per carry average in 2022.
Fore scored 13 touchdowns and busted through several coverages to net first down yardage for the Lancers to keep the chains moving.
“Jaiden is obviously the workhorse of the offense,” said Julius of Fore. “He really emerged for us last year as a junior and busted out of the scene as a really physical runner. He was a double-digit touchdown guy for us last year. He’s going to pace the offense for us.”
“We’re looking for him to have a great senior year and obviously be a catalyst on offense.”
And Fore is going to have some tough blockers up front who should help create seams and creases in opposing lines.
Tight end Randy DeNoto is a talented junior who will provide protection along with Mr. Everything Adam Zavecz – a crafty senior who mans the fullback position.
Zavecz co-led the squad in interceptions last season, capturing a team-leading 91 yards on those returns.
One of the squad’s captains this year, he led the program in tackles, added a sack and put together a couple tackles for losses in 2022.
The DeNoto/Zavecz combo is going to help the running and throwing components the Lancers will employ this year.
“We have some really good players up front. We like the core of our offensive line,” said Julius. “With Randy Denote at tight end and Adam Zavecz at fullback and obviously giving the ball to Jayden is never a bad thing.”
And then there’s the quarterback position which came down to two excellent junior competitors.
Kamden Laprise (16-for-32, 222 yards, two TDs) was lost early in the season due to injury last year while backup Alex Corvo (30-for-55, 205 yards) got a ton of experience on the fly – become the starter at QB midway through things.
The duo can help the team if the injury bug creeps up once again.
“Kam is going to get the nod” at quarterback said Julius of Laprise. “Alex Corvo pushed really, really hard and had a great camp himself. We feel really good about both kids, which is a luxury for us as a team to have a person as a varsity quarterback if we need [Corvo] to be. Kam looked really good in camp. We’re excited to see where he is. He’s a year physically stronger.”
“We’re looking for a big jump out of Kam this year in his junior campaign.”
Zavecz will run the ball a little bit, much like the Green Bay Packers used Randall Cobb over the years, and Eastern will rely on several other athletes as well.
The only player who returned to the Lancers that made a reception last season is junior wide receiver Chase Dauphinee – a player Julius and the program is extremely high on.
Dauphinee is emerging as a tremendous three-sport athlete with amazing upside at BEHS.
The wide receiving corps also includes seniors Mikey Sherrill, who will make a tackle or two along the way, senior Zion Otero and junior Ryan Corvo.
Offensive tackles include senior Isaiah Monroe-Shaw and junior Ryan Conklin along with guards Hunter Wells (senior) and Diandre Diaz-Bazilio (senior) along with junior center Joseph Richer.
And don’t forget about third year kicker Gavin Damboise, an ever-improving junior whose kicking game has gotten better and better by the season.
And several of those players make up the defensive unit as well as depth is always an area of concern for the Lancers.
“I feel that every high school football program is going to tell you that they’re not going to have enough depth,” said Julius. “I do believe our coaching staff has done a really good job this offseason and especially during camp of making sure we’re getting young kids reps and repetitions and live scrimmage reps. I think that our twos and threes are far more prepared than in years past. And that’s a good thing for us.”
“Obviously, when a starter is not on the field, there’s something you might lose from an experience standpoint because a lot of times your starters are more experienced kids, but we feel that the kids in those backup roles are physically capable of playing varsity football.”
If this team can play up to its potential and build off a very good offseason, which included a couple impressive upgrades in the coaching ranks, the wins will come.
Eastern brought in former St. Paul Catholic and Southern Connecticut State University and Western CT State University standout Daija Fitzpatrick along with former Lancers’ running back Todd Krolikowski who played on BE’s 2007 squad that went 10-0 and is currently Eastern’s head wrestling coach.
Fitzpatrick played scholastically from 2011-14, racking up 2,310 receiving yards which included 168 receptions for a career average of 13.7 yards-per-catch.
He brings a wealth of knowledge to the Eastern program as does Krolikowski.
“We had a really good offseason from the spring on,” said Julius. “We have some new hires on the coaching staff. Daija Fitzpatrick is on the staff now. He did a really, really good job with us in the weight room all summer and they’re some kids that made some significant gains. I think the biggest change that we’ve seen so far is the physical maturation of a lot of our underclassmen that were thrusted into bigger roles due to injury [last season].”
“They look physically ready to play varsity football and that’s really encouraging for us going forward.”
The Schedule
CCC Tier III is an excellent fit for the Lancers, getting into a grouping where the locals can be very successful if all the pieces fall into place.
Eastern has several winnable road games which include long trips to Edwin O. Smith (November 3), RHAM (October 28) and a tough one at Rocky Hill in about a month’s time (October 5).
The Kingstreeters stay home for three of its first four showdowns which includes dates against Farmington (Saturday), Hartford Public (September 15) and South Windsor (September 29) with a Football Alliance clash against Hillhouse (September 22) in-between.
“Looking at the schedule overall, our kids are confident and we as a coaching staff are confident that we’re going to prepare well enough and practice well enough to give ourselves opportunities week in and week out to be successful,” said Julius.
Platt comes to town on October 20 and Avon makes a rare Bristol appearance on November 10.
And don’t forget about the Thanksgiving Day confrontation on November 23 from Muzzy Field against archrival Bristol Central.
However, it’s a one day at a time method at Eastern and preparing for the game of the week is always the ultimate goal at Bristol Eastern.
“As a coach, when you look at your schedule, I think that’s all you can really hope for is that you’re going to have a chance in every single game,” said Julius. “Whether or not we win them all is to be seen but I know it’s not going to be due to lack of effort or preparation.”
The 2023 slate of games
September 8 – vs. Farmington (6:30 p.m.)
September 15 – vs. Hartford Public (6:30 p.m. )
September 22 – at Hillhouse (6 p.m.)
September 29 – vs. South Windsor (6:30 p.m.)
October 5 – at Rocky Hill (6:30 p.m.)
October 12 – Bye Week
October 20 – vs. Platt (6:30 p.m.)
October 28 – at RHAM (1 p.m.)
November 3 – at Edwin O. Smith (6 p.m.)
November 10 – vs. Avon (6:30 p.m.)
November 23 – at Bristol Central (Muzzy Field, 10:30 a.m.)
