By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – With 2:28 left to play in its opening contest against Farmington on Saturday, the Bristol Eastern football team was holding on to a 21-14 edge.
The River Hawks had possession of the ball, looking to knot things up.
However, Eastern defensive standout Adam Zavecz had another agenda in mind.
He quickly nabbed a Farmington pass – rumbling into the end zone for a touchdown and 23 seconds later, the senior – amazingly – repeated the exact same feat via a second interception.
And by the time Zavecz scored his second defensive TD of the game, the Lancers put Farmington away over their 35-14 victory in CCC Tier III play.
Over the past two seasons, Zavecz, one of Eastern’s senior captains, has scooped up a total of four interceptions against Farmington but this time around, his two picks led to devastating touchdown runs that sealed the fate of the visiting squad.
Those pickoffs came after a slick catch and 20-yard scamper into the end zone by Zavecz which was nullified on a block in the back penalty with eight minutes to play.
That flag added fuel to Zavecz’s fire – propelling him to those game ending pickoff plays and insurance touchdowns.
“We had a little out for me and I scored there but then we got a block in the back call, and I was fuming,” said Zavecz. “Because last year, I got those two pickoffs and all I was hearing all year was, ‘man, you should have made those pick sixes, you should have made those pick sixes.’”
“So as soon as I saw the ball in the air coming right at me, I knew it. I was like no matter what, I’m getting in this end zone.”
Give the River Hawks credit as the squad was looking to make a move on the scoreboard, trailing just seven points late.
Two Zavecz touchdowns later and the showdown was over.
“I think [Farmington is] going to be happy that he’s graduating” this year said Eastern coach Anthony Julius of Zavecz. “I can’t say enough about Adam. He’s a captain for us, he’s a great leader, great teammate, ridiculously physical, plays a ton of snaps and just keeps coming back for more.”
The game was a nip-and-tuck battle throughout as both programs did not score over first period play but the Lancers were itching at the Farmington two-yard line to open the second stanza.
To open the second period, Eastern senior back Jayden Fore (22 carries, 131 yards, 2 TD’s) made a move to the right, slipping into the end zone as the two-yard rush with 11:55 to play in the half made it a 7-0 game.
That score held into the halftime break as a couple tackles for losses by Eastern’s Mikey Sherrill limited the River Hawks to just 12 first half plays, negative yards on the ground and zero points on the scoreboard.
And while it was just a 7-0 at halftime, Eastern showed much better offensively over the final two stanzas of the game.
“Our offense was much more efficient in the second half which was what we were really looking for,” said Julius. “We sputtered a little bit in the first half but it’s the first game and sometime, that happens.”
On the first play of the third quarter and the visitors still trailing by seven, Farmington quarterback Cayden Markowitz (11-for-22, 252 yards, 2 TDs) found receiver Jahkai Veal (five receptions, 233 yards, 2 TDs) alone in the middle of the gridiron and the speedster took it 80 yards in for a score as the showdown was all tied up at 7-7.
“We knew going into it, [Veal] was going to be a handful,” said Julius. “That kid made a ton of great plays, and I told him and [Farmington’s] coach that after the game. He’s going to have a great year.”
“We made some adjustments in the second half after we got beat and tried to take him away and make them go other places and the defense really came alive forcing a lot of turnovers.”
Fore cramped up midway through the third tilt before returning to the game with the scored tied at 7-7 with 12 minutes to play.
Eastern punted the ball to open the fourth frame but a little tomfoolery took place on the Farmington 13.
Off the snap, the River Hawks mishandled the ball and it bounced into the end zone, spiraling towards the backline with both teams in chase.
And Eastern’s Zion Otero eventually pounced on the ball for six points and on a slick extra-point kick by Gavin Damboise (5-for-5 on PATs), Eastern led 14-7 with 9:38 to go in the contest.
On the ensuing Eastern kickoff, Veal turned a short Markowitz pass into a blazing 81-yard TD reception as the tilt was all tied up at 14-14 with 9:18 left.
After Fore came through with a huge 56-yard scamper and Zavecz’s TD was called back via penalty, Bristol was on the verge of taking the lead for good.
Going on fourth-and-long, Ryan Corvo made a drive-saving 11-yard reception, and two plays later, Fore sauntered into the goal off a two-yard run up the gut as the Kingstreeters were on top 21-14 with 5:31 to play.
“Jayden is the heartbeat of the offense,” said Julius of Fore. “We go as he goes and obviously with the heat and everything, dealing with some cramping a little bit today, he battled through. He got the big carries when we needed them, he ripped off that huge run there in the fourth quarter that really sparked the rest of the momentum which kind of went our way.”
“Our seniors did a great job today and the rest of the supporting cast as well.”
Farmington then turned the ball over on downs, but Bristol went three-and-out as the visitors still had a chance trailing 21-14 with 2:28 left.
Markowitz turned around and threw a ball right at Zavecz as the defender went 37 yards for a score and then off a slick Damboise kickoff to the Farmington 3, with a minimal return, the senior made one final theft of the pigskin.
This time, once again playing centerfield, Zavecz made another interception and scored to seal the deal.
Sherrill batted a Markowitz pass and this time, Zavecz trudged into the goal off a 22-yard touchdown play and with 1:54 remaining, Eastern’s 35-14 lead was the final score of the game.
“It was a tough week for us, battling the heat, not getting the normal week of practice that we normally get,” said Julius. “But our kids battled. Football is about adversity, and we handled it well today.”
After the conclusion of that wacky week, the Lancers showed all the grit of a squad that simply refused to yield until the final buzzer sounded.
“Honestly, it feels amazing,” said Zavecz of the win. “I can’t wait to keep going, ball out for the rest of the season.”
NOTES…Eastern QB Kamden Laprise was under fire for most of the game, but the junior competitor showed plenty of poise throughout. He went 7-of-15 for 45 yards in his first contest back since Week 2 of the 2022 campaign…The Lancers’ defense made big plays all game long as Alexander Corvo nabbed a first period interception while Bryce Bacote stripped a Farmington player of the ball off an Eastern punt…Chase Dauphinee added four receptions and a tackle for a loss, Hunter Wells nabbed a sack and Ryan Zavecz made a tackle for a loss…No other Bristol football team was able to play on Saturday due to the weather. Bristol Central’s game at Windsor was contested on Sunday, resulting in a 43-0 loss for the Rams, while St. Paul Catholic’s game was also shelved due to the thunderstorms and rain.
Bristol Eastern Football – CCC Tier III Football Challenge
BRISTOL EASTERN 35, FARMINGTON 14
from Alumni Field, Bristol
Farmington (0-1) 0 0 7 7 – 14
Bristol Eastern (1-0) 7 0 0 21 – 35
SCORING
First Period
No Scoring
Second Period
BE – Jaiden Fore 2 run (Gavin Damboise kick),
Third Period
F – Jahkai Veal 80 pass by Cayden Markowitz (good kick),
Fourth Period
BE – Zion Otero fumble recovery in end zone (Damboise kick),
F – Veal 81 pass by Markowitz (good kick),
BE – Fore 2 run (Damboise kick),
BE – Adam Zavecz 37 interception return (Damboise kick),
BE – Zavecz 22 interception return (Damboise kick),
Individual Statistics
RUSHING – Farmington: Cayden Markowitz 3-(minus-12), Quincy Kinky 10-18, Andrew Ranucci 1-15, Matt Rodrigues 2-2, Jahkai Veal 1-2, Tanner Tedesco 1-(minus-11), Team 1-(minus-11); Bristol Eastern: Jaiden Fore 22-131, Kamden Laprise 8-2, Lincoln Bashaw 1-(minus-1).
PASSING – Farmington: Markowitz 11-of-22, 252 yards; Bristol Eastern: Laprise 7-for-15, 45 yards.
RECEPTIONS – Farmington: Veal 5-233, Ethan O’Hara 3-5, Kinky 1-1, Ranucci 2-13; Bristol Eastern: Chase Dauphinee 4-16, Adam Zavecz 1-10, Randy DeNoto 1-8, Ryan Corvo 1-11.
Records: Bristol Eastern 1-0 overall; Farmington 0-1.
