By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – Week 1 of the scholastic football season went pretty well for the program at Bristol Eastern.

Last Saturday, the Kingstreeters overwhelmed Farmington during fourth period play to go 1-0 on the young season.

Now, what’s in store for the locals in Week 2?

No gas money will be needed for an extended trip (save it for October).

For the second straight week, the Lancers stay at home – but this time, the team will be enjoying a showdown under Friday night lights.

Tonight, Eastern battles Hartford Public in a Tier III/Tier IV challenge and here’s what you can expect tonight from Alumni Field on the campus of BEHS:

Hartford Public (0-1) at Bristol Eastern (1-0)

Time: 6 p.m. (Alumni Field on the campus BEHS)

The Game: The contest is the seventh all-time showdown between the programs. Eastern won that game 35-0 back on October 5, 2019.

The Series: The Lancers lead the all-time series, 4-2.

Last Season: The teams did not compete against each other last year. This will be the first contest between the programs since the pandemic.

Last Week: Hartford Public was blasted by Bloomfield 42-6 (Bloomfield is going to beat 10 teams by that kind of score this season) while Eastern’s defense fueled a tremendous 35-14 win over Farmington last Saturday.

What to expect: Eastern passed its first test of the season against Farmington and now, Public will present a different kind of challenge…But the Owls came to fight against Bloomfield last week as the game was a 6-6 affair early. Bloomfield then tallied thirty-six straight points and that ends the story…Quarterback Khalil Borno can chuck the ball a bit, finding teammate Jaiden Booth for a 60-yard TD strike against the Warhawks…However, that was just a sample space of what the offense could do because the game against Bloomfield was shutdown with 9:06 left to play in the second period due to the awful weather…So, the Warhawks amassed 42 points in a matter of 15 minutes against Public. Defensively, well, you know where this is going on Friday…Offensively, the Owls have some size and a little speed, elements that could give the Lancers fits over a half-dozen plays or so…Public has one of the strangest schedules in the state. The program doesn’t have a home game during the month of September but leaves Hartford just one time when October and November roll around (October 27 at Plainville)…The Lancers found their offensive groove over chunks of the game against the River Hawks on Saturday and outside of three long receptions, Bristol’s defense was more than solid…Farmington tallied one total yard on the ground and was picked off three times, two by Adam Zavecz, who was in beast mode over fourth quarter play. That effort fueled Zavecz to the Week 1 CCC ‘Defensive Player of the Week’ award which was a well-deserved honor…Zion Otero made a fumble recovery for a touchdown, Alex Corvo had an interception while Bryce Bacote simply stole the ball from a Farmington special team player off a slick punt by Gavin Damboise…Speaking of kicking, Damboise has worked hard in the offseason and his kickoffs and punts have been excellent to start the campaign. He averaged nearly 49 yards per kickoff and placed the ball in tough spots for the River Hawks to run out of. It’s all about the special teams…Eastern’s offense saw QB Kamden Laprise rack up seven completed passes while back Jaiden Fore ripped off a 50 yard carry – tallying 131 total yards overall and two touchdowns over a complete game effort…Jack-of-all-trades Chase Dauphinee made four catches while Ryan DeNoto and Ryan Corvo each made a big reception…Can this Eastern team start the season at 2-0 with a focused effort against Public? The answer is a resounding yes…Is the sportswriter of this article going to get a celebratory pizza at the completion of the game? The answer is also a resounding yes.