By Michael Letendre
NEW HAVEN – The Bristol Eastern football team shattered a record – and possibly established another – after the squad zipped up a nail-biting 2-0 victory over Hillhouse on Friday night in New Haven during a Connecticut Football Alliance showdown.
A simple snap by Hillhouse at their own two-yard line was finished off with a disastrous result.
The ball was snapped into orbit and when it sailed out of bounds, and through the end zone, a safety was awarded to the visiting team.
The Lancers were awarded two points and a free kick with 7:24 left in the first period which was all the points that were needed to topple the Academics.
The next drive went nowhere for Eastern and, credit to the Kingstreeters excellent defense, the squad did not allow any follow up scores.
For the Eastern program, it was the fewest points ever scored in a Lancers’ victory.
In fact, it was only the second game in Eastern history that the team ended the contest by scoring just two points.
The first time that happened came back on October 17, 1997.
That night, Eastern challenged Southington in a CCC South entanglement from Muzzy Field back when the Knights and Lancers were regular opponents.
Eastern fell by a 19-2 final to Southington and then head coach Jude Kelly – the former St. Paul Catholic mentor.
And in that game, the Lancers ended up scoring first just like the squad did in New Haven on Friday.
With 11:05 left in the first half against Southington, the Knights snapped the ball out of bounds and Eastern was awarded two points.
Southington then scored 19 straight points to ice the game, leading to the 17-point loss for the Kingstreeters.
It was one of the few games Bristol’s all-time leading rusher Reinaldo Soto did not score a touchdown in.
He made 28 carries for 103 yards while Billy Woods, Jayson Thompson, Darin Pelletier, and Rob Moreau all had a hand in the offensive schemes in the bout against Southington.
Fast Forward to Friday, September 22, 2023, Eastern scored the first two points and did not notch a follow-up score.
However, the Lancers’ defense – led by Adam and Ryan Zavecz, Hunter Wells, Mikey Sherrill and Jaiden Fore – held off every Hillhouse drive as the program is 3-0 for the first time since 2010.
Was the 2-0 win by the Lancers football team a state record?
Did this two-point effort by Eastern tie a state record for fewest points scored by the winning team?
It would make sense if it did because a team can’t just score a single point – except after touchdowns.
A minimum victory would be 2-0, the only score possible, and it looks like the Eastern program put itself in the state – and national – records book.
That’s a pretty cool deal as the undefeated season moves on for the Lancers with another home game from Alumni Field on the horizon.
More on that contest on Friday.
Talking Playoffs?
Not to jinx this season, but at 3-0, the Lancers are currently in line for a state tournament berth for the first time since 2010.
Eastern is in fifth place of the Class MM standings with 355 power points in Connecticut’s convoluted playoffs points format.
That would put the Kingstreeters on the road against Guilford (3-0) if things held pat.
But that’s a looooong way off.
Defense is king
Lost in the Lancers’ 2-0 effort at Hillhouse is the fact the locals have shut down three opponents this season.
Opponents are averaging just 9.0 points-per-game against Eastern while the squad posts 21.3 ppg in offense.
That’s called a winning formula.
By the way, the Lancers’ 2-0 victory at Hillhouse was Eastern’s first shutout since winning at Hartford Public by a 35-0 final back on October 5, 2019.
