By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The Bristol Eastern football team puts its undefeated ledger on the line tonight – weather permitting – as the Kingstreeters battles South Windsor in a CCC Tier III tilt from Alumni Field.
Eastern is fresh off its huge 2-0 victory over Hillhouse in a Connecticut alliance Football game last Friday night and is itching to get back to the pay window against a decent Bobcats’ program.
The team from South Windsor has to continue its game against Edwin O. Smith later in the season but last played on Saturday – earning its first victory of the campaign.
The Lancers hope to bring the defense back to slow down the Bobcats and if that happens, it’s time for a fourth consecutive trip to the pay window.
Here’s what to look for tonight in Bristol:
South Windsor (1-1) at Bristol Eastern (3-0)
Time: 6 p.m. (Alumni Field, Bristol)
The Series: This is the 12th battle between the squads which includes one tie and a couple overtime bouts.
Series Edge: The squads have played to a standstill at 5-5-1. One of those wins by Eastern was a 22-19 triumph over South Windsor as the Lancers captured the 1988 Class MM championship. The Bobcats have won the past four encounters over the Lancers by a total of 21 points which included two overtime games. Eastern last defeated South Windsor on October 8, 2005. The Lancers nabbed a 19-8 win.
Last Season: The Bobcats defeated Farmington 45-23 in Week 1 of 2022 before failing to Bristol Central (31-30) on September 16. The team ended up dropping its final nine games (1-9 overall).
Last Week: South Windsor easily won at home by a 42-6 final Bridgeport Central while Bristol Eastern hung on to a big 2-0 win at Hillhouse in New Haven.
What to expect: The Bobcats have a quality quarterback they will turn to in the form of senior Mitch Chaves. He’s made 11-of-21 passes for 81 total yards (7.4 yards-per-pass) to go along with three touchdowns and no interceptions…Eastern’s secondary will be challenged a bit but Chaves’s longest pass to date has just been 24 yards…Senior Joey Bemis has a team-leading five receptions for 43 yards and three touchdowns. He’s the receiver Chaves turns to the most…On the ground, South Windsor will employ several backs, averaging a combined 6.3 yards-per-carry as three seniors do a ton of the rushing…Logan Sherwood (5.8 yards-per-carry), Lloyd Boating (10 carries, 61 yards) and Chaves (10 carries, two TDS) have made big gains as has sophomore Isaac Gerber (3-102, TD) in limited attempts…Defensively, the Bobcats yield 28.0 ppg which is just about what the team scores offensively…Frankly, Eastern’s defense at Hillhouse was epic as the squad now allows just 9.0 ppg…The Academics only converted on 20-percent of its third downs, missed out on four fourth down conversions and faltered on 12 of 18 passes…Credit Eastern’s prevent defense in the game as Hillhouse never got over midfield late in the showdown…Eastern captured seven tackles for losses with three coming from Mr. Everything Adam Zavecz. Mikey Sherrill added a sack and a tackle for a loss…Ryan Zavecz and Hunter Wells also kicked in tackles for losses…And while the Eastern offense did not score that evening, contributions were made from multiple sources…Jaiden Fore was tremendous, and a bit tired, after 36 carries for 129 yards while Adam Zavecz’s 36-yard burst late in the fray which might have been the play of the game…Fore caught three of QB Kamden Laprise’s passes (5-for-11, 62 yards), also making connections with Chase Dauphinee – who punted the ball extremely well in New Haven – and Zion Otero…The offense is looking to get back on track against South Windsor come Friday evening…The last time Eastern went undefeated in the month of September was back in 2010…The Lancers have a big chance of starting the season at 4-0 and in tremendous shape for the rest of the campaign.
