By Michael Letendre
After only its first road loss of the campaign at E.O. Smith in Storrs last Friday night, the Bristol Eastern football team returns home on Friday night in another CCC Tier III challenge — looking for a big bounce-back win.
This time, Avon is in the way, and you can bet that the Lancers – playing their final game of the 2023 campaign from Alumni Field – will be motivated in this one after last season’s misfortune against the Falcons.
Avon was shutout at home last weekend but will bring its vaunted running game to Bristol.
With a chance to qualify for postseason play still in the cards, Eastern is looking to grab a big victory against Avon on Friday night.
Here’s the deal about Friday night:
Avon (2-6) at Bristol Eastern (5-3), CCC Tier III Showdown
Time: 6 p.m. (from Alumni Field at BEHS)
The Series: Last season’s Eastern/Avon tilt was the first showdown ever between the schools – meaning in the rematch tonight, the Falcons are hitting Alumni Field for the first time ever.
The Edge: Avon won that Sept. 30 bout against Eastern last year by a 24-8 final from the turf field at Avon High School.
Last Game against Avon: Eastern hung around against Avon over first half play but ended up falling by 16 points. The Lancers managed a combined 130 yards in offense but that was due in part to back Jaiden Fore not playing large chucks of the game. He made 13 carries for 64 yards and a TD while teammate Joshua Aubin (9-45) moved the ball very well on the ground.
Last Week: Avon was belted at South Windsor (22-0) while Eastern fell at E.O. Smith 24-14. The 24 points against the Lancers was the first time the Kingstreeters had allowed an opponent’s points away from Alumni Field.
What to expect: Run, run, RUN! And that’s exactly what Avon is expected to do in Bristol on Friday…Last season, the Falcons were 0-for-1 passing the ball against the Lancers while tallying nearly 250 rushing yards on 47 carries for four touchdowns on the ground…This year, Avon has connected on just a couple passes on nearly 20 passing attempts so you know that the clock might be moving awfully fast when the Falcons possess the ball…In that South Windsor shutout, Avon’s Nik Meltser led the rushing charge with 13 carries for 55 yards. Nick Seminara, John Murphy, Carter Davies (5-36), David Minami and Jahki Ritchens all made rushes with the ball against the Bobcats…Minami missed all three of his pass attempts against South Windsor, throwing an interception along the way…Since the Falcons defeated Farmington back on October 20 at home (20-14), the squad lost to Rocky Hill and South Windsor by a combined 50-6 tally…Avon shutout East Catholic, who obviously ‘spends’ its budget on other sports (boys basketball), 36-0 during opening week and only lost to E.O. Smith by a point (28-27) on October 6 in Storrs…The Falcons must be stopped from running wild on the turf field at BEHS and the Lancers’ squad, behind (soon to be) All-Stater Adam Zavecz who leads the BE program in tackles, suplex’s, and generally dishes out more pain and misery than the law should legally allow…Brother Ryan Zavecz has four tackles for a loss this season while Mikey Sherrill, Hunter Wells, and Sovannara Nuon all help out in that department as well…Lincoln Bashaw and Chase Dauphinee have been making big stops all season long as well…Offensively, Eastern might be looking for a bit of an explosion…Back Jaiden Fore should go over 1,000 yards tonight (if was reported last week in my E.O. Smith game story that he was already at 1,000 yards. Two jobs and a lack of sleep got the best of me that weekend…), needing just 34 yards to tally that awesome mark. Think he wants a little payback from last season and earn his 1000th yard all in one swoop?…Eastern quarterback Kamden Laprise is playing deep into the season for the first time ever, showing everyone why he’s one of the squad’s rising stars via his versatility, intelligence and guile. Overall, this year, Laprise has connected on over half his passes (49) for 637 yards and four touchdowns. And he looks extremely mobile considering the injuries he’s sustained over the past two seasons…Laprise will be looking to chuck the ball to targets Zion Otero (10 passes, 126 yards), Ryan Corvo, Noah Albert and Sherrill…And give credit to back-up kicker Aiden Liseo who is 4-of-5 on PAT’s this season, doing a really good job on special teams, filling in for the injured Gavin Damboise…This is a big game for the Lancers heading into the Thanksgiving Day clash – perhaps its last ever game on that holiday against Bristol Central. Why not go into that contest with a little momentum with a win over struggling Avon?…The Lancers, frankly, can’t let this squad off the hook with early scores…The next win Eastern picks up this season will be the most since the 2014 campaign (7-4)…Pay window time!
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