By Michael Letendre
The Thanksgiving Day records from the historic Battle for the Bell, pitting the Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern football programs against one another, are a tremendous read and a deep look into our scholastic history in town.
There are several records between the schools that are tremendous in scope while other standards aren’t as impressive.
However, over the years, a lot of those early records have fallen by the wayside as numerous all-city athletes have taken Muzzy Field by storm.
And some of those records have still stood the test of time to this very day.
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and look at some individual Thanksgiving Day records between Central and Eastern:
Thanksgiving Game Day Records: Individual
Most touchdowns – 5, Tim Washington (Bristol Central), 2000 & Victor Rosa (Bristol Central), 2019
*Washington made scoring runs of 40, 2, 4, 11 and 69 yards in the victory over Eastern. He ended the season tied for the state record in touchdowns scored in a single season with 42.
And then Rosa matched that feat in 2019 in the overtime victory over the Lancers.
Most yards rushing – 353 yards, Tim Washington (Bristol Central), 2000
*Washington ended the year with 3,005 yards, a state record.
Most yards passing – 308 yards, Dennis Schermerhorn (Bristol Eastern), 1970
*That season, the Central Connecticut State University bound Schermerhorn threw for over 1,700 yards for Eastern.
Most pass receptions – 8, Rick Schmaltz (Bristol Eastern), 1970 & Elijah Gagliardo (Bristol Eastern), 2017
*Schmaltz gathered up 161 yards on those eight catches and scored a touchdown.
*Gagliardo matched that same feat 47 years later.
Most receiving yards – 161 yards, Rick Schmaltz (Bristol Eastern), 1970
*Once again, Schmaltz caught eight receptions for 161 yards.
Most TD passes – 3, Dennis Schermerhorn (Bristol Eastern), 1969 and 1970
*Eastern won those games by a combined 59-28 score, seizing the win over back-to-back campaigns.
Longest run from scrimmage – 87 yards, Gregg Vontell (Bristol Central), 1982
*The halfback made his historic rush in the second quarter; Vontell scored three times that day over runs of 87, 80 and 24 yards. Overall, he scooped up 235 yards on 20 carries for a big day.
Longest pass completion – 82 yards, Kiernan Thurston (Bristol Central) and 82 yards, John Laviero both from Marvin Fitzpatrick, 1988
*Central QB Marvin Fitzpatrick found both John Laviero and Kiernan Thurston for 82-yard receptions. That’s a crazy day.
Longest fumble return – 70 yards, Edgar Hernandez (Bristol Eastern), 2016
*Hernandez broke the old record held by Eastern’s Reinaldo Soto from 1996. He returned a fumble recovery for 65 yards.
Longest kick return – 95 yards, Garry Pearson (Bristol Central), 1977
*Central won the game 24-21 as Pearson, the former Bristol Eastern standout, accounted for 230 yards on the ground for the Rams on 36 carries.
Longest punt return – 64 yards, Ron Davis (Bristol Central), 2000
*Eastern’s Mel Davis dropped in a tremendous 40-yard punt, but Ronny Davis ran it in for a touchdown.
Longest return of interception – 95 yards, Jere Merriam (Bristol Central), 1984
*Merriam nabbed a pass by Eastern’s Julio Maisonet and ran it in for the game’s third score of the day. From 1975 through 1984, Central went undefeated against Eastern on T-Day.
Best pass percentage – 87.5 percent, Mike Hannon (Bristol Eastern), 1964
*Hannon connected on 7-of-8 passes for 87 yards in the 21-0 victory over Central. It was the Lancers second ever victory over the Rams.
Most pass completions – 20, Matt Coyne (Bristol Central), 2007
*Coyne tossed 38 attempts that day but the Rams still lost, 42-14 – a score that was predicted on the money by then Bristol Press correspondent Michael Letendre (as I’ve said before, that guy has been around…).
Most carries – 43 rushes, Jeff Castolene (Bristol Central), 1971
*Castolene zipped in 153 yards and four TDs to help the Rams secure the victory. He had 1,223 yards on the year to go along with 10 touchdowns.
Longest punt – 60 yards, Gene Mitchell (Bristol Central), 1981
*For the day, the Rams averaged 44 yards-per-punt in the 13-8 win over Eastern
Best punt average – 4-for-50, Dave Cichon (Bristol Eastern), 1965
*Cichon zipped out kicks of 46, 55, 57 and 42 yards for the record.
Most extra points – 6 PATs, Chris Hazelton (Bristol Eastern), 2007
*The future Southern Connecticut University kicker went 6-for-6 on the day for the Lancers. In 2011, Hazelton kicked in 10-of-14 field goals for Southern Connecticut State University football program – tied for second all-time in program history.
Most field goals – 1, Bill Woods (Bristol Eastern), 1996, Jeremy Meccariello (Bristol Eastern), 2012
*The Woods field goal was a 22 yard make, the first in Turkey Day history, while Meccariello’s boot was a 25-yard shot – the longest on Thanksgiving.
Longest field goal – 25, Jeremy Meccariello (Bristol Eastern), 2012
*See above. The kicker managed to go 3-for-4 on attempts the following year.
Most interceptions – 3, Gordon Sargent (Bristol Eastern), 1963
*Fun fact: Sargent also ran in a 79-yard kickoff return for a score as Eastern won by a 16-0 tally – the program’s first ever victory on Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Day, Single Game Records:
Most points – 46 (Bristol Eastern), 2009
*Tyrell Holmes scored 18 points in the second half to lead the Lancers over a 46-13 romp.
Most first downs – 20 (Bristol Central), 1972 and 2005
*In 2005, Matt Coyne and Dustin Tucker helped Central snare a 20-7 victory as the program won its seventh consecutive game over the Lancers.
Most yards rushing – 437 (Bristol Central), 2017
*Central broke the old Eastern record as Soto, Pat Brookman, and Ryan Forcier nearly all rushed for 100 yards that day. Forcier ended the contest with 96 yards.
Most yards passing – 308 yards (Bristol Eastern), 1970
*Eastern quarterback Dennis Schermerhorn threw for all 308 of those yards in the team’s 33-22 win – the program’s third straight over Central.
Most total yards – 463 (Bristol Eastern), 1970
*When Schermerhorn wasn’t throwing the ball, the Lancers rushed for 155 yards over a balanced offensive attack.
Most pass attempts – 38 (Bristol Central), 2007
*Matt Coyne connected on 20 of those 38 passes in the program’s 42-14 loss.
Most pass completions – 20 (Bristol Central), 2007
*Coyne passed for 2,516 yards that season which is still a school record today.
Most yards penalized – 187 (Bristol Eastern), 2014
*Despite the tomfoolery, Eastern held on to win, 20-18 – its eighth straight triumph over Central.
Most penalties – 22 (Bristol Central), 2019
*The Rams still won the game, 34-32, in overtime.
Most fumbles – 10 (Bristol Eastern), 2006
*In a snow/rain battle, the teams finished the contest in a 14-14 stalemate when overtime play was not permitted. A victory by Central would have sent the squad to its third ever postseason game.
Most fumbles lost – 6 (Bristol Central), 1996
*In all, the Rams made a total of nine fumbles as Soto and company cruised to a 29-14 win.
Most QB sacks – 7 (Bristol Eastern), 2012
*Eastern’s Harrison Sacharko led the defense that day over a 17-6 victory.
Most Safeties – 2 (Bristol Eastern), 2015
*Eastern could not score on either of the free kicks, resulting in a 12-4 loss as the Rams started a five-game winning streak over the Lancers.
Highest punt average* – 50.0 (Bristol Eastern), 1965
*Dave Cichon punted for 200 yards in the game on four big kicks.
Fewest first downs – 2 (Bristol Eastern), 1959 & 1993
*In 1993, BE rushed for only 13 total yards in the game, dropping an 18-0 decision.
Fewest yards rushing – (-66, Bristol Eastern), 2016
*Mike Guzman helped Central’s defense limit the Lancers on the ground. The Rams’ won 30-12.
Fewest yards passing – (-3, Bristol Central), 2017
*Central still won the contest, 33-27, over a very close call.
Fewest total yards – minus-30 (Bristol Eastern), 2016
Fewest pass attempts, by Bristol Central – 2 (1981 & 1984)
Fewest pass attempts, by Bristol Eastern – 2 (1994 & 1998)
Fewest pass completions, by Bristol Central – 0 (1959, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1993).
Fewest pass completions, by Bristol Eastern – None made (1994, 1998, 2003, 2013 & 2016).
Fewest yards penalized against Bristol Central – 5 (1970)
Fewest yards penalized against Bristol Eastern – 5 (2001)
Most consecutive scoreless periods – 18 (Bristol Eastern), 2001-2005
Most consecutive scoring periods – 15 (Bristol Central), 1998-2002
Most shutouts – 17 (Bristol Central), 1959, 1960, 1961, 1967, 1971, 1975, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003 & 2004
Fewest shutouts – 5 (Bristol Eastern), 1963, 1964, 1965, 1973, 2010
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