By Michael Letendre

The last time the scholastic football squads from Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern were able to play 11v11 football, the date was November 28, 2019.

And it’s been way too long for the public school programs in the city to go in-between games.

Friday night is game time once again.

The locals have two different challenges ahead of them on opening night.

Central travels to Bloomfield to tangle against Central Connecticut Conference Division III power Bloomfield while Eastern stays home to battle Edwin O. Smith in Bristol.

Both Bristol programs have been chomping at the bit to get back on the turf and the time has finally come.

So, with the Friday night lights shining ever so brightly tonight, let’s take a quick look at the match-ups for both Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern as Week 1 unfolds:

Bristol Central at Bloomfield
Location: Phil Rubin Stadium, Bloomfield
Day and Time: Friday, 7:00 p.m.
All-Time Series: It’s the fourth all-time showdown between the schools. The Warhawks lead the series, 2-1.
Casual facts…It’s a battle of two of the top 25 ranked teams in the state as Central and Bloomfield should put on a pretty good show…The Warhawks are coming off a tremendous 2019 season, pulling up a 12-1 ledger and finishing as the Class S runner-up…There’s new components all over the line for Bloomfield and QB Daron Bryden (7,326 career passing yards) is no long in the mix…Senior Dallas Rose will have to be monitored as the back will handle a bulk of the rushing duties…However, on the flip side, those young components from Bloomfield will have their hands full trying to chase down Central’s Victor Rosa – the top ranked recruit by 247sports.com in the state this year…And the last time Rosa put on a Bristol Central uniform in a 11v11 format, he plastered Bristol Eastern for 171 yards on 31 carries for five touchdowns in the Rams’ 34-32 Thanksgiving Day victory…If Rosa gets loose for more than a couple TD’s versus Bloomfield, it’s going to be a long evening for the Warhawks…“We [drew] Bloomfield in Week 1 – a perennial state playoff team,” said Central coach Jeff Papazian. “They’re a recent state champion.”…The stakes are high for both programs.

Bristol Eastern vs. Edwin O. Smith
Location: Alumni Field, Bristol
Day and Time: Friday, 6:30 p.m.
All-Time Series: B.E. and E.O. have been on-again, off-again opponents over the years and the series is split right down the middle. The Lancers are 5-5 against the Panthers as this game will give one of the schools an edge in the series.

Last Eastern win over Smith: Back on November 14, 2014, Eastern rolled off a 42-7 victory over E.O. Smith in Bristol.

Casual facts…Back in 2019, Smith and the Eastern programs both went 2-8 and seem pretty evenly matched on the surface…The Lancers have to tangle with senior QB Sebi Szycmczak along with senior back Sean Bentley…The Panthers, like many of the programs around the state, are young and will have to rely on underclassmen without a ton of experience. That includes sophomores Connor Ouellette (running back) and Sammy DeJesus (wide receiver)…But where will the points come from?…Smith’s team is made up of 46 total sophomores and freshman. Again, underclassmen is the term…If the Eastern defense does its job, it will allow senior running back Alex Marshall to run wild. It’s a legitimate problem for E. O. Smith and crew…In Marshall’s last game, in the overtime loss against Bristol Central, he went for 157 yards on 37 carries for three touchdowns. Think he’s eager to get the season started?…With a win against E.O., it would be the first opening night victory for the Eastern program since 2013 (21-14 win over Berlin, 9/13/13).

Top-Ten Preseason Football Poll (via GameTimeCT)

Team Record (2019) Points

1. Darien 11-2 588

2. St. Joseph 13-0 552

3. Hand 12-1 540

4. Greenwich 9-2 472

5. Newtown 13-0 389

6. New Canaan 9-3 260

7. Southington 10-2 342

8. Xavier 5-5 208

9. Ansonia 11-1 185

10. Killingly 11-2 181

Receiving Votes: Trumbull, 164; Notre Dame-West Haven, 139; Cheshire 135; Fairfield Prep, 135; Sheehan, 131; Norwich Free Academy, 114; Bloomfield, 105; Maloney, 96; Berlin, 95; Windsor, 85; Shelton, 68; Simsbury, 63; Fitch, 58; Weston, 58; North Haven, 32; Bristol Central, 18; Masuk, 18; Naugatuck, 18; Ridgefield, 18; Wilton, 15; Brookfield, 9; Newington, 8; Valley Regional/Old Lyme, 7; Holy Cross, 7.