By Michael Letendre
Week 2 in Connecticut high school football sees Bristol Eastern travel to RHAM while Bristol Central tangles with South Windsor in the Rams home opener.
Both contests are Central Connecticut Conference, Tier 3 challenges.
The Lancers, a 29-point victor over Edwin O. Smith in Week 1, steps up a bit in competition as RHAM will prove to be a more athletic foe than the Panthers were.
If Eastern’s defense is up to the task, a win could be in the cards for the locals once again.
In terms of Central, holding Bloomfield to single digits in scoring was impressive and the Bobcats – while a tough draw for the Rams – certainly provide a winnable contest for a hungry offense, headlined by Mr. Everything Victor Rosa.
Eastern is looking for its second victory, Central has a big chance to crack the win column for the first time and that all equals a big Friday afternoon/night of high school football action.
Here’s the deal about Friday as Week 2 is upon us:
South Windsor (0-1) at Bristol Central (0-1)
Location: The turf field at BCHS
Day and Time: Friday, 6:00 p.m.
All-Time Series: It’s the 14th meeting between the squads. The Rams hold an 8-5 edge over the Bobcats.
Last Week…Central dropped a tough 7-6 decision on the road to Bloomfield in a top-25 showdown. On the flip side, South Windsor fell at home to surging Plainville, 27-25.
Casual facts…Even with two running backs from Bloomfield tallying 100-plus yards on the ground, the Warhawks came away with just seven total points and that’s a credit to Central’s outstanding defense — turning away several probable scoring drives…On the flip side, Rosa zipped up half his running totals on just his 53 yard touchdown in the first period…Overall, Rosa collected 150-plus yards in total offense and against an elite defense like Bloomfield, that’s one heck of an outing…Rosa has an arm, making four connections with Tre Blair, Damion Glasper, and Ashton Zabka. That kind of play action will continue to keep opponents on its toes when battling Central this season…South Windsor had its chances to beat Plainville last week but missed opportunities derailed by turnovers and miscues…Plainville’s Mike Bakaysa (two touchdowns) helped pick apart South Windsor’s secondary and it’s a tactic Rosa could be called upon to use, chucking the ball a time or two against the Bobcats…South Windsor QB Ethan LaGuardia is as talented as they come – chucking three balls for TD’s – while rushing one into the goal all by himself against the Blue Devils. If Central is looking for its first win this year, that’s the guy that the Rams must stop or, at least, limit…If Central’s defense is up to the same kind of effort for the second consecutive week, the Rams are headed for victory number one.
Bristol Eastern (1-0) at RHAM (1-0)
Location: RHAM high school varsity field, Hebron
Day and Time: Friday, 4:00 p.m. according to the CIAC website
All-Time Series: This is the third meeting between the programs. The series is tied 1-1 and this contest is the rubber match.
Last Eastern win over the Sachems: It’s been a while but back on September 15, 2012, Eastern defeated RHAM by a 31-13 final. That showdown was the opening night contest for both programs in 2012.
Last Week…The Lancers had its way with Edwin O. Smith, wrangling up a 35-6 win from Alumni Field in Bristol while RHAM had an easy time at Farmington, winning 42-21.
Casual facts…Eastern had a tremendous outing against Edwin O. Smith on both sides of the ball but the Sachems will present a different kind of challenge…RHAM’s excellent defense was extremely busy against Farmington just in the first period via a 44-yard fumble return by Vander Knutsen while tallying a safety about 45 seconds later…QB Jace Kobyluck can chuck the football around the field, making scoring connections with Clint Grano (25 yard touchdown) and Dylan Keefe (38 yard TD) against Farmington…RHAM has athletic weapons but Eastern’s defense, collecting eight tackles for losses and a couple sacks against E.O. Smith, has the ability to make stops all over the field…Sacks were compiled by Eastern’s Austin Shorette and Joshua Aubin while Conor McCormick, Brady Brown, Jeremy Kolloverja, Connor Gimpl, Shorette, and Alex Marshall all tallied tackles for losses…Offensively, it was complete domination by the Lancers, racking up 338 yards overall — averaging 7.4 yards-per-play…And the quarterback duo of Kamden Laprise and Brown went a perfect 4-for-4 tossing the ball…And what about the amazing effort by running back Alex Marshall, snaring a career-high 243 rushing yards on 30 bone-crunching carries? With four touchdowns that night, he was certainly the man on the field against Smith…If Eastern’s defense is once again up to the task, along with a little offensive punch from all the usual suspects, the Lancers have another solid chance to get to the pay window…In a strange occurrence, this will be RHAM’s only Friday home game this season.
