By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – The Bristol Eastern football team was on the verge of a huge comeback against Capital Prep/Achievement First on Friday night, trailing by six late and ended up on the Trailblazers 6 yard-line with a fresh set of downs but with little time remaining.

The locals never got any further and on fourth down, a late inception by Capital foiled Eastern in the red zone.

However, the Lancers got the ball back, ended up stuck on the Trailblazers 26 when time ran out – propelling the visitors to a 21-15 win from Alumni Field in Bristol.

The Lancers (2-3) were stopped in the red zone twice and when the Eastern defense made huge stops late in the game, that one elusive touchdown drive remained elusive until the end.

“Unfortunately, [turnovers have] been an Achilles heel for us in our three-game skid here,” said Eastern coach Anthony Julius. “We’ve turned the ball over at crucial times but, you know, our kids have done what they’ve done every game. They fight, they continue to play hard, [and] they gave themselves an opportunity to win the football game at the end.

“Unfortunately, we came up short for the second week in a row.”

Capital scored twice in first period, going outside to gobble up several yards of rushing offense as the Trailblazers, led by QB Hashim Jones (11 rushes, 111 yards), helped orchestrate 15 first period points.

“We knew they were capable of big plays,” said Julius of Capital. “They’re a very athletic, explosive team. It showed on film. It showed tonight. They had one play that they cut back really hard on us and that kid just outran the angle [for Prep’s second touchdown]. Their quarterback is a heck of an athlete. He made a couple of really nice plays to keep their drive alive, too.”

But those big plays dried up over the final thirty-two minutes of the showdown as Eastern’s defense was sharp, allowing just six points the rest of the way.

With injuries to key personnel, the Lancers had huge defensive efforts from Malik Sherrill, Adam Zavecz, and Cooper Harris who all stopped the Trailblazers advancing the ball into the end zone for a fourth TD.

“We had some guys banged up,” said Julius. “Our regulars were injured and that’s football. It’s next man up. Adam Zavecz and Malik Sherrill did a great job for us off the edge in a crucial situation when we didn’t have enough guys. I’m incredibly proud of their effort and they gave us everything we could ask for and more.”

Alex Marshall was once again specular in defeat, scooping up a career-high 248 yards on 39 carries for two touchdowns.

Brady Brown (7-of-11, 78) continues to impress at QB while Nate Shorette (four catches, 56 yards) has put together a solid back-to-back performance.

Eastern went three and out to start the game and from there, Capital went eight plays for 87 yards – ending with a seven yard TD plunge by Orleans Odour – and when Jones ran the ball in for two, it was an 8-0 game halfway through the first quarter.

The Lancers eventually matched that score, going 65 yards over 11 plays on the ensuing drive, and when Marshall went a yard up the middle for a touchdown plunge, Eastern had an 8-8 tie in hand when PAT holder Chase Dauphinee ran a bad snap in for two with 1:01 remaining in the first frame.

But one play off the Eastern kickoff, Devaun Reid (10 carries, 101 yards) sprinted to the outside, making a mad 72 yard dash for a score and on the PAT, the Trailblazers led 15-8.

But Eastern’s defense was crisp, allowing just six points the rest of the way.

“You have to give Capital a little bit of credit,” said Julius. “They’re tight end did a nice job of blocking our guy [but] we made some adjustments. And our kids really responded to the challenge of really setting the edge. As you saw in the second half, [Prep] really didn’t get to the perimeter at all.”

Neither squad scored to open the second period as both teams turned the ball over before the Lancers got all the way to Prep’s 9 yard-line.

A fumble by Marshall gave the ball back to the Trailblazers with 1:02 before the half but no harm was done.

Eastern’s defense held, forcing a punt, and a late pass to Shorette saw the Lancers end the half on Capital’s three yard line as the halftime horn sounded with the visitors still leading by seven, 15-8.

And to open the third tilt, Prep went 14 plays to score one more time as the outfit got to Eastern’s one and when Reid slipped in for another rushing TD, Capital was ahead by a 21-8 push with 4:25 remaining in the quarter.

“Unfortunately, they had on long drive to open the half,” said Julius of Capital. “Other than that, we played really good defense for the most part as we’ve done all year.”

But on the flip side, Eastern needed just six plays – with Marshall and Brown doing the legwork on the ground – and when Marshall powered his way into the goal via a 11 yard scamper, a PAT from Gavin Damboise chopped the deficit to 21-15 left with 41 seconds to play in the third.

Harris and Zavecz made tackles for losses to stop the Trailblazers on the ensuing drive and with 10:24 left, Eastern had the ball and was charging up field for the go-ahead score.

Marshall made seven straight bone-crushing rushes, Brown ran in a couple as well, as Eastern was surging.

A 13 yard run by Marshall had the Kingstreeters on Prep’s six as injuries and a tired Trailblazers’ squad was reeling.

Stuck on fourth-and-goal and 1:39 showing on the clock, Brady flipped the ball to Marshall as Eastern went for a halfback option play.

But Prep’s Elijah Smiley made an interception of Marshall’s pass as the visitors took the ball with 1:31 left.

Between Eastern timeouts and tackles from Zavecz and Cameron Goodman, Prep was forced to punt as the squad could not capture a game-ending first down.

The ball was booted to just Capital’s 47 yard line on the punt as Eastern set up its final plays.

A late flag on Capital saw Eastern get to the 26 with four seconds remaining but one final incomplete pass ended the contest as the Trailblazers hung on to win it, 21-15.

“[I’m] incredibly proud of the effort,” said Julius. “Unfortunately, we didn’t coach well enough or execute well enough down the stretch to win the game.”

Bristol Eastern Football

CAPITAL PREP/ACHIEVEMENT FIRST 21, BRISTOL EASTERN 15

from Alumni Field on the campus of Bristol Eastern

Capital Prep/A.F. 15 0 6 0 – 21

Bristol Eastern (2-3) 8 0 7 0 – 15

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

CP – Orleans Odour 7 run (Hashim Jones run), 6:08

BE – Alex Marshall 1 run (Chase Dauphinee run), 1:01

CP – Devaun Reid 72 run (good kick), 0:41

Second Quarter

No Scoring

Third Quarter

CP – Reid 1 run (failed run), 4:25

BE – Alex Marshall 11 run (Gavin Damboise), 1:37

Fourth Quarter

No Scoring

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing – Capital/Achievement: Hashim Jones 2-for-7, 14 yards.

Bristol Eastern: Brady Brown 7-for-11, 78 yards, Alex Marshall 0-for-1, 0 yards.

Rushing – Capital/Achievement: Isaiah Fontan 11-61, Orleans Oduro 1-7, Devaun Reid 10-101, Hashim Jones 11-111, Nehemiah Johnson 1-18; Bristol Eastern: Marshall 39-248, Brady Brown 6-24, Rayshon Andrews 1-(minus 6).

Receiving – Capital/Achievement: Albert Edole 1-6, Mehki Tyson-Slaughter 1-8; Bristol Eastern: Nate Shorette 4-56, Rayshon Andrews 2-15, Marshall 1-7.