By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – If you didn’t take your heart medication before attending the Bristol Central/Tolland football showdown last Friday night, you might not have survived the game.
And in the first ever match-up between the two programs, the squads turned the battle into a historical outing for the locals.
Holding off the pesky Eagles until the end, Central’s Victor Rosa rushed for an incredible 406 yards on the ground while churning out eight rushing touchdowns as the Rams posted a 68-50 victory over the Eagles from the turf field at BCHS.
The victory led Central to its fifth straight victory and at 5-1 overall, the Rams are in fifth place in the Class L standings for a state tournament berth.
The 118 combined points between the Rams and Eagles were the most scored ever in a Bristol Central game while Rosa’s unworldly rushing total put the senior into the record books once again.
It took Central just three rushing plays and 3:32 minutes to make it a 16-0 contest and while things evened out after that, Tolland never made it less than a 10-point game the rest of the way.
But it all wasn’t just Rosa as Tre Blair chipped in 108 yards on nine carries while Damion Glasper and Justin Despins also made gains on the ground.
Along with those 406 yards, Rosa also connected on two passes to the sure-handed Glasper for 23 yards.
“We had a plan [and] we came out and executed our plan offensively,” said Central coach Jeff Papazian. “When we do that with our size up front and skill in the backfield, we’re pretty tough to stop.”
Tolland’s Nathan Bowes proved to be another elite QB for the Central defense to contain, making 17 connections for 210 yards while passing for three TDs. He rushed for three touchdowns off jaunts of 1, 5, and 12 yards.
But Central’s defense did just enough to frustrate Bowes, helping him to misfire on 20 passes while Blair made a slick pickoff of one of his passes for a critical late-game interception.
“It was a great play by [Blair],” said Papazian of the interception. “We really felt coming out of halftime that if we could go up three scores, we’d get ourselves a little bit of breathing room. Even though we got up, it never really happened for us. Kick returns were a problem. There’s some work to do.”
After a three and out by Tolland to start the contest, Blair made a 46-yard dash to start the Rams’ offensive onslaught and from there, Rosa sprinted in from 30 yards out for a TD as Central led 8-0.
The Eagles offense had no better luck the next time around but a slick punt put Central on its own five-yard line and the home squad had to nearly travel the length of the field.
What did Rosa do on the first play? He galloped 95 yards to the end zone – sprint out and to the left, leaving three tacklers in his wake, and off a Glasper conversion dash, Central’s edge grew to 16-0 with 8:28 left in the first period.
But Tolland gambled and won on the ensuing drive, turning a 4-and-11 situation into a touchdown reception as Bowes found Evan Albert for a 40-yard connection and with 4:08 left in the first, the Eagles chopped the deficit to 16-7.
In the second period, Rosa (18-yard touchdown) and Bowes (one-yard TD) exchanged rushing scores but the next time around, Blair found pay dirt via a five-yard scamper for six points and when Justin Despins ran the ball in for two, Central’s edge grew to 32-14 with 6:06 remaining in the stanza.
Bowes responded with a five-yard scramble into the goal but with 13 seconds left before the halftime break, Rosa slipped in for another touchdown – this time on a two-yard rush – as the home squad nabbed a 38-22 lead going into intermission.
“He makes you look good calling plays,” said Papazian of Rosa.
Tolland outscored Central 22-16 in the third tilt but Rosa started off the frame with zest, taking the first snap of the quarter 64 blazing yards, changing directions a couple times along the way, as Central notched a 46-22 lead 13 seconds into things.
Tolland scored again when Bowes made a quick 19-yard pass to Malik Diaby, chopping the deficit to 16 but Central did not answer as the visiting aggression forced the Rams to punt for the first time.
On the next drive, Bowes made a long pass to Diaby who dove on the ground, couldn’t grasp the ball in but somehow flipped it up in the air.
Blair, in the right place at the right time, snatched the ball up at the Central 36, scampered all the way down to Tolland’s 21 – setting up Rosa with another short field.
From there, Rosa dashed into the end zone via a 21-yard carry and off a two-point run by Despins, Central’s cushion was 54-30 with 6:15 to go in the third period.
Tolland’s Blake Alexander followed up with a 22-yard TD run and when the Eagles recovered the ensuing onside kick, Bowes needed just two plays to find Matt Tybor for a 50-yard touchdown reception and with 3:30 left, the visitors were hanging around, trailing 54-44.
“Clearly, we still have a lot of work to do defensively,” said Papazian. “[Tolland’s] quarterback was a good athlete. We’re just missing some fundamentals. Tackles are a big problem for us right now.”
But Rosa and the Central offense was moving the ball nicely and to open the fourth and final period, Rosa went eight yards in to score his seventh touchdown as the home team was in charge, 60-44, with 11:56 remaining in the whirlwind game.
Bowes flashed into the end zone for a 12-yard score – trimming the deficit to 10 one more time (60-50) – and then Tolland recovered another onside kick with 7:45 remaining.
This time around, the Central defense held as Tolland went four-and-out, and six plays later, Rosa nabbed his eighth rushing touchdown of the night over an eight-yard sprint and the home team led 68-50 with 2:12 left.
From there, Tolland ran out of downs on the ensuing drive with less than a minute to go.
Central then took one final knee as the Rams survived a wild 68-50 decision for victory number five.
“I told the kids never apologize for winning,” said Papazian. “We won the game. It’s hard to win football games but understand that come Monday, we’ve got a lot of work still left to do.”
NOTES…The 68 points scored by Central is a public school record in the city between the Central and Eastern programs in terms of points scored in a game. The Lancers defeated Wethersfield by a 61-14 final back on September 28, 2007 for Eastern’s highest scoring game in program history…Rosa’s 406 yards were the third most ever in a game for the Rams while his season total of 1,562 yards ranks him eighth in team history…Only Timmy Washington churned out more yards in a game for Central. He smoked Southington for 424 yards in 2001 while the season before, the talented rusher amassed 449 yards against Platt – still the school record 21 years later.
Bristol Central Football
Central Connecticut Conference Tier 3/Tier 4 Football Challenge
BRISTOL CENTRAL 68, TOLLAND 50
from the turf field at Bristol Central
Tolland (3-3) 7 15 22 6 – 50
Bristol Central (5-1) 16 22 16 14 – 68
SCORING SUMMARY
First Period
BC –Victor Rosa, 30 run (Damion Glasper pass from Rosa), 9:47
BC – Rosa, 95 run (Glasper run), 8:28
T – Evan Albert, 40 pass from Nathan Bowes (Mitchell Enmann kick), 4:08
Second Period
BC – Rosa, 18 run (Rosa run), 11:52
T – Bowes, 1 run (Enmann kick)
BC – Tre Blair, 5 run (Justin Despins run), 6:06
T – Bowes, 5 run (Blake Alexander run), 2:24
BC – Rosa, 2 run (pass failed) 0:13
Third Period
BC – Rosa, 64 run (Glasper run), 11:47
T – Malik Diaby, 19 pass from Bowes (Matthew Tybor pass from Bowes), 10:22
BC – Rosa, 21 run (Despins run), 6:15
T – Alexander, 22 run (pass failed), 4:20
T – Tybor, 50 pass from Bowes (Evan Wilson pass from Bowes), 3:30
Fourth Period
BC – Rosa, 8 run (run failed), 11:56
T – Bowes, 12 run (run failed), 7:45
BC – Rosa, 8 run (Despins run) 2:12
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Passing: Tolland – Nathan Bowes 17-for-37, 210 yards; Bristol Central – Victor Rosa 2-for-6, 23 yards.
Rushing: Tolland – Nathan Bowes 12-59, Blake Alexander 6-38, Evan Wilson 6-44, Malik Diaby 1-8, Logan Kerecz 1-0, Ty Foster 2-1; Bristol Central – Victor Rosa 25-406, Tre Blair 9-108, Damion Glasper 3-20, Justin Despins 3-10.
Receiving: Tolland – Evan Albert 2-62, Thomas Sheenan 2-13, Malik Diaby 2-31, Evan Wilson 2-25, Blake Alexander 3-22, Matthew Tybor 3-56, Richard Redler 1-(minus-16); Bristol Central – Glasper 2-23.
