By Michael Letendre 

BRISTOL – It’s Week 10 of the Connecticut scholastic football slate and Bristol Central is looking to knock its opponent out of the postseason picture on Friday.

The Rams are taking a trip to Plainville in a huge CCC Tier 3 confrontation.

And then on the flip side, Bristol Eastern is looking for a little revenge against winless Farmington.

The River Hawks have gotten the best of the Lancers over recent years but that all could change from Alumni Field – also on Friday.

It’s another big week and let’s take a look at all the upcoming action :

Bristol Central (7-1) at Plainville (6-2)

Location: Tinty Field at Plainville high school
Day and Time: Friday, 6:30 p.m.
All-Time Series: These old Colonial Conference rivals will go into battle for the 17th time. Central holds a 10-5-1 edge in series play.

Last Week…Central continued its winning ways last Friday, downing RHAM 34-20 as the Rams have won seven straight games. Plainville spun E.O. Smith by a 34-0 push in Storrs.
Casual facts…Victor Rosa has continued to tear it up on the field and Central’s defense has been improving by the game. Time to put both those elements to the test against a very good Plainville squad with postseason aspirations…Currently, the Blue Devils are in the top-eight of the Class M standings while the Rams are part of the Class L top grouping…One of these squads won’t be in such great shape after the Friday night showdown…Against Edwin O. Smith last week, Blue Devils’ QB Michael Bakaysa put up another air show as the talented signal caller made big connections with Justin Emory to put points on the board against the overmatched Panthers…Along with Emory, Cameron Lamothe is also a big target at 6-foot-4 to throw at as well…Central’s secondary could be busy in Plainville…Bakaysa won’t scramble like the QB’s from Hartford Public or Tolland but if he’s allowed to pick his spots and hang in the pocket, he’s going to find his receivers for some big connections…Central must limit Bakaysa early and often because he’s capable of a 200-plus throwing game…Since giving up twenty points to Bristol Eastern in week three, the Blue Devils have allowed just 47 over the last four weeks combined (11.8 points-per-game)…And Plainville’s defense severely limited Smith last week, keeping Smith to under 100 yards on the ground while containing seven passes for just seven total yards. That’s a winning formula…But E.O. doesn’t have Rosa and the senior is going to run all over the Blue Devils at Tinty Field…Rosa smacked RHAM for 300-plus yards and also threw for a TD last week…The incredible back/athlete/safety/pick-a-position has rushed for 2,071 yards to date and needs eighty-two for third place on Central’s all-time single season rushing list…But this isn’t going to be just a Rosa show. Remember, Tre Blair, Damion Glasper, and Justin Despins will be called upon offensively, meaning the Blue Devils’ defense is going to face problems all over the gridiron…And it won’t be easy to stop the Rams’ running attack no matter who has the ball…Central has allowed only 28 points over the last two weeks and if Plainville is limited to around 14 points – thanks in part to the defensive core led by Dan Lauretti and Malachi Jones – it’s going to be a long night for the home team…This is a HUGE game and worth a trip down the street to Plainville to see in person.

Bristol Eastern (3-5) vs. Farmington (0-8) 

Location: Alumni Field from the campus of Bristol Eastern
Day and Time: Friday, 6:30 p.m.
All-Time Series: Eastern’s luck against the River Hawks hasn’t been that good as of late. Overall, Farmington holds the series edge at 7-2.

Last BE win against Farmington: Back on October 6, 2017, the Lancers defeated Farmington by a 19-12 push from Alumni Field. In that contest, the grouping of Steven Hopkins, Ariza Kolloverja, Justin Marshall, Matt D’Amato and the crafty Tyler Mason rushed forty times for 207 combined yards. D’Amato and Mason ran the ball in for touchdown scores that evening. Also, Jaden Laprise, Kolloverja, and Marshall made interceptions to help seal the win.

Last Week…Eastern fell at Bloomfield by a 40-3 final while Farmington lost at South Windsor, 35-7. 

Casual facts…Eastern might have dropped a 37-point decision at Bloomfield but seven other good squads have done the same against the Warhawks except for Central…So, Eastern moved on to a brand new challenge this week in the form of the River Hawks…The Lancers have some injury woes meaning Eastern will go into the Farmington tilt with as many healthy bodies as possible (those injuries won’t be discussed here)…At least the known elements, from the Farmington front, is the squad’s lack of defense – giving up over 300 points on the year and allowing over 39 points to opponents a game…Farmington nets just 13 points-per-game and the offensive and defensive numbers don’t add up through simple addition and subtraction…The Farmington squad has turned to Kevin Ives at QB and the chucker throws about as many interceptions as he does touchdowns…Ives took throws, and lumps, two weeks ago in Farmington’s 48-7 loss to Bloomfield, finding Ryan Parker late in the fray for a 14-yard TD strike…Ives could attempt 30 passes in the game against Eastern and will look to options like Thomas Keough and Jahkai Veal downfield…Luke Watson was doing a bulk of the team’s rushing early in the season but Ives will run for a play or two…The River Hawks are looking to avoid its worst season since 1991 which was also an 0-9 start…If healthy, Eastern could easily run up the score in this game – starting with back Alex Marshall who enters the weekend with 1,378 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns. What could Farmington do to contain that kind of weapon?…Brady Brown, Rayshon Andrews and Josh Aubin could see touches that night in Eastern’s rushing schemes…Defensively against Bloomfield, Marshall and Austin Shorette tallied tackles for losses while Marshall is easily the team leader in tackles in 2021…Nate Shorette averages over 20 yards-per-kickoff return while Andrews hovers around that same yardage this year…Kicker Gavin Damboise is going to do something special to end the season and keep giving credit to the offensive line for all the hard work that’s paid off with three wins and just as many near misses…It’s one last game under the lights for the Eastern seniors and a big showdown against Farmington as the locals look to possibly finish the year at .500 in 2021.