By Michael Letendre
This Bristol Eastern football program has been knocking on the door of a .500 season – a position that has eluded the Lancers since the 2014 campaign – for a while now.
And the Kingstreeters weren’t far off the mark last season (4-6), dropping three games by eight total points.
Will this be the year that Eastern wins five, or more, games?
It’s one game at a time for the Lancers and here is a look at their upcoming season:
Bristol Eastern Football – 2022
Head Coach: Anthony Julius
Career Record: In his sixth season as coach, Julius is 8-42 overall.
2021 Ledger: The Lancers were 4-6 (3-4 in CCC Tier III play). Eastern lost three of its six games by just one possession.
Strength: Eastern returns several experienced players to the field.
Weakness: The programs struggles in continuing to develop depth.
Vital stat: Bristol Eastern’s last winning season came back in 2014 when the Kingstreeters went 7-4 overall.
The question: Will Eastern continue its pace on the ground or will the program mix it up a bit more in 2022?
Key Losses: Alex Marshall (TB/LB); Luke Dauphinee (G/NG); Nate Shorette (WR/S); Conor McCormick (TE/DE); Alex Vita (T/T).
The Line-up: Austin Shorette (sr. TE/DE, Captain); Wyatt Scarritt (jr. T/DL); Cooper Harris (sr. OL/DL); Isaiah Monroe-Shaw (jr, OL/DL); Ryan Conklin (so, OL/DL), Hunter Wells (Jr, OL/DB); Joseph Arborio (sr., OL/DL, Captain); Kamden Laprise (so. QB/DB); Josh Aubin (sr., RB/LB); Jaiden Fore (jr., RB/LB); Jeremy Kolloverja (sr. WR/DB, Captain); Connor Gimpl (sr. TE/DL); Rayshon Andrews (jr. WR/DB); Kyle Babin (sr. WR/DB); Brady Brown (sr., WR/OLB); Mikey Sherrill (jr., DE/LB); Brando Camacho (sr., WR/DB), Jack Hartley (so, WR/DB).
What to Expect from Bristol Eastern in 2022: The program has grown to 80 kids while about a fourth of that total forms a strong senior core and it’s that experienced crew Julius and his staff will rely upon this year.
“We return some kids with some experience so for us, it’s continuing to take a forward step as a program,” said Julius. “Last year, we finished 4-6 but there were three games we lost by eight total points. We were a couple plays away from being an above .500 football team. And the kids that are returning got some really good experience in that season.”
“We’re really hoping to continue the work that we put in last year. We hope that’s a solid foundation for us to take steps forward as a program.”
And that includes sophomore quarterback Kamden Laprise.
If he can remain healthy, Laprise is going to be a prime-time contributor for the Lancers.
“Obviously, it [shows] stability when you can have the same guy under center the whole time,” said Julius of Laprise. “Kam has done a very nice job in the offseason. He’s worked really hard. He’s gotten stronger, he’s faster and he’s put in a lot of work outside of here which has been noticeable in preseason. We have to, sometimes, remind ourselves that he’s only a sophomore because he carries himself with a lot of poise and maturity.”
In a good sample space, Laprise went 18-of-36 for 223 yards and three touchdowns.
He was only sacked three times and Julius expects him to be just as elusive this year.
“We’re expecting him to kind of manage the offense and make big plays for us,” said Julius of his QB. “We’re hoping he’s going to be a big part of our offense.”
Several components from both lines return as well which will help a couple backs that have replaced the graduated Alex Marshall (302 carries, single-season school record 1,728 yards, 21 touchdowns).
Senior Josh Aubin and junior Jaiden Fore will perform some of those groundwork duties for the Lancers.
Aubin averaged 8.6 yards-per-carry in limited action last season offensively and Fore is a tough customer as well who isn’t afraid to get a little dirty.
“We like a lot of the pieces we have on offense,” said Julius. “Obviously, replacing Alex Marshall is not going to be easy. Anytime you take a kid who ran for 2,000 yards out of your offense, it’s definitely going to be some big shoes to fill. But we’ve had some kids really step up.”
“They’ve [Aubin and Fore] done a very nice job in camp, and we think they’re going to run the ball very effectively for us.”
Laprise will be passing the ball to the likes of junior Rayshon Andrews – a talented athlete, displaying his overall game last season on several fronts.
Andrews led the Lancers in receptions (13) and touchdowns (two) while scooping up 108 yards.
He also ran the ball for 322 yards (second on the team) for four TDs and scooped up an average of 18.9 yards-per-carry.
The same goes for seniors Jeremy Kolloverja, who’s also a team captain this year, along with Brady Brown and Kyle Babin.
“We have speed on the outside [as] we bring back kids like Jeremy Kolloverja,” said Julius. “Rayshon Andrews, obviously, when you talk about speed, that’s where it kind of starts. We have the ability to be electric on the outside and that’s where we hope to be.”
Those receivers can run the ball a bit as Brown made 46 rushes for 190 yards last season and is a great all-around athlete.
Senior captains Austin Shorette and Joseph Arborio, senior Cooper Harris, juniors Wyatt Scarritt, Isaiah Monroe-Shaw, and Hunter Wells, along with sophomore Ryan Conklin will be tough on that offensive line while most of those athletes are two-way players for the team.
“We’re bringing some pieces back on the offensive line,” said Julius. “We’re excited about that. We’re also excited about some of the younger guys that have stepped up into these roles and while they’re still a unit who is learning to work together, we think they can be very solid for us.”
Defensively, senior Connor Gimpl and junior Mikey Sherrill join a slick defensive line that also includes Shorette, Scarritt, Harris, Wells, along with Aubin, Fore, and Brown at linebacker.
Senior Brandon Camacho is at one corner while Andrews mans the other.
Sophomore Jack Hartley, Kolloverja, and Babin will help chase down opponent’s quickest rushers and receivers as well.
There’s talent and ability at several critical positions and if the defense can match the offense’s advances and doesn’t have to dig too deeply into its bench depth, the Lancers are poised to have a quality campaign.
The Schedule
The schedule for the Class MM program is a good one because of the fact that it’s extremely local.
But not matter who the opponent was last year, Eastern was rarely blown out and hopes for the same this time around.
“A lot of our games were very close and very competitive last year,” said Julius. “We were able to pull out some games and others, we weren’t. Obviously, from the standpoint of looking at the overall schedule, every single week, we just look to be competitive as that’s what you hope to be every single day.”
The Lancers should be playing the likes of Plainville (October 28) and Lewis Mills (October 20) and that’s one of the elements that the CCC Tier system doesn’t always provide.
Rivalries are huge in scholastic sports so the Lancers battling the Blue Devils and Spartans over in Burlington are an extremely good fit.
“Obviously, we want to be competitive week in and week out,” said Julius. “The way that they’re doing the scheduling now, it’s a nice mix and a good balance of what they’re doing between school size, success and roster size.”
“You don’t have familiar opponents every single year, but you do get some very like teams.”
Eastern, after taking on RHAM during opening week, takes to the road for four straight games.
Platt (September 16), Fairfield Warde (September 23), Avon (September 30), and Berlin (October 7) have the Lancers away from home until the Lewis Mills challenge.
November sees Eastern battle Bloomfield (November 4), Farmington (November 12), and rival Bristol Central on Thanksgiving.
But this slate is a local one and Eastern will link up well against most of those squads.
Like last season, is a .500 finish out of the question?
For the first time since 2014 when the Lancers zipped up a 7-4 ledger, the hope of getting to, or above, .500 is in the cards.
There’s enough returning talent to win four games as the program did last year, plus maybe a couple more.
“A lot of little things have to fall into place,” said Julius. “We still have to do the little things well. We have to execute at a high level. Hopefully, our playmakers are able to make plays.”
All TBE readers, supporters and donors
The Bristol Edition will be limiting the number of stories non-members and free readers may access each week. This decision is based on our financial projections and, most certainly, to remind people that TBE is serious about providing accurate, timely and thorough reporting for Bristol. To do this we have devised a financial support structure that makes unlimited access extremely affordable, beginning with a $6 monthly donation.
- Non-members will be able to access eight (8) articles per week.
- Free readers and people who have subscribed by email will be able to access eight (8) articles per week.
- Donors and financial supporters will have unlimited access as long as they log in.
Note: Donors may have to contact TBE if they find they are being limited, since we will need to set up a membership account for you. Email editor@bristoledition.org for instructions. Sorry for any inconvenience. People with financial difficulties may write editor@bristoledition.org to be considered for free access.
