By Michael Letendre 

It’s nearly time for the annual Bristol Central/Bristol Eastern football clash – our own little Super Bowl that’s all Bristol all the time.

It’s the 63rd annual showdown between the schools with the Rams leading the series 37-23-2.

Central started off the series with three straight victories, setting the tone for things to come.

The Rams’ Jim Nocera scored the first touchdowns of this rivalry, and the rest is history.

From that first game, there’s been several ups and downs and some amazingly close games that have come down to the wire.

Over the next few days, we’ll relook at the games from every Thanksgiving holiday. 

In this edition, we’ll review all the games from 1959-1969:  

Year – Winner, Score 

1959 – Bristol Central, 14-0: Rams’ co-captain Jim Nocera collected both touchdowns to lead Central to the victory. The Lancers had a rough day, posting just two first downs. The game was the first of 17 shutouts by the Rams over the Lancers. Offensively, the squad’s combined for just over 160 total yards. 

1960 – Bristol Central, 20-0: Central out-gained Eastern 182 to 55 on the ground as the Rams shutout the Lancers for the second straight on Thanksgiving. 

1961 – Bristol Central, 20-0: The Rams scooped up 251 rushing yards as Central blanked Eastern for the third consecutive season. By the completion of the 1961 campaign, the Lancers were 0-26-1 and yet to win a game. Just over Thanksgiving, Central had outscored Eastern 54-0.

1962 – Tie, 6-6: The contest was played after Thanksgiving. The Lancers led 6-0 going into the final minute of regulation but Central’s Bill Kelley made a three-yard dash into the end zone to knot it up at 6-6, forcing Thanksgiving’s first ever tie and the Lancers first non-loss of the holiday. Eastern’s Dave Emonds grabbed a 17-yard touchdown pass from Joe Galiette to give the Lancers an early lead. 

1963 – Bristol Eastern, 16-0: At long last, the Lancers finally beat the Rams on Thanksgiving. Eastern’s Gordon Sargent took the opening kickoff for a 79-yard touchdown that put Central in a quick hole. Eastern Co-captain Mike Morin, a future assistant football coach for the Lancers, helped the Kingstreeters take the showdown while Sargent stood out defensively, making three interceptions – the most ever in the BC/BE series. 

1964 – Bristol Eastern, 21-0: Eastern’s Jon Petke, playing in just his third game of the campaign, scored two touchdowns on carries of 75 and 80 yards as the Lancers defeated Central for the second straight year via shutout. It was Eastern’s only win of the year. Lancers’ quarterback Mike Hannon completed 87.5-percent of his passes – still a T-Day record. Jon Petke rushed for over 100 yards for the Lancers. 

1965 – Bristol Eastern, 14-0: The season series between the schools was knotted up at 3-3-1 due to the 14-0 romp by the Lancers. Terry Della Vecchia (10-yard run) and Keith Ronalter (11-yard run) ran in touchdowns for Eastern. It was the Lancers’ first ever winning season (5-4), guided by head Dave Mills. Eastern punter Dave Cichon averaged a Thanksgiving Day best 50 yards on four punt attempts. 

1966 – Bristol Eastern, 20-13: In a rare feat on Thanksgiving Day play, Eastern took the series lead away from Central – winning the showdown by seven. Mark Dunn (three touchdowns on rushes of 76, 7 and 11 yards) did in Central as the Lancers won by a touchdown. 

1967 – Bristol Central, 8-0: The Rams defeated the Lancers behind Walt Kozikowski’s six-yard pass to Hal Herold with 59 seconds remaining in the contest. It was Central’s first victory over Eastern since 1961. Speaking of wins, the Rams wouldn’t go that long between victories again until the mid-2000s as Central slowly took over the series lead during the decades of the 1970s. 

1968 – Bristol Eastern, 20-13: Eastern won the first of three consecutive Thanksgiving Day contests, this one by seven points. Kevin Byrnes notched the go-ahead score on a 19-yard touchdown run to lead the Kingstreeters to the win. 

1969 – Bristol Eastern, 27-6: The Lancers totaled 350 yards of offense, 227 of it from the air, as Eastern quarterback Dennis Schermerhorn threw a Thanksgiving Day record three touchdowns over the 21-point win. Al Johnston made TD receptions of 16 and five yards for the Lancers. 

---

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.