By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The Bristol Central football program put together an impressive 42-effort point against Fairfield Warde last Friday as the squad will be looking to make it two wins in a row.
Today, the Rams take their traveling act to Enfield for a CCC Tier II showdown against the undefeated Raiders.
Enfield will mix in a ton of play action and Central’s secondary needs to be ready for all the balls thrown their way.
Central’s Jack Hartley has shown the ability to lead the team, churning out plenty of yardage at quarterback and is the perfect athlete at that position.
If Central’s defense can put together a third straight excellent week, the crew has a big chance to get to .500 for the first time this season.
Here’s the deal:
Bristol Central (1-2) at Enfield (2-0)
Time: 6:30 p.m. (The turf field from BCHS)
The Series: This is the sixth battle between the programs as the Raiders hold a slim 3-2 advantage in series play.
Last Season: Just about 365 days ago, the Rams fell to the Raiders 49-7 in Bristol. Nik Salinas had 11 carries for 75 yards while connecting on 8-of-19 passes for 133 yards. Tre Blair nabbed four passes for 77 yards.
Last Week: Central easily spun Fairfield Warde 42-13 while Enfield downed Westhill 21-14 in the road.
What to expect: Central truly showed diversity in scoring against Warde as Hartley (two touchdowns), Anthony Paulino (two), Tristian Toussaint (one) and Jayden Glasper (one) all scored for the locals over an offensive explosion…And Central wants to see more of that offensive ability at Enfield…You can see Central’s running game improve by the week as the offense gets more reps and, in turn, added confidence…Hartley, as previous stated, is a bulldog and will take direct snaps to plow right into the defense without a thought. He tallied some really good carries against Warde, including slick 18 and 22-yard rushing bursts that kept the chains moving for the home squad…Paulino nabbed a huge 52 yard rush against Warde, turning it into a TD jaunt, and has shown flashes of becoming a tremendous offensive threat…Defensively, all the stars were out for Central for the second straight week…Jack Jones is a load to get around, capturing a team-high 13 tackles which included a tackle for a loss…Tyler Ryan added nine tackles, Quincy Lawson nabbed nine, Timmy Sample had five and Nate Davis tallied four to lead the charge defensively…Over the last two weeks, opponents have only been able to score a couple of times – going 1-1 against the Rams over that stretch – and allowing Central’s offense a little more time on the field to operate…Enfield is 2-0 to date, fending off East Hartford 47-44 in its 2023 debut and Central should be able to tally a point or two against the squad…Enfield employs two seniors at quarterback, Devon Randolph and Zach Bonini, who have combined for 156 passing yards on 9-of-15 tosses to date…Bonini has thrown both TDs to lead the Raiders…Bonini has rushed for 366 yards on just 27 carries – good for five touchdowns. That athlete must be stopped, or at least slowed, in order for the Rams to snare the win away from Enfield…Sophomore Jon Hewitt has impressed as well, making 6 carries for 187 and two touchdowns…This should be a good one if the Rams can stop Enfield’s offensive weapons.
