By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – The Bristol Eastern football team is working on a short week and the program at Rocky Hill will provide the opposition on Thursday evening.

And after last week’s late-game setback against South Windsor, the Lancers are eager to get back to the pay window.

Don’t be tricked by the Terriers’ winless record.

Outside of its 42-0 loss at Joel Barlow, Rocky Hill lost its last two games by a combined 10 points.

However, the Lancers will be primed and ready for this encounter, looking forward to starting a new winning streak as the month of October commences:

Bristol Eastern (3-1) at Rocky Hill (0-3), CCC Tier III showdown

Time: Thursday, 6:30 p.m. (Rocky Hill High School Stadium)

The Series: This is the third all-time battle against Rocky Hill and the squad has yet to defeat the Lancers. 

Series Edge: Eastern is a perfect 2-0 against Rocky Hill. In the last showdown between the schools, back on September 24, 2010, the Lancers zipped up a 42-21 victory from Rocky Hill over a big ground assault. Eastern’s Billy Doyle picked up 123 yards on nine carries – including a huge 75-yard gallop – to lead the Kingstreeters. Taylor Wrice wrapped up 97 yards on three carries while some guy by the name of Tyrell Holmes had two carries for 55 yards and a touchdown.

Last Season: The Terries went 7-3 overall, finishing in ninth place in the Class SS bracket. Rocky Hill was blown out by Waterford, Platt and Cromwell/Portland and finished one game out of playoff contention in 2022.

Last Week: Eastern dropped a tough 21-14 decision to South Windsor while Rocky Hill lost at home to Farmington (21-14) off a very familiar score.

What to expect: The Terriers are due for a win sometime this season but not at the expense of the Lancers…Rocky Hill quarterback, junior Joe Motes, has made some good connections on the season (27-of-45 passes, 255 yards) but only has one TD pass…Opposing secondaries has feasted on the QB, collecting five interceptions…Against Farmington, Motes made 14-of-28 passes for 134 yards but was picked off four times…His favorite targets are Daryl Asante (four receptions, 51 yards), Oleg Korotkyy (4-29) and Jaden Veal (3-43)…The Terriers rushing game was completely neutralized by Farmington even though Motes rushed in a touchdown…Rocky Hill ball carriers made 21 rushes for a grand total of 25 yards. That’s it and you know the Eastern defense has been ultra successful in stopping the run this season…Eastern had its moments against South Windsor but the weather (and sheets of rain over second half play) caused for slippery ball conditions late…The Lancers averaged 5.9 yards-per-carry against the Bobcats with Jaiden Fore cashing in on 141 yards via 26 carries, good for two touchdowns…Kamden Laprise made 3-of-4 passes for 31 yards and Zion Otero had two catches for 32 yards…The problem was possession as both teams had control of the ball six times but the Bobcats made 55 plays, converting on a combination of 9-of-14 third and fourth downs. On the flip side, Eastern controlled the ball just 32 times. That’s a huge difference…South Windsor just had the ball under 30 minutes and possession is king in football…Eastern will make sure that doesn’t happen for a second straight week…Defensively, the Lancers made big stops against South Windsor as Adam Zavecz made a career-high 13 tackles while Chase Dauphinee nabbed 8.5…Hunter Wells made two tackles for losses while Ryan Zavecz added five big stops…It’s a new month and a winnable challenge for the Kingstreeters…Once again, it’s time to hit the pay window, this time in Rocky Hill.