By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – The football program over at Bristol Central is in the midst of a tough slate of CCC Tier II games and it won’t get any easier on Thursday night.

Berlin comes to town for a game at BCHS and the program is enjoying a three-game winning streak.

The Redcoats have some speed and ability but so do the Rams and their jack-of-all-trades athlete Jack Hartley.

A little home cooking might be just what Central needs and a victory over Berlin would be a signature win for the program.

Let’s dive into Week 4:

Berlin (3-1) at Bristol Central (1-3), Tier II Showdown

Time: 6:30 p.m. (The turf field from BCHS)

The Series: Surprisingly, this is only the fifth showdown between the programs and the series is all even at 2-2. The Redcoats used to reside in the Northwest Conference and battles before the program joined the CCC were scarce.

Last Week: Central fell at Enfield 28-14 while Berlin blasted Wethersfield by a 43-14 final.

What to expect: Central is ready for an upset but that’s going to be a tall order…In a previous story in TBE, the Redcoats’ offense was discussed, and the squad has come a long way since dropping a Week 1 decision to Wilton (34-0). Since that setback, Berlin’s 3-0 and averaging 38.0 points-per-game…Quarterback Christian Riccitelli can toss the ball all over the field, making 34-of-57 passes for over 500 yards to date. He’s thrown for four touchdowns but also chucked four interceptions…The squad has wrangled up 700 yards on the ground as senior Toby Lavender leads the program in carries (48) and yards (277), good for an average of 5.8 per-game and three touchdowns…Backs Elijah Santos (24 yards, 155 yards) and Kyle Melville (12-129) will also provide an offensive spark…Hartley battled against Enfield, making 24 rushes for 59 yards and a touchdown while connecting on three passes for 26 yards and a TD…This season, Hartley has 96 carries for 344 yards and three touchdowns. He truly does a little of everything for the Central program…Anthony Paulino, Tristian Toussaint and Jayden Glasper have all rushed for 100 yards or more and will help move the chains against the Redcoats…The offense can get a jump on opposing defenses but Berlin is a tough match-up…Defensively, Central’s Jack Jones tackles everything in sight and so does Tyler Ryan. The duo needs to make that first tackle count…Aiden Lamarre has made several stops this season while the team has three interceptions …The defense hasn’t played badly this year and if the offense can get into sync, anything is possible against Berlin on Thursday…After this showdown, the Rams enjoy the bye week but there’s still plenty of football to be played with a loaded slate of games to follow.