By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The Bristol Eastern football team has the ability to win its first football game on Thanksgiving in quite some time on Thursday.
The last time the Lancers had some tasty turkey – and earned a victory on T-Day – came back in 2014.
Bristol Central has won seven straight Thanksgiving Day showdowns and the Kingstreeters feel that they are overdue for a big win.
And the program feels that it’s time for the brass bell to return to the hallways at Bristol Eastern.
There are playoff implications on the line and while a Class MM tournament berth might look a million miles away, you never know.
If Eastern wants to get to the pay window, and keep that postseason flame alive, it will come at the expense of a surging squad from Central.
Here’s the deal as Eastern and Central lock horns for, perhaps, the final time on this special holiday:
Head Coach: Anthony Julius (ready for his first Thanksgiving Day win as head coach of the Eastern football program)
Date and Time of the Clash: The teams lock horns Thanksgiving morning at 10:30 a.m. from Muzzy Field.
Last BC/BE showdown (2022): Central led wire to wire as Eastern fell 13-6. Tre Blair made 35 rushes for 209 yards for the Rams. On the flip side, Eastern’s Jaiden Fore notched 93 yards on 15 rushes.
The Series: Central leads the all-time series 38-23-2. As previously stated, the Rams have won seven consecutive games on Thanksgiving.
Series Fact: Before this current streak, Eastern had beaten Central eight straight times from 2007-14. And in 2006, the last game Aaron Hernandez played for the Rams, the Lancers turned a miserable afternoon (weather-wise) into a huge 14-14 tie – knocking Central out of the state tournament picture.
Players to Watch: Randy DeNoto (jr., TE/E); Isaiah Mnroe-Shaw (sr., L/DL); Adam Zavecz (sr, FB/LB), Hunter Wells (sr, G/T); Kamden Laprise (jr, QB); Jaiden Fore (sr., TB/LB); Ryan Corvo (jr., WR/LB); Mikey Sherrill (sr., WR/E); Chase Dauphinee (jr, WR/S); Zion Otero (sr, WR/CB); Gavin Damboise (jr., WR/K/P/injured); Lincoln Bashaw (so., LB); Alex Corvo (jr., QB); Bryce Bacote (so., CB), Noah Albert (so., WR/DB); Sovannara Nuon (sr., OL/DL); Ryan Zavecz (jr., DL); King Stewart (sr., LB); Aiden Liseo (sr., K); Naseem Walker-Jenkins (jr., DB); .
Eastern Record: 6-3 overall, which is the exact opposite record than the squad had coming into Thanksgiving last season. Over their three losses this season, the Lancers dropped those contests by a total of 18 points. It’s been that close this year.
Why Eastern could win…Eastern has been proficient on both sides of the ball and that kind of versatility has put the squad on the cusp of a state tournament berth.
Offensively, the Lancers have finally gotten a healthy season out of quarterback Kamden Laprise as the junior gets to play in his first ever Thanksgiving Day game.
That’s a big deal.
It’s going to be a special day for the signal caller as he leads the offense into battle – hitting on over 50-percent of his passes (50-for-99, 682 yards, five TDs).
His poise and ability has been critical to the program’s success as Laprise doesn’t throw a ton of inceptions and been sacked just twice this year.
He can get out and run and that’s going to help the junior stay away from the likes of Central’s defensive standout Jack Jones and company.
Laprise is a big part of the offensive pie Eastern will unleash on Central this Thursday.
He’ll connect with several targets including Zion Otero (10 catches, 126 yards, three TDs), Mikey Sherrill (6-129) and Noah Albert (7-79).
Chase Dauphinee (9-149) was an early season favorite until he injured his hand but the junior is a versatile athlete that continues to excel on the defensive end.
And speaking of excelling, if Central lets Eastern senior running back Jaiden Fore run wild on Thanksgiving, it’s going to be a long day for the Rams.
Fore already has 1,000 yards in the bank (228 carries, 1,147 yards, 15 touchdowns) and looks to add to that impressive tally with another monster effort.
He’ll grind out yards from the start and if the athlete gets away from a tackle or two, the chains are going to be moving down field several times at Muzzy Field.
Fore is a bulldog who craves contact and that 5.0 yards-per-carry average is a big deal to the Eastern offense.
Adam Zavecz, when he’s not punishing opponents via tackles and near suplexes, has also shown ability in the running game – averaging just under 10 yards-per-carry when given the ball.
He’ll run you over, turn right around and do it again to make a play.
Defensively, Eastern may not see Central chuck the ball into the air 20 times as the Lancers have made nine pickoffs this season.
Alex Corvo, Bryce Bacote and Zavecz all have multiple interceptions this season for the Lancers .
Bulldog Hunter Wells and big Mikey Sherrill co-lead the program in sacks and the duo have combined to make 15 tackles-for-losses.
Lincoln Bashaw is also a handful as the team allows just nine points-per-game defensively.
Offensively, opponents only convert on third downs 27.4-percent of the time while that number is just 30-percent in fourth down situations.
Add in the fact that the Eastern defense has allowed just six rushing touchdowns all campaign long, that’s just some of the misery opponents have faced this season when battling the Kingstreeters.
Laprise has done a tremendous job punting the ball and special teams must not reproduce that tough night from E.O. Smith if the Lancers want to win this encounter.
Eastern has played very well this season, losing its three games by 18 total points, and Central could be in for a long day if the Kingstreeters are playing its usual brand of ball.
The X-Factor…It’s Ryan Zavecz.
Quietly, Zavecz has become critical in Eastern’s defensive schemes and while all the usual suspects will get their share of the tackles, it will be the quiet work from grinders like Ryan if Eastern wants to win this thing.
Zavecz has recorded a fumble recovery for a touchdown earlier this season and captured over 10 yards in lost yardage via tackles-for-a-loss.
In fact, the combination of Adam and Ryan Zavecz have combined for 13 tackles for losses and the duo always seem to be in on every defensive play.
Ryan Zavecz’s effort will be critical if Eastern intends on winning this annual showdown against Central.
Also, senior standout Aiden Liseo has been forced to take over the team’s kickoff and extra point duties due to the injury to junior kicker Gavin Damboise (8-for-8 on extra points this season, 46.4 yard average on kickoffs) is currently dealing with.
Frankly, Liseo has preformed quite well under duress.
He’s 10-for-12 on PATs and booted nine kickoffs that have seen opponents commence drives behind its own 20 yard line.
Liseo’s foot could be the difference in a close game.
Bristol Eastern can’t…Allow Central to gain yardage on the ground.
That means shutting down clever Donovan Rodriguez (I almost said Donovan Clingan) as the transfer would have easily surpassed 1,000 rushing yards if he played the full slate of games.
And then there’s old friend Jack Harley, an Eastern to Central transfer over the summer.
He’s a bulldog in his own right and has two 100-yard rushing games to his name this season.
Hey, remember what he did to Central last Thanksgiving?
Central has five or six athletes that can and will run the ball.
If the Lancers want to win this showdown, the squad must stop the run game cold.
Lastly…Eastern has been generating penalties at the worst possible times over the second half of the season.
Those yellow looking flags gave E.O. Smith several extra chances with the ball and additional yardage – leading to Eastern’s only double-digit loss of the campaign.
And early in the showdown against Avon, more than a couple penalties saw the Falcons earn some first down yardage.
That can’t happen on Thanksgiving as emotions will be high and expect the officials to call the game extra tight.
Eastern simply can’t allow Rodriguez to run all over Muzzy Field either.
Once he heats up, the field seems to close up a bit and that’s when Central could sneak in a pass or two.
Forcing Central to throw the ball could work in Eastern’s favor as the Rams have thrown seven interceptions this year.
In fact, six players have chucked the pigskin this year for Central.
The Rams would like to muck this game up as much as possible but if the Lancers bring their defense to the table, makes that first tackle count and keeps their emotions in check, Eastern has its best shot in years to finally win the Thanksgiving Day classic.
Taking care of the ball will be critical as several hungry hands will be looking to tear that football away from the Eastern running backs.
The Lancers have lost the football nine times this season with a couple of those turnovers occurring from the red zone.
That simply can’t happen in the Kingstreeters’ biggest game of the year.
And the winner is…This has been the best season for the BEHS football program in almost a decade, period.
The year has been extremely rewarding and why not pick up one final victory against the Rams on Thanksgiving?
The chance at a playoff berth is slim but still a possibility until the final game is played across the state so this showdown is a must-win in that regard.
And a 7-3 finish would be a sweet deal for the Kingstreeters.
Julius has done a tremendous job with the program and, despite the coach breaking his foot midway through the season at a hopscotch competition in Mianus, Connecticut (sponsored by his favorite Bristol restaurant, ‘Almost Steak’) during the bye week, the long time mentor hopes to win his first Thanksgiving Day game.
Now, as to which squad will win this game, it’s frankly a jump ball because you have to throw all the records out the window when Central and Eastern clash.
However, no matter how you slice it, this is going to be another fun one and anytime you can see a game played at Muzzy Field, we’re all winners.
Bristol Eastern’s Regular Season Ledger:
Date Opponent Score W/L
Friday, September 9 vs. Farmington 35-14, W
Friday, September 15 vs. Hartford Public 27-13, W
Friday, September 22 at Hillhouse 2-0, W
Friday, September 29 vs. South Windsor 21-14, L
Friday, October 5 at Rocky Hill 22-0, W
Friday, October 20 vs. Platt 7-6, L
Saturday, October 28 at RHAM 34-0, W
Friday, November 3 at E.O. Smith 24-14, L
Friday, November 10 vs. Avon 48-8, W
Thursday, November 23 at Bristol Central ???
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