Battle for the Bell: A history of the series (1959-1969)  

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The Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern football teams during the 2021 Battle of the Bell. | Laura Bailey

Posted By: Michael Letendre November 21, 2023

By Michael Letendre   

The annual Thanksgiving Day football clash between Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern has a rich tradition that started all the way back in 1959 with the construction of BEHS. 

The Rams won a little bit more than the Lancers did over those first few years and it took Eastern until 1963 to final earn a victory on T-Day. 

And from Central’s Jim Nocera in 1959 to Eastern’s smooth throwing quarterback Dennis Schermerhorn in the late 60s, the games between the rivals have been exciting and historic. 

TBE is going to be looking at all 63 classics, decade-by-decade, game-by-game as the anticipation of this year’s showdown continues to grow. 

Let’s start looking at these contests between the schools, starting with the decade of the 1960s:  

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.

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