Victor Rosa fires a touchdown pass
during Bristol Central’s scrimmage
against St. Paul on Thursday.
(Copyright, Sports on CT-69)
There were four teams competing in two football scrimmages Thursday in Bristol, and three of them were from the Mum City.
Bristol Central hosted St. Paul on the turf at Bristol Central High School, while Bristol Eastern did the same against Wilby on its turf at Bristol Eastern High School. All four teams got some work in as the season quickly approaches.
In the game at BCHS, Central quarterback Victor Rosa, a left-handed sophomore, made a couple nice throws rolling to his right, including one off-balance that resulted in the first Ram touchdown of the scrimmage. He later completed a long pass down St. Paul’s sideline for another big play. Central rolled Rosa out several times, and it could become a pass/run option at some point.
Central and St. Paul each want to run the ball, with the Falcons keeping it on the ground most of the time during the scrimmage. They did get a touchdown pass from Brycen Kennedy, a junior right-hander who is in his first year at the position for St. Paul. The Falcons did run some option, though not in the style that they have been in the past few years.
Central is looking to get over .500 on the field after a 5-5 season in 2018. The Rams had to forfeit two wins due to the self-reported use of an ineligible player. St. Paul also went 5-5 in 2018, but it must get past a gauntlet of early games to get near that success in 2019. The Falcons play Seymour, Naugatuck, Watertown, Ansonia and Woodland in their first five games. St. Paul beat Watertown 30-16 last season and lost a 23-22 heartbreaker to Woodland. They lost to Seymour, Naugatuck and Ansonia.
At Bristol Eastern, both the Lancers and the Wildcats showed looks out of the shotgun spread offense that so many high school programs have adopted. There is a good amount of athleticism on both sides of the ball. Eastern’s second offense looked unstoppable on the ground during the first drive of the fourth quarter against Wilby’s second defense.
Both the Wildcats and the Lancers are trying to find their way to more success in 2019. Wilby went 1-9 in 2018 while Eastern finished 0-10. The Wildcats snapped a 33-game losing streak with a 46-14 win over Crosby on Sept. 28 for their only victory last season. The Lancers lost two games by five points and one by six in 2018.
Bristol Eastern pursues Wilby’s quarterback during the fourth quarter of Thursday’s scrimmage at Bristol Eastern High School. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69)
Here’s a list of the opening games for each team:
Friday, Sept. 13
EO Smith at Bristol Central, 6
Wilby at Oxford, 6
Bristol Eastern at Middletown, 7
St. Paul at Seymour, 7
And here are photos from each scrimmage:
