To run in the September 3rd Bucks County Herald
The aqua cleats brought some pizzaz to Bristol sophomore quarterback Alex Diaz’s road whites.
“All of the skill guys have D.C. cleats,” Diaz explained. “I went with Aquaman and got the nice teal blue ones.”
Aquaman is agile in the sea; Diaz was adept in the air during his Friday night debut at Palisades, which Bristol won 33-0. Both teams’ opener matched two 2025 2A playoff teams.
Diaz completed 9 of 13 passes for 126 yards and two scores. He threw a 50-yard rope to Eddie Diaz for a second half touchdown. Alex Diaz even launched a beautiful 41-yard punt that nearly pinned Palisades at their own 1.
“It went pretty well,” is how Diaz assessed his debut. “The blocks were there. The running back (Dejon Weeks) did a lot for me. It was a nice start.”
Bristol lost Kyleal Cottrell, the school’s all-time receiving yards leader who is now at Kutztown, and QB Brady Slate (Chestnut Hill). Diaz didn’t miss a beat.
“We’re going with little bits and we’re probably going to open up the playbook next week. Hopefully we go 2-0,” he said.
A quarterback’s best friend is a good running game. Diaz got one with senior Weeks, who needed just 13 carries to get 108 yards.
“We had great blocking. Everyone did their assignment,” Weeks echoed. “We came out and we played great football.”
The Warriors went 80 yards in their 11-play opening drive, with Weeks punching it in from the one to put Bristol up 6-0. After forcing a Palisades three-and-out, James Hollman scored on a 14-yard jet sweep.
Diaz connected with Jones Beauplan on a two-yard touchdown toss with four minutes elapsed in the second quarter. Bristol took a 19-0 lead into halftime.
Beauplan picked off of a Palisades pass three plays into the second half and Weeks went 14 yards to the house for his second touchdown on the next play. The Pirates responded with a confidence building nine-play drive before turning the ball over on downs.
On second down, Diaz hit Diaz in stride for the long touchdown which made the game 33-0.
“He ran the wrong route,” the quarterback grinned, “but it still succeeded so it was good for us.”
Bristol did not turn the ball over nor commit many penalties, playing a clean opener.
“It was our work in practice,” Weeks credited. “You make your mistakes there and clean it up come game day. That is what we did tonight.”
The Pirates can be encouraged from the emergence of Jeremy Miller: the sophomore had 12 carries for 35 yards and broke up two important passes on defense. Vince Rosati, the QB3 who was forced into starting action, improved as the game went on.
“Bristol is a good team and we’re a young team, which is no excuse,” noted Palisades coach Bobby Smith. “They came out with a little more intensity than us. I think the speed of the game picked up for (Palisades). It shocked us in the beginning. But we had some good plays. We need to clean up our basics and we’ll be alright.
“Our line did a decent job. There are good things to take from this,” Smith concluded.
Losing Lincoln Cook, who was inactive Friday and will likely miss several weeks, was a tough blow to the Pirates. Cook is a 6’2” Northwestern commit who holds the District 11 2A 100-meter dash record (10.78). He caught 68 balls for 1,088 yards last year. Smith refused to use injuries as an excuse but Cook is one of the state’s top recruits.
Palisades lost nine seniors but returns two all-second team Colonial linemen in Carter Kilherner and Matt Casterline.
Palisades topped Bristol 21-15 in Lower Bucks to open last season. The Pirates ultimately went 7-4, losing to Northern Lehigh in an overtime heartbreak during the District 11 2A quarterfinal.
The Warriors (10-3 in 2025) rebounded from the loss to go 8-1 the rest of the regular season. 2A Bristol’s lone loss in that stretch was to 5A Garden Spot. Bristol won the District One 2A title 48-8 over New Hope-Solebury and beat archrival Morrisville on Thanksgiving. They have won at least 8 games every season since the 2020 pandemic.
Both teams are home next week with Palisades hosting Wilson Area on Thursday and Archbishop Carroll heading to Bristol.