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Sports

Staples Football Clinches Spot in FCIAC Championship With 42-21 Win Over Westhill

The Wreckers, who improved to 8-0, will host Greenwich for the title on Thanksgiving

Even though Saturday's contest against winless Westhill appeared to be a mistmatch on paper, the Staples football team didn't want to take anything for granted, so the Wreckers prepared for the contest in the same manner they have all season.

That business-like approach resulted in a 42-14 victory over the Vikings and a berth in the FCIAC championship game for the fifth time in nine years.

Staples (8-0), which will face Greenwich in the FCIAC title game on Thanksgiving, scored all 42 points in the first half, when it amassed 335 yards.

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Jack Massie completed 8-of-9 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for a score in just under two quarters while Jon Heil and Nick Kelly each scored twice.

"We approached this week like we approached the prior seven weeks," Staples coach Marce Petroccio said. "You can't take  anybody for granted in this league. We jumped on them early. Jack had a great game, we were able to run the ball. I thought the offensive line did a great job, I thought the defense did a good job. It feels good to get back in this game."

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Starting in place of top rusher Joey Zelkowitz, who suffered a separated should in last week's 35-17 victory over Fairfield Warde, Heil rushed for 121 yards on eight carries, including TD runs of 10 and 33 yards.

"It's funny," Petroccio said. "In this program when kids get hurt,  it seems like other kids step up and blossom."

Massie threw an interception on the Wreckers' first possession after Staples reached the Vikings' 12-yard line. Other than that, the Wreckers were unstoppable as they scored in their next possessions, keeping Westhill's defense on its heels with a no-huddle offense that moved the ball at will.

"It's going to be a big game (against Greenwich) on Thanksgiving Day, home field, everyone's going to be there," said Massie, who gave way to freshman Teddy Coogan for the last possession of the first half and the entire second half. "We got to play our best game."

The Wreckers also forced three interceptions, one each by Peter Bonenfant, Kelly and Jordan Krantz, converting two of them into scores.

Bonenfant's pick at the Vikings' 18 set up Heil's first TD to open the scoring.  After Massie's 15-yard keeper pushed the lead to 14-0, Davell Cotterell returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards to get the Vikings (0-9) on the board.

But Kelly's 5-yard TD scamper gave the Wreckers a 21-7 after the first quarter. Massie then tossed a 41-yard TD pass to Kelly and Heil raced 33 yards after Kelly's interception to extend the lead to 35-7.

Staples' defense did give up one big play in the first half, a 50-yard TD run by Cotterell, but Massie answered with a 32-yard strike to James Fruscaiante  with four minutes left in the half. Up 42-7, it was time for the reserves to play.

"We've played a lot of close games in the first half, so really we wanted to finally step on it in the first half and take it to a team and we did that really well," Massie said.

The game wasn't as close as the score indicated. In the second half, the Wreckers turned the ball over on downs twice inside Westhill's 10, and the Vikings got a late score on Peter Cernansky's 23-yard TD pass to Dante Fargnoli.

There might be some thought that Staples would have prefered a tougher opponent before facing Greenwich, which clinched its spot in the FCIAC championship with a 17-7 win over Danbury on Thursday, but Petroccio isn't concerned.

"We've probably played the best schedule that we've played in maybe 10 years," he said. "This has been a tough, tough schedule. We've played big people, we've played fast people, we've played everybody.

"As far as getting ready for Greenwich, I think we've been in enough wars this year. I think we're pretty much battle-tested."

Zelkowitz's status for the game is unclear, although Petroccio didn't rule him out.

"We're excited (to play in the FCIAC championship), the kids are excited," Petroccio said. "Greenwich is a great football team, as are we. It took them a long time to get back. They're well-coached, they're physical. I saw them play against Danbury and they're very impressive."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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