Photos And Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
The Staples Wreckers (7-1) faced the Norwalk High Bears (2-6) on Saturday at Brien McMahon High School where the Bears home games are being held this season as the construction of their new, over 300,000 sq. ft. high school is being built on the former NHS football field. .
The Wreckers came out of the gate hard scoring their first TD on their opening drive and relied upon players who had not previously started to make a statement that they were ready to play
Photos And Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Head Coach Matty Jacowleff told WestportLocalPress, "I am very proud of our boys’ preparation and execution this week. We were down a number of starters due to injuries and illness, so we had six players making their varsity debut. Our practices are designed to be as competitive as possible so that all of the players on our roster and ready to perform when their number is called."
The Wreckers had plenty of opportunities to celebrate, scoring seven touchdowns in the hard fought contest.
The Wreckers’ Defense was daunting, stopping Bears QB Easton Pace, a potent offense threat both on the ground and in the air.
Coach Jacowleff told WestportLocal, " We knew that it would take quite the effort to slow down Norwalk’s Quarterback, who is a tremendous player. But, we felt like we could place them in a precarious position by taking the ball first and scoring early."
Although Norwalk's record this year is less than stellar, the Wreckers' defense had to be prepared to handle standout QB Easton Pace, a junior (#3 above) who is recognized by CT high school sports media as "one of the most athletic dual-threat quarterbacks in Connecticut".
The Bears fought hard until the final horn and Bears QB Easton Pace rushed time after time in part due to the tight pass coverage of the Wreckers and also as his skill level at finding holes in the defense. The Junior gained 99 yards on the ground in his 15 carries including one for 30 yards and gained nearly half of the Bears yards on the ground. He completed 10 of 20 passes for an additional 68 yards.
Photos And Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Coach credited standout performances, saying "Grant Bozeman had a tremendous day connecting on multiple shot plays. Levi Belzer had a record setting performance with his 248 receiving yards. Levi is in just his second year ever playing football but has shown up every single day with a tremendous work ethic, receptivity to feedback and attention to detail."
Senior Captain Nate Maurillo who plays both offense and defense gained nearly 100 years rushing on 4 carries including two that crossed the goal line. Belzer, a junior also scored two of the teams seven TD's with two carries totaling 18 yards. Senior Captain Parker Toohey and Senior Hunter Pallai carried for five and seven yards respectively with each reaching the end zone. Noah Sandrew and Lucas Kuliga, both juniors combined for 61 yards receiving.
Although the day was pretty mild, once the sun set and the breeze kicked up a bit, the few folks who were wearing shorts had to re-think that decision. Two Staples fans combined jumping up and down when their team put points on the board with doing so to try to beat the chill.
We were curious about the “upside-down” Wreckers cap. We discovered, High school and college caps are printed with the name upside down because of a streetwear fashion trend started in 2020 by the Dallas brand True Brvnd. Originally created to symbolize how the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down, the flipped-text style went viral through pro athletes and later expanded to collegiate and school spirit gear.
Photos And Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.