Track and field participants comprised of boys and girls from six area high schools converged on the Staples High School field house today for the third of four Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference (FCIAC) indoor track and field qualifier rounds leading to statewide competition.  In addition to Staples, the other schools represented were New Canaan, Darien, Norwalk, Trumbull and Stamford.  There were 24 events split evenly between male and female competition. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The Staples Boys Basketball team defeated Trumbull High School Tuesday night 61-53, keeping their season winning streak alive.  The Wreckers will be hosting their annual Martin Luther King Boys Basketball Clinic on Jan. 19 at Staples High School. For information visit www.staplesbasketball.com or contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Senior Tae Dangerfield (22) goes up for a pass during today’s game. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dan Gelman for Staplesfootball.com
The Staples Wreckers put up a valiant fight but made mistakes that couldn’t overcome a fired up Greenwich team today as the Cardinals shut them out 27-0 in the final football game of the season.

A crowd of about 2,500 was on hand for the Thanksgiving Day morning FCIAC contest between the perennial rivals at Cardinal Stadium.

Greenwich, which crushed the Wreckers 37-0 last year in the FCIAC championship, ended the season 8-3 overall, 8-1 conference. Staples, which had made the state tournament seven straight seasons, ended 6-5 overall, 4-5 in the conference.

“Everything that had been hurting us all season showed up again today,” Staples head coach Marce Petroccio said. “I was happy with the effort. The kids played hard, but you just can’t make the kind of mistakes that we did against a team like Greenwich.”

It came down to the final minute today but Staples managed to come from behind to edge Fairfield Ludlowe 8-7 in a thriller on its home turf. After trailing 7-0 going into the final moments, quarterback Brandon Pacilio hit senior halfback Tyler Healy with a 7-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 51 seconds to play and Josh Henry ran for the two-point conversion to lift the Wreckers to victory. Staples improved to 6-4 overall and 4-4 in the FCIAC. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dan Gelman for Staplesfootball.com

Staples senior halfback Tyler Healy caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Pacilio on fourth down with 51 seconds to play today to set up a two-point conversion that enabled the Wreckers to edge Fairfield Ludlowe 8-7 on Senior Day. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dan Gelman for Staplesfootball.com

The Staples girls swimming and diving team took third place tonight at the 2008 Class LL championship at Wesleyan University in Middletown.
Molly Loftus pushes Staples Girls Swimming to third place finish tonight in the Class LL championship in Middletown. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Ronald Wimer for WestportNow.com

The Staples team, which finished behind Greenwich and Cheshire, was led by tri-captain Savitri Horrigan, who won fifth place in the 100- yard breaststroke and sixth place in the 200-yard individual medley.

Sophomore Molly Loftus took second place in the 200-yard freestyle and third place in the 500-yard freestyle.

The Staples championship swimming team included senior Savitri Horrigan;  juniors Natalie LeBlanc, Catherine Friel, Charlotte Katter and Helen Neuhaus; sophomores Louise Fonteyne, Molly Loftus and Julie Valgren; and freshman Gabrielle Wimer. The championship diving team included senior Ariel Steinglass; junior Megan Kratky; and sophomore Schaefer Andrews.

UPDATE The Staples Boys Soccer team fell to Glastonbury 2-1 today in their Class LL semifinal match played at New Britain.

A goal by Glastonbury’s Guisuppee Panijia with 1:03 left in regulation play sealed the win.

The Wreckers took a lead in the 53rd minute on a goal by Brendan Lesch. But the Tomahawks retaliated with two goals in the final 8:51. Staples surrendered only seven goals all year. 

“Our guys were devastated,” said head coach Dan Woog. “But soon they’ll realize all they’ve accomplished—and all the hearts and souls they touched in Staples and around Westport—and they’ll start to feel better.

The Staples boys soccer team-–shown celebrating with their fans following Friday’s win—will play Tuesday in the state tournament semifinals. The match is set for 5 p.m. at Willowbrook Park in New Britain. The Wreckers, seeded third in the state with a 21-1-0 record, face Glastonbury (ranked second, with an 18-0-1 mark). The two teams have a long and storied rivalry in state tourney play. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Carl McNair for WestportNow.com

Heavy rain made play difficult for both teams in today’s 12-0 Staples loss to Darien at home. The Wreckers are now 5-4, 3-4 FCIAC on the season. It was the third straight loss and second consecutive Wrecker shutout—something that has not happened since 2000. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dan Gelman for Staplesfootball.com