WESTPORT, Conn. — When the Staples Wreckers lost quarterback Brandon Pacilio to a broken femur during their Week 7 victory, much of the talk centered around how the football team could recover from the loss of such an important player. 
Matt Kelly, Staples
File photo by Richard Stieglitz
Backup QB Keith Gelman and Connecticut’s No. 2-ranked team didn’t skip a beat.
Gelman’s numbers weren’t spectacular, but in his first career start, the senior was efficient, as the Wreckers rolled to a 38-0 win over the Ludlowe Falcons on Friday night in Fairfield. The win kept Staples perfect at 7-0 and allowed Wreckers fans to breathe a huge sigh of relief.
Gelman completed 6-of-14 passes for 80 yards and guided the offense to four touchdowns. Junior running back Ryan Burke carried the ball 14 times for 165 yards with TDs of 45, 65 and 23 yards, while Matt Kelley had a 25-yard run to open the scoring in the second quarter. The defense, meanwhile, continued to flourish as the Wreckers forced four turnovers, including an interception that was returned 35 yards for a touchdown by Brendan Rankowitz. Staples’ defense has four shutouts and has allowed just three touchdowns — one each to Trinity Catholic, Norwalk and Westhill.
The Wreckers have faced just one opponent with a winning record, the Ridgefield Tigers (6-1), but Staples won that game by a 30-0 score. Staples is second in the FCIAC power point standings, trailing only New Canaan (7-0), the state’s top-ranked team. The Wreckers face Wilton (2-5) next week and take on Trumbull (5-2) in the final game before the conference championship on Nov. 20.
2. Staples soccer not undefeated, but looking good in FCIACs: The Staples Wreckers boys soccer team didn’t exactly head into the conference tournament on a high note, suffering its only FCIAC loss when it fell to Bridgeport Central, 2-0, in the regular-season finale on Wednesday. It didn’t take long for the league’s most prolific soccer power to get back on track.
The Wreckers scored three goals in the first half and pitched their 13th shutout of the season in a 5-0 victory over the Westhill Vikings on the first round of the FCIAC tournament on Friday. Staples improved to 15-2 and will face No. 4 Greenwich (11-2-3) in the semifinals on Monday.
The Wreckers are seeking their 26th FCIAC championship. They won both the league and State Class L titles last year and are a combined 36-4 the past two seasons. Staples outscored its opponents 53-8, and allowed more than one goal just twice, the first time in a 3-1 loss to Brookfield on Oct. 10, and then last week to Central.
Staples was facing an unexpected opponent in the FCIAC quarterfinals, as the Westhill Vikings were fighting for a top-four seed when action began last week. An internal investigation revealed that an illegal player had been used in three games earlier this year, costing the Vikings four points in the standings.
Westhill (7-8-1) secured the eighth and final playoff spot when it defeated Ludlowe in the regular-season finale.
The Vikings stood little chance, however, against a riled-up Staples squad looking to rebound from a loss. Staples went to work quickly, scoring in the 15th minute on a goal by Brendan Lesch, assisted by Mike Scott. Mike White made it 2-0 six minutes later and Greg Gudis then scored for a 3-0 halftime lead. Mike Fitzgerald scored the fourth goal, and Gudis tallied his second goal to put the exclamation point on the win.
3. Perfect Pomperaug: The Pomperaug Panthers continued to steamroll their way through the SWC schedule, scoring 21 points in the first quarter and defeating New Milford, 49-28, in Week 7.
Pomperaug improved to 7-0 and remained tied with Masuk atop the SWC standings. Pomperaug is also ranked No. 1 in Class L, just ahead of Masuk. Senior tailback Ben Crick had a huge night against New Milford, finding the end zone four times — twice via the run, once on a reception and once on a kick return.
Senior C.J. Elser opened the scoring with a 29-yard run, and Crick then caught a 17-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Andrew Clements. Sophomore Matt Paola’s two PATs made it 14-0. After New Milford scored on a 2-yard pass from senior John Krafick to junior Keith Kirwan-Welsh, Clements notched the Panthers’ third TD on a 2-yard run.
New Milford finished off the wild first quarter with an 80-yard scoring strike from Krafick to Kirwin-Welsh to make it 21-12. Clements then caught a TD pass of 8 yards from sophomore QB Kellen Croce for a 28-12 halftime advantage. New Milford opened the second half with a scoring drive, as Krafick connected with Don Clady from 8 yards out. The two-point conversion was good to cut the deficit to 28-20.
Pomperaug took command when Crick returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for a TD. Crick then scored on runs of 44 and 5 yards as the Panthers went ahead 49-20. The final TD came on a 15-yard pass from New Milford’s Krafick to Clady.
The Panthers have averaged 40 points per game and have outscored their opponents 280-78 through seven games. They’ll wrap up the regular season with games at Barlow, home versus Weston, and at Oxford.
4. Cadets’ big guns shoot down Warde: The St. Joseph Cadets saw their run at a perfect season come to an end with a 35-25 loss to New Canaan in Week 6. In need of a rebound victory, the Cadets turned to their top two weapons and the result was a blowout.
Juniors Joe Della Vecchia and Tyler Matakevich accounted for six touchdowns as St. Joseph rolled over the Fairfield-Warde Mustangs, 49-18. The victory gave the Cadets a 6-1 record and left them within striking distance of both FCIAC and State Class SS playoff berths. The Cadets are fifth in the league standings and fourth in Class LL with three games remaining.
The road ahead isn’t easy, as St. Joe’s plays Norwalk (2-5) and Greenwich (6-1) during the next two weeks, before facing Trumbull (5-2) on Thanksgiving Day.
Della Vecchia, the coach’s son, had a big night against Warde, passing for 260 yards and two scores while rushing for two more TDs. Matakevich had 75 yards rushing and scored twice. Joe Burns caught a 17-yard TD pass, and Tony Civitella ran for a 16-yard score.
5. Greenwich takes care of business: The Cardinals were another team in dire need of a bounce-back victory, and they secured one in a 45-7 rout of the Westhill Vikings. The win was so lopsided that with the score 45-0, Greenwich took a knee three times to avoid widening the lead — in the third quarter. The Cards stayed out of the end zone to avoid violating the CIAC’s 50-point rule, which calls for a head coach to be suspended for the next game should his team beat another team by more than 50 points. The rule became a moot point in the fourth quarter when Westhill scored its only touchdown.
Greenwich, which fell to Bridgeport Central 14-13 in Week 6, was clicking on all cylinders against the Vikings and racked up more than 400 yards of offense. Peter Cavini scored three times on runs of 4, 1 and 5 yards, while senior QB Mike Lefflbine completed all six of his passes for 125 yards while playing less than a half.
Colin Dunster caught a 20-yard TD pass from backup QB Kevin Collins, while brother Mike Dunster scored two rushing TDs. Evan Kavanaugh scored once for the defense, as he picked off a pass and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown. The victory set up a showdown with the New Canaan Rams at Cardinal Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday. The Rams come in with a 7-0 record, while Greenwich is 6-1 and needs a win to stay alive in the FCIAC and State Class LL playoff hunts.
Top performers
• Turner Baty (New Canaan) completed 21-of-33 passes for 383 yards and six touchdowns as the New Canaan Rams defeated Wilton, 42-7. Baty had TD passes of 8, 26, 45, 37, 9 and 44 yards. He also ran seven times for a team-best 57 yards. Receivers Cody Newton and Kevin Macari both cracked 100 yards and had two touchdown catches. Newton finished with six catches for 132 yards and Macari had five catches for 120 yards.
• Casey Cochran, Colin Markus and Christian Allen (Masuk, Monroe) all had big games as the Panthers blanked Brookfield, 42-0. Cochran was 9-of-12 passing for 128 yards and a TD, Markus had 102 yards rushing and two TDs, and Allen scored twice in the victory.
• Brian O’Neill (Trinity Catholic, Stamford) threw three touchdown passes as the Crusaders defeated East Haven, 43-7, for their second win over the season. O’Neill threw scoring strikes of 64 yards to Tyler Zaro, 48 yards to Jayme Antonetti and 55 yards to Shawn Robinson to nail down the win.
What’s on deck
The FCIAC tournaments will be in full swing this week, with champions being crowned in volleyball, boys and girls soccer and field hockey.
Volleyball
Darien volleyball, which hasn’t lost a set this season, clinched the No. 1 seed in the league with a 3-0 win over Ludlowe on Monday. The Wave will host No. 8 Danbury (10-8) in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. Other quarterfinal matches include No. 7 Trinity (11-7) at No. 2 Ludlowe (16-2); No. 6 St. Joe’s (13-5) at No. 3 Greenwich (16-2); and No. 5 Ridgefield (15-3) at No. 4 Staples (15-3).
The tournament semifinals and finals will be held at Ludlowe High School in Fairfield, with the semis slated for 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, and the final at 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 7.
Field hockey
The field hockey semifinals will be held Tuesday, Nov. 3, at New Canaan High, with No. 3 Greenwich facing No. 2 New Canaan at 5 p.m. and No. 4 Wilton facing No. 1 Darien at 7 p.m. The championship game is Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. in New Canaan.
Soccer
In the girls soccer semifinals, No. 6 Ludlowe plays No. 2 New Canaan at 5 p.m. and No. 4 Greenwich plays No. 1 Ridgefield at 7 p.m., at Wilton’s Kristine Lilly Field Monday. The boys’ soccer semis will be held at Ludlowe on Monday, with No. 4 Greenwich facing No. 1 Staples at 5 p.m., and No. 3 Central facing No. 2 Ridgefield at 7 p.m.
The FCIAC soccer finals will be held Wednesday at Norwalk High School, with the girls’ game at 5 p.m. and the boys’ game to follow at approximately 7 p.m.
Dave Stewart, the Sports Editor of the New Canaan (Conn.) Advertiser, is a MaxPreps.com writer and photographer. He may be reached at 203-966-9541 or at sports@ncadvertiser.com.
