After each having a week off, the Staples Wreckers and the New Canaan Rams will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Staples is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
Staples' defense heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed two weeks ago. They blew past Westhill 47-0 at home. Considering the Wreckers have won three contests by more than 27 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Kody Goldman was his usual excellent self, rushing for 93 yards and three touchdowns on only five carries. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up 0.5 sacks, forcing a fumble, and making five total tackles. Nathan Smith did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 88 receiving yards.
Staples didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Callum McLean and Michael Loya.
Meanwhile, New Canaan faced Ludlowe in a battle between two of the state's top teams last Saturday. New Canaan enjoyed a cozy 30-14 win over Ludlowe.
Special teams was a major factor in the game for New Canaan, racking up 12 points in total. All came courtesy of Tucker Stevens: he went 3-for-3 kicking field goals for nine points, and 3-for-3 again kicking extra points for an additional three.
New Canaan wouldn't let Ludlowe keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. New Canaan can thank Ryan Francis and Jack Crowell for forcing both of them. New Canaan got some further help from Michael Smith: he made 13 total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defended three passes in addition to snagging an interception.
Staples' victory was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-0. As for New Canaan, their win bumped their record up to 3-1.
Saturday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. Staples has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 171.5 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for New Canaan, though, as they've been averaging only 77.5. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Staples suffered a grim 41-21 defeat to New Canaan in their previous matchup back in October of 2019. Thankfully for Staples, Johnny Wise (who rushed for 190 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.6 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
