Staples students are beyond excited for Homecoming, which will take place on November 10th. It is a time for the entire student body to come together and show spirit for their football team.
The Staples Wreckers varsity football team is currently undefeated with a record of 5 wins and 0 losses. The Wreckers will be playing against Westhill High School, and Staples expects a victory. “We are going to win. I can’t recall the last time we lost a Homecoming game,” said Marty Lisevick, the Athletic Director at Staples for the past 13 years.
According to those interviewed, there’s no question that the team has improved a great amount since last season. This year many team members happen to be seniors, which means the players, generally, are bigger and stronger. The team knows the expectations and how to work well with one another.
Offensively, the team has been playing very well. “Any time you’re dealing with kids with an extra year of football they know the plays much better,” said Lisevick. Most say that experience is the main factor in the team’s improvement this year.
According to Lisevick, the team’s defense has improved as well. The team has been creating a lot of turnovers, fumbles and interceptions this season. Their improvement has left the Staples Wreckers with the reputation as one of the most difficult teams to beat in the FCIAC.
Staples will be playing Westhill during Homecoming this year, with a current record of 4-1. “Westhill has improved a great amount during the off season. I expect them to be a tough team that wants to come out and play hard,” said Nick Ward ’14, left tackle.
According to football players interviewed, the team has been taking practice week by week. Hopefully, they said, the expected large number of fans during Homecoming will encourage the team to play to the best of their ability. Their spirit gives players motivation to work hard to avoid disappointing the fans.
Everyone seems to be getting excited to watch the Homecoming game and participate in spirit week. “Homecoming is a great way to hang out with friends and support the school team,” said Miranda Brekke ’15. In past years, students have showed their school spirit with pajama day, white-outs and black-outs.
This year’s spirit week is shaping up to be as exciting as usual. The Varsity Cheerleading squad has been actively preparing. “We are learning a brand new routine for Homecoming and Pep Rally, so we have been working as hard as we can,” said Alexa Davis ’15, a member of the cheerleading squad.
Members of the squad said they are meeting all of the seniors at the beach and then leading the motorcade back to Staples. “For our halftime we are doing a mini routine, probably with a dance, jumps, tumbling and a pyramid,” said captain Olivia Stanley ’13. The cheerleaders will, as they do at every other home game, try to get the crowd going to cheer on the Wreckers.
This is the first year Staples has lights for night games, which has been a huge event for the school. However, the game will take place at 10:30 a.m. For the second second straight year, the games have been in the morning in an attempt to prevent underage drinking. In the past, there have been incidents where students were intoxicated to the point where they had to be rushed to the hospital. “We take the safety aspect of the game very seriously,” said Lisevick.
Although many students said they would prefer a night game, most agreed the morning seems reasonable. “I’m a little upset that the game is not under the lights, it would be an awesome experience, but I understand where the administration is coming from,” said James Frusciante ’13, a Wrecker captain.
Players and other students agree the game should not be missed. “Homecoming is going to be a lot of fun. I expect a lot of people to attend. It might even be as big as the [first] game under the lights,” said Teddy Coogan ’15, a varsity quarterback.
