The Staples High School football team lost 41-7 against Darien on Tuesday night in the first round of the Class LL state playoffs.

The Wreckers conclude their season with a record of 7-3, after earning a spot in the playoffs for the first time in the past three years.

The win earns Darien its tenth straight victory, a streak which includes another win against Staples just three weeks prior to this game. They will move on to face Southington at home in the state semifinals next week.

Despite the loss, co-captain Connor Adrian ’16 thinks that there are some positives to take from the Wreckers first winning season in the past two years.

“Our goal was to get back to the playoffs and to send our seniors off with a winning record, obviously it didn’t end how we wanted it to, but we can hold onto that,” Adrian said.

Staples also had to deal with numerous injuries on both sides of the ball, an issue that has plagued them all season. Starting quarterback Andrew Speed ’17 and the running back duo of Adrian and Ethan Burger ’17 were all inactive, as well as defensive end Raymond Niver ’16.

Spectators and players alike had to deal with constant rain; head of the Staples “Superfans” group Matt Johnson ’16 was one of the few students to attend the game.

“I think they played really hard, they gave it their all and didn’t let the injuries or weather affect their mindset. It was a good game regardless of the score,” Johnson said.