After two long years, Staples football is back.

“Emotionally the team couldn’t be any better,” Captain Jack Edwards ’22 said. “Not being able under their lights for this long has motivated us in ways most people don’t understand.”

Last year, the Wreckers were uncertain if they were going to have a season with Covid still on the rise. Despite this, they still trained as a team with mitigation rules in place in hopes of having a season, yet they were denied. Instead, teams were allowed 7v7 scrimmages and linemen challenges as something to do.

But this year, with vaccination rates rising in Connecticut, the Wreckers got their season. 

“We owe it to ourselves to show that all our hard work and sacrifices over this hard time has been worth it,” Edwards said.

A lot has happened in the past two years and most of the current Wreckers on the varsity football team were sophomores and freshmen the last time they played in front of a packed crowd. While the Wreckers are hyped for the opportunity to play again, some of these players have not yet performed on the high school stage.

“We’ve been waiting for this moment for a while now. Everyone on the team is equally as important and the younger guys on the team are going through the same things as us seniors,” AJ Darby ’22 said. “They’re on varsity not only because of their skill but because of their maturity. They may be nervous at first, but as soon as it’s time for kickoff they will be ready.”

As an upperclassman, Keith Dulak ’22 shared similar thoughts.

“We move together as one unit,” he said. “We will continue to be leaders for the younger guys on and off the field. We are all in this together.” 

The team proceeded to win their first game against Trumbull, but lost their last two games against St. Joseph and Cheshire. However, they look to bounce back on Oct. 1 against Wilbur Cross during pink out night.