Jon Heil ’12 may as well have started his indoor track season a month early.
Heil ran for a school-record 366 yards on 27 carries and four touchdowns. It was a track meet every time he touched the ball. And he sat out the fourth quarter.
The Wreckers got off to a quick start, something necessary when playing in wet conditions. Heil started his day on a bright note with a 94-yard touchdown run, and Staples tacked on another score with a 37-yard pass from Jack Massie ’14 to James Frusciante ’13 to put Staples up 14-0 in the first. Staples kept up this offensive pace all night and terrorized Ridgefield’s defense, a defense that Head Coach Marce Petroccio was worried about entering the game. The final score, 48-21 in favor of the men in blue.
This win secures Staples a date in the CIAC Class LL semi-finals with Newtown and gives the Wreckers an unblemished 10-0 record. It also ends Ridgefield’s season at 8-3, it was Ridgefield’s first state playoff appearance since 2005
“That’s a quality football team and a quality program,” Petroccio said. “Their defense is coming from everywhere, and tonight we blocked the right people and I’m really happy for us, we’re moving onto round two.”
Heil was awestruck by his own prowess on the field on Tuesday, this single-game rushing total was higher than that of his entire season’s.
“That was ridiculous,” Heil said. “I definitely had a feeling after that first touchdown run that it would be a big night, the way the line was opening up the holes was amazing, great blocking.”
Petroccio couldn’t believe Heil’s performance.
“He had over 300 yards, are you serious?” Petroccio said. “Holy cow.”
Heil’s strong performance comes on a night where the weather was entirely unforgiving. The torrential rain should have caused more fumbles, but despite the slippery conditions, Heil only lost possession of the ball once on 27 carries. Because of the rain, Petroccio’s strategy was largely run-based.
“The weather’s tough for everybody. I thought, ‘Jeez, let’s try to run the ball and if we can throw it we will.’ But after a while, it just got to be impossible,” Petroccio said. “They weren’t tackling Heil, so they were asking me what the play was, and I said ‘Just keep running that play until they stop him.’”
Petroccio commented on his offensive line’s stellar work on the night, opening myriad holes for Heil and Nick Kelly ’13 to run through.
“They’re phenomenal,” Petroccio said. “Those guys eat together, they do everything together. They love each other, I love them, so it’s important for me that they come out and they fight like they did tonight.”
Despite Heil’s outstanding performance, the rest of the Wrecker offense was clicking on all cylinders throughout the night.
“That’s the problem with trying to defend us right now,” Petroccio said. “We can throw it to James [Frusciante], Jack Massie can run it, he can give it to Nick Kelly ’13, Joey Zelkowitz ’13 or Jon Heil, it’s unbelievable. It’s a great team effort, and that’s what we are: a team.”
The Wreckers will play Newtown on Saturday at either 2 or 7 pm at a neutral location, and Staples will prepare for this semi-final game as they would prepare for any other game according to Heil and Petroccio, but for now, they’re enjoying this quarterfinal win.
“I’m going to go back to Staples, change my wet clothes, go to the diner and have a turkey club and a milkshake, that’s what I’m going to do,” Petroccio said.
Staples 48, Ridgefield 21
RIDGEFIELD 0 7 14 0 — 21
STAPLES 14 13 14 7 —48
Records: Ridgefield 8-3, Staples 10-0.
Staples—Jon Heil 94-yard run (Robbie Wolf kick)
Staples—James Fruciante 37-yard pass from Jack Massie (Wolf kick)
Ridgefield—Jack Heller 26-yard pass from Connor Rowe (Griffin Jones kick)
Staples—Heil 65-yard run (Wolf kick)
Staples—Heil 8-yard run (kick failed)
Ridgefield—Sam Gravitte 35-yard run (Jones kick)
Staples—Heil 80-yard run (Wolf kick)
Staples—Wolf 1-yard run (Wolf kick)
Ridgefield—Matt Flanagan 65-yard run (Jones kick)
Staples—Nick Kelly 10-yard run (Wolf kick)
