The Wreckers received the opening kickoff and marched all the way down the field on 15 plays, converting twice on fourth down to take a 7-0 lead, taking 8:32 off the clock. From the sidelines, it seemed like the Wreckers were going to waltz through the game unscathed. However, Cheshire had another idea in mind.

The rest of the first quarter went quiet, but in the second quarter, things started heating up. The Cheshire offense turned on as quarterback Greg Palmer led the team to three touchdowns, with a key interception for their defense late in the half ,which changed the game.

“We knew if we avoided turnovers we would be successful, that happens. It’s part of football. But those were two killers,” said coach Marce Petroccio in an interview with the Norwalk Hour.

Cheshire led Staples 21-7 at the half, but the game was far from over.

“We could have folded our tents down 21-7 at the end of the first half, and we didn’t, that’s a testament to the character of this team,” said Petroccio in the same interview.

The third quarter was spent entirely in Staples territory, but thanks to some solid defense, the Wreckers didn’t give up any points.

Like the last three games, Staples made it close.

The Wreckers, after stopping Cheshire on a Tyler Jacobs ’11 interception in the end-zone, pitched a drive downfield that led to a 12-yard touchdown pass by Keith Gelman ’10 to Brendan Rankowitz ’10, breaking three tackles on the play.

The Wreckers quickly forced a Cheshire punt and started their drive from their own 34 with a little more than three minutes to play. Staples worked fast, using only 4 plays to make it down to the Cheshire 1-yard-line where Gelman dove into the end-zone on a quarterback sneak.

The Staples crowd was riled up, chanting for Staples; while the Cheshire stands were silent.

Cheshire couldn’t do anything but punt the ball away again after three straight stops, giving Staples a chance to win the game in regulation. However, the punt by the Rams bounced over returner Matt Kelly ’10 and could only bring it back a couple yards, sending the game into overtime.

Staples, in confidence, chose to play defense first during overtime. Cheshire worked quickly, scoring on three plays. Then Staples got the ball.

After a 4-yard rush by Kelly, Staples handed the ball off to him again, on what would have been a 5-yard rush, bringing the Wreckers to the 1-yard-line. The Staples crowd looked content, until they saw Cheshire’s Luke Scinto appear out of the pile, ball in hand.

This time, it was the Cheshire crowd that was roaring, and the Staples side with their mouths agape, hands to their faces and heartbreak in their eyes.

Final Score: 28-21

1 2 3 4 OT

SW 7 0 0 14 0

CR 0 21 0 0 7