And that lesson: Don’t get complacent. Staples head coach Marce Petroccio said that’s what happened – from top to bottom – with the Wreckers in 2008. With six consecutive post-season appearances, the Wreckers were thinking about post-Thanksgiving football instead of the 11 games that made up the regular season.

“Even the (Westport) community started taking wins for granted,” Petroccio said. “What we learned as a team is you can’t just show up with a silver helmet with a blue ‘S’ on it and expect to win games.”

The Wreckers were 5-1 when a last-minute 21-20 loss to New Canaan sent the team into a downward spiral. Staples lost its confidence and was shut out in three of its last four games to finish the season 6-5. It needed a last-minute touchdown to take an 8-7 win over Ludlowe.

Staples quarterback Brandon Pacilio talked to the camera on Sunday. Here’s what he had to say about the most-recent off-season for Staples.

So what do you think: Will Staples rebound in 2009? Click “Want to leave a comment or read the comments?” below to access The Board.

It’s a rare week. Maybe because the election made it the longest week in recent memory, or because there’s an 11 a.m. on the docket tomorrow. Either way the FCIAC Football Blog Live line-up is set early! You can click on the link at 9 a.m. Saturday to listen, or come back and hear the replay.

Andy Hutchison, sports editor ot the Newtown Bee, is coming on to review the Brookfield-Newtown game. Staples head coach Marce Petroccio will drop in to discuss his team’s new role as a potential spoiler in the FCIAC race, and if his team still has a chance at the CIAC playoffs. And Danny Gouin, head coach at King, will come on to talk about his team’s post-season possibilities, and why all eyes in Stamford are on his Vikings.

By Tim Parry

What a difference one player made for Staples in its opening night win at McMahon.

Tae Dangerfield didn’t have a touch until the second half, after McMahon took an 18-6 lead.

But the first time he touched the ball, a fourth-and-three in Staples territory, he ran 52 yards for a touchdown.

“When he did that, we realized we better give him the ball some more,” Staples head coach Marce Petroccio said.

Dangerfield accounted for all three of Staples’ second-half touchdowns. In addition to the 52-yarder, he also scored from five and six yards out.

“I was dying to do anything out there to help my team win,” Dangerfield said. “Whether it was me getting the ball or not, whatever we needed to get this win for us.”

Don’t get me wrong – Staples had to fight for this win, and credit must go to Pertocco’s coaching staff, which made the right adjustments at the half.

And that meant going away from the option offense, which featured Brandon Pacilio pitching out to Tyler Healy and running the smaller Jack Ambrose up the middle.

But Dangerfield, who has five inches and 45 pounds on Ambrose, proved to be more than a battering ram for Staples. He went through the tired Senators defense like a runaway freight train.

On the McMahon offense, senior quarterback Nick Blosio certainly came into his own. Stats are not yet available, but he played a near-perfect game. Blosio seemed comfortable and in sync with tight end Nice Ceme and wide receivers Mike Graham, Zach Ruther, Shadram Thelusca and Zaire Reiph.

And Graham stole the show. He showed his 10.8 speed (in the 100 meter this past spring) and acted like a human pinball on the kickoff return to open the second half. Expect him to be a part of many big plays this season.

Tune in to FCIAC Football Blog Live at 9 a.m.Saturday and hear Jason Intrieri and Tim Parry call an audible…

Postponement of the New Canaan-Trumbull game means we won’t have the winning coach on, since both teams will be readying to play their now 1:30 game.

But Staples head coach Marce Petroccio was already scheduled, and a second-half surge kept FCIAC Football Blog Live from being a jinx.

Petroccio will be on, as well Fairfield Citizen-News sports editor Pat Pickens, who will discuss the upset win by Ludlowe over Norwalk.

When the average sports fan hears the name “Mike Samela” in the fall, the thought of the Staples quarterback running a bootleg for an overtime touchdown as snow showers fell on New Canaan’s Dunning Field to lift the Wreckers to the FCIAC football title game comes to mind.

In the springtime, it’s the thought of an athletic catcher who lets nothing get past him, and a dominant hitter on the baseball diamond.

Though the senior’s high school career will end in May – or June – of this year, his dominance on the athletic fields should continue for four more years. Samela has agreed to play both baseball and football at Amherst, and his Wreckers coaches think he can handle the balance of athletics and academics.

And they don’t have to look far down Samela’s family tree for proof: Matt Samela, Mike’s brother, is a starter on both the football and baseball teams at Ithaca College.

“He’s tremendously gifted, He’s a kid that will keep getting better and better,” said Staples head football coach Marce Petroccio, who took in the Staples-Ludlowe game last Friday. “He’s going to have a great career at Amherst and he’s going to get a great education, so it’s a home run for Amherst.”

Though Samela was Staples’ starting quarterback for just one season, he’s slated to play the position at Amherst.

“He’s got a tremendous arm, he’s got quick feet, he should do very well there,” Petroccio said.

Staples head baseball coach Jack McFarland, who has also coached Samela on the football field, said playing two sports in college is very difficult, but believes Samela is the kind of kid who can do it.

“Most kids are told you can’t do it, don’t do it, it’s too much,” McFarland said. “But he’s a high achiever, I think he’ll do fine.”

There is, of course, the challenges involved in balancing two sports and academics, one that Petroccio said can become a conflict even on the high school level.

“The football coach wants you lifting weights and getting ready for spring football, and the baseball coach wants you playing fall baseball,” Petroccio said. “But if anyone can do it, Mike can do it. He’s a type of kid that will do whatever you ask whenever you ask. But when you pile it on with the academics, it’s a lot to ask a kid.”

LocalSportsFeed founder Tim Parry sat down with Samela after the Staples-Ludlowe game. Here’s what he had to say about the challenge: