For the first time in 18 years, Staples has climbed up the ranks in Connecticut and has been crowned as state champions!

Staples was coming into the season after losing to Fairfield Prep by 1 point last year in the quarterfinal and looking for revenge. Their opportunity came during the first playoff game.

2023 CIAC Quarterfinal, Staples VS Fairfield Prep.

The crowd was booming as the players on both sides got ready for what they knew would be a tough game. Even though the game was at Staples, there were more Fairfield fans than Staples fans.

Everyone in the crowd had their eyes glued on the kicker as he kicked the ball to Staples: The game had begun despite the cold weather making it hard for the players to hold on to the ball. The Fairfield crowd started yelling and it was a fumble! Fairfield had the ball in an area where they could come away with a quick score. Would Staples be sent home early again? At halftime, it was Fairfield: 9, Staples: 6.

Many fans began leaving the stands due to the cold weather, which also seemed to affect the players’ performance as evidenced by the many fumbles in the first half.

The game continued at low scores until Staples was able to make a huge play to bring the score to 13-9 Staples! The crowd was getting louder and Fairfield looked nervous. Unfortunately, Fairfield was able to counter on the next play to make it 13-12 Staples. Staples was still ahead but Fairfield Prep was inching closer. On a very exciting last-minute drive, Staples stopped Fairfield and advanced to the Semi-Final!

2023 CIAC Semifinal, Staples VS Southington.

After beating Fairfield Prep, Staples had to go on and play Southington which had been a challenge for them at the beginning of the season.

However…

From the beginning of the game, Staples was on the roll. Everything was going right for them from the start to the end.

Staples closed it out at 41-0 disappointing Southington fans.

2023 CIAC FINAL, Staples VS West Haven.

One final challenge remained, and that was West Haven…

Staples knew this would be a challenge, they had lost to West Haven earlier in the season. Everyone at home and at the game tuned in as the game kicked off, the players would have to endure 3 hours of a tension-packed game…

West Haven struck first making it 6-0, Staples fans hoped it wouldn’t be a repeat of earlier in the season. Luckily, Staples responded making it 7-6. Staples felt good with the lead but West Haven hit a pass play bringing the score to 14-7 West Haven and halftime.

Staples scored first in the second half which squared the game at 14-14. West Haven had many attempts but could not convert them into points. Then, Staples had a huge play to take the lead! The score was now 21-14 Staples. West Haven was starting to lose hope, but they would not give up.

With 1 minute left to play, West Haven scores! 21-20 Staples still leads by 1. Instead of going for the field goal and trying to tie it, West Haven’s head coaches decided to try and win it with a two-point conversion. Everyone held their breath as West Haven lined up at the 3-yard line, the ball was snapped and they decided to knock out a quick pass play, caught… but tackled before into the end zone! Staples wins their first title since 2005!

Staples overcame much adversity to become State Champions. In the end, their training and persistence paid off.

Works Cited

Collinville Press. collinsvillepress.com/2023/12/staples-holds-off-west-haven-at-the-end-to-win-class-ll-championship/35775/.