By Andy Hutchison

SOUTHINGTON — The Staples High football team came from behind to hand one of the state’s top-ranked teams, Southington, its first loss of the season, 34-27, Friday night. 

With the road victory, the Wreckers won their second straight and improved to 2-1 on the season.

Senior captain and quarterback Caleb Smith threw a trio of touchdown passes, including a pair to his brother, Nate, and one to senior captain Sammy Petrosino. The Staples QB also ran for a couple of scores to play a key role in all of his team’s scoring.

Staples came back from an early 13-0 deficit as a result of a strong physical defense that took over in the second quarter.

The linebackers  — captain Andrew Rossman, Davis Crandall, and Luke and Kody Goldman — had a strong game, as did the defensive line led by seniors Dom Petrosinelli and Tristan Keefe and junior Charlie Leahy.

The defense kept Southington’s quarterback off balance all game. The Staples secondary did an excellent job limiting a very strong and athletic Southington receiving corps and keeping the receivers in check throughout the night.

The Wreckers will be on the road again when they visit Westhill at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30. (Game schedules are subject to change; click for the latest CIAC updates.)

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s.