By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT — Staples football team pulled away in the second half for a 49-3 trouncing of the St. Joseph Cadets on Friday night. It was the Wreckers’ first win over St. Joe’s in eight years.

Defense played a huge role, stopping the Cadets on the opening drive on a goal line stand from inside the one yard line and forcing four turnovers (three interceptions and a fumble recovery inside the red zone). 

St. Joe’s had the ball in the red zone five times and but was kept out of the end zone and limited to just a field goal.

It was Senior Night for the Staples team, and several senior players had key roles in the victory.

Senior quarterback Caleb Smith led the offense with four rushing touchdowns and one passing TD. Senior tight end Ryan Skolnick had a TD reception. Senior running back Jay Anastasi had a rushing TD, and junior running back Jarrett DeLuca also ran for a score.

The Wreckers led 14-3 at the half and opened up the game in the second half with a big third quarter.

Smith completed 10 of 17 pass attempts for 111 yards and carried the ball 17 times for 184.

DeLuca had nine rushes for 83 yards. Sam Petrosino had a pair of receptions for 56 yards and Max Maurillo had three catches for 38 yards.

Petrosino, Maurillo and Alex Fiala all had interceptions.

The Wreckers, 8-1, close out the regular season with a 10 a.m. Thanksgiving Day visit to Greenwich as they look to bolster their state playoff seeding. (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.