Staples vs. Harding

The Wreckers have always had a tough time playing at Hedges Stadium. A football field, it is small, bumpy — and this year, the grass was very high.

When Staples missed a couple of early gimmes, it could have been “one of those days.”

It wasn’t.

In the 10th minute Mikey Scott’s long throw found Mikey Fitzgerald’s head for the 1st score. The tall defender — who moves forward on offense — just missed 2 headers later.

In the 30th minute keeper Michael McCarthy’s quick outlet was flick-headed on by Luke Yeager. Greg Gudis finished strongly.

In the 38th minute Gudis made it 3-0, with crisp feeds from Alan Reiter and Brendan Lesch. The half ended with Lesch about to shoot on a breakaway, when the official called time.

The 2nd half showed no letup. Justin Hawrysh, Jason Bennett, and sophomores Alex Tonsberg and Dylan Evans attacked strongly. Sean Gallagher and Steven Denowitz held the fort defensively, while freshman keeper James Hickok kept the scoreline clean. Final score: Staples 3, Harding 0. Season record: 2-0-0.

QUICK KICKS: Staples outshot the Presidents 18-2, and led in corner kicks 11-0….

The freshmen shut out Westhill 4-0, their 2nd straight whitewashing of the Vikings in 3 days. Noah Bender scored 2; Dylan Hoy and Zack Pensak had solo efforts. Coach Chris O’Dell cited Pensak for his all-around strong play.