NEW CANAAN – Up 23-10 with 2:23 left in the fourth quarter, the New Canaan Rams all but sealed a home win over Staples following star safety Andrew Esposito’s second interception in less than a minute on Saturday.

But, sandwiched in between Esposito’s interceptions was a fumble recovery from Charlie Leahy of Staples, which offered a short-lived glimmer of hope for the Wreckers in an otherwise tough final quarter.

Before the flurry of turnovers, New Canaan dragged the Staples defense through a nine-minute drive capped by a field goal from Tucker Stevens to help ice an otherwise close, physical game.

Both teams are now 4-1.

“The receivers blocked really well, the o-line played hard. I mean, we had a nine-minute drive, and they busted them every play.” said Esposito, a junior two-way star for the Rams better known for his achievements on the offensive side of the ball.

“He’s unbelievable, a really good football player, is only a junior. He does everything for us, and I’m glad he’s on our side for sure.” New Canaan head coach Lou Marinelli said of Esposito.

While Esposito also had a long touchdown catch called back by a holding call, the New Canaan offense leaned on its run game for much of the day. Running back Jack Crowell scored a goal-line touchdown to start the fourth quarter, and running back James McInerney punched in a goal-line direct snap to end the first half. Quarterback Luke Robinson rounded out the trifecta of rushing touchdowns for New Canaan with a QB sneak in the second quarter. Stevens was 2/2 on extra points during the game, with Robinson’s sneak followed by a failed two-point attempt.

Though New Canaan rushed for three touchdowns, the yards were not easy to come by against a physical Staples defense led by linebackers Charlie Leahy and Davis Crandall.

“They’re a very physical team. We couldn’t run in between the tackles, they were so good inside, especially their linebackers. So we tried to do everything outside…but to play a team like that, and to hang in the way that we are cause we’re so young, I was proud.” said Marinelli.

Offensively, Staples struggled to move the ball for much of the day, but quarterback Nick Weil was able to break off an electric 66-yard run to bring Staples within three points in the third quarter. Aidan Stubbs hit the extra point and also kicked off the day’s scoring with a field goal in the first quarter.

Aside from the aforementioned Leahy and Crandall, Callum Mclean had a strong defensive showing for the Wreckers. On the New Canaan side, Connor Mazza and Michael Smith brought a physical presence throughout the game.

On his expectations moving forward, Marinelli is focused on the next game.

“I want to beat Wilton. That’s all I want, and then we’ll worry about the next one the next time,” he said.

When asked the same question, star quarterback Robinson and receiver Esposito were confident.

“We’re gonna try to win the rest of our games. I mean Masuk, we came out slow and lost it for ourselves. But we’re gonna try to win the rest of our games and take the state championship.” said Esposito.

“I think just build on this momentum, this was a huge win, with them being third in the state. Just a huge win for us, big team, we need to build on that and continue that for the rest of the season.” added Robinson.