WESTPORT Cheery parents, boisterous students and hand-shaking politicos packed Staples High School Saturday afternoon, turning its football field into a carnival.

Any other mild-mannered teenager could have become lost in such an atmosphere.

Luckily for the 2,500 on hand, the fifth-ranked Staples football team was anything but taken in by the pleasantries surrounding them. The Wreckers were all business in their 28-0 dismantling of Trumbull at Staples Field.

In a performance reminiscent of their last two state championship teams, the Wreckers defense forced three turnovers, including two in the second half, to turn a tight ballgame into a mission statement for the 2006 season.

Alex Lebow rushed for two touchdowns, R.J. Marsilio threw another to Kenny Lozyniak and the Weckers improved to 4-0 heading into next week's huge game against unbeaten Central.

Because Staples lost 23 seniors from last year's Class L championship team, coach Marce Petroccio wasn't sold on this team.

Now he knows. His players know. And it won't be long before the rest of the FCIAC gets the picture, too.

The 2006 Wreckers are good.

They're very, very good.

"This was definitely a statement game," said end Andrew Kennedy, who had a sack and two tackles for a loss to lead a defense that held Trumbull to 65 total yards, and a measly two in the second half. "I think we proved to ourselves that we can play with the best teams in the state. I think we felt good by the way we came out

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for the second half."

After surviving a fumble by Lebow on its first play from scrimmage, Staples moved the ball well in the first half, but only had a 7-0 lead at halftime.

Marsilio pinned Trumbull inside its own 10 twice in the first half with punts.

His second, downed at the Trumbull 3, led to excellent field position and Lebow's 5-yard touchdown with 42 seconds before halftime. Even with the lead, no one in the Staples locker room was satisfied. "Halftime was intense," Kennedy said. "We regrouped and looked at a couple of plays we thought would work. But mainly, we just had to come out for the second half and play a little better." They played better than better.

After stopping Trumbull at midfield to start the second half, Staples used its massive offensive line to take control of the game.

The Wreckers went 78 yards in nine plays and Marsilio hit Lozyniak with a 10-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0.

On Trumbull's second play after the touchdown, Francois Auzerias recovered a fumble to set the Wreckers up on Trumbull's 42-yard line. Seven plays later, Lebow scooted 5 yards for his second touchdown of the afternoon.

To that point, Trumbull had minus-five yards of offense. And it only got worse.

With Staples massive 285-pound defensive end Matt Samela bearing down on him, Trumbull quarterback Bobby Maffei got hit as he threw the ball into linebacker Josh Kozel's hands.

Seven plays later, Mike Samela went 18 yards on a reverse to complete the scoring and send the crowd home happy.

Colin O Shea had a pair of sacks for the Wreckers. "I know one thing, we play pretty good defense here, that's for sure," Staples coach Marce Petroccio said.

"I think in the second half we really came out and pounded them a little bit. Trumbull played hard, but in the second half we played mistake-free football. That was the difference."

Maffei competed 5-of-11 passes for 73 yards. Ben Walkley had three receptions for 67 yards.

A.J. Ciccaglione, however, was Trumbull's leading rusher with 17 yards on 11 carries.

"We didn't get on track," said Trumbull coach Bob Maffei, who dismissed his team for the week with a few choice words. "They're bigger than us, particularly up front. Hey, they're a good team. Give them credit.

"We just have to get back to the grindstone. We can play with anyone, it's just a matter of how long."

Tim Zubrinski and Owen Smith recovered fumbles for Trumbull.