WESTPORT — Maybe it was something mystical that caused a talented opponent to fumble on fourth-and-inches at midfield. Maybe it was something magical that turned a misfiring quarterback into Superman with under two minutes remaining. Or maybe it was something divine that gave a hard-luck player a glorious second chance at redemption.

Call it mysticism, call it wizardry or call it divine intervention. Whatever it was, Staples refuses to lose on its home field.

Junior Mike Samela, who had dropped a sure touchdown pass at the end of the first half, redeemed himself twice in the fourth quarter to keep Staples' five-year home streak alive.

He recovered a Central fumble at midfield and then caught a perfectly-thrown 19-yard touchdown pass from R.J. Marsilio in the corner of the end zone with 43 seconds remaining in Staples' heart-pounding, nail-biting, knee-buckling 17-14 victory.

“We've always been told, never put your head down because it's not over until that last second goes,” said Marsilio, who helped break up Central quarterback Jamarl Hardison's desperation heave into the end zone to preserve the victory. “We live by that. And this game goes to show, you should never give up.”

And because they never did, their home winning streak at Staples Field is alive and well at 27 games.

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More importantly, the Wreckers, ranked No. 6 in both the state and coaches polls, remained unbeaten at 5-0 and are in control of their own destiny for a berth in the FCIAC championship game.

“That's a great football team we beat,” Staples coach Marce Petroccio said. “But, you know what? We're pretty good ourselves. That's 27 in a row on this field.”

It was a demoralizing loss for Central (4-1), which was bursting at the seams with confidence as it took a 14-8 halftime lead.

Cordero Diaz scored on a 33-yard run on Central's first possession, and later set up Will Nunez's 1-yard touchdown run with a 43-yard scamper.

An outstanding defensive effort, which stopped Staples from scoring inside its own 20 twice in the second half, helped the Hilltoppers hold their lead deep into the fourth quarter.

Its back to the goal line, Central took a strategic safety with 10:32 remaining.

But on Staples' ensuing drive, Central's Albert Wright recovered Josh Kuzel's fumble on the Hilltoppers' 11 with 5:31 remaining.

As Central tried to run out the clock by going for a fourth-and-inches at its own 44, Hardison reached out and fumbled the ball and Samela fell on it on Central's 49-yard line with 3:44 left. It was Central's fourth turnover of the game and the one that finally broke the Hilltoppers' defense.

Marsilio, who had completed just 2-of-10 passes to that point, completed three consecutive passes to set the Wreckers up on the 19. Petroccio called a fade route for Samela, who made a move past Central corner Samuel Elem and caught Marsilio's lob for the winning score.

“I was kind of praying for it because I dropped the first touchdown,” said Samela, who also had an interception. “I wanted to redeem myself.”

Ironically, Petroccio almost changed his mind when he saw Elem line up on Samela. “But it was too late to change and I said, to heck with it, let's go for it,” Petroccio said. “R.J. really put the ball in the only place it could possibly be a touchdown.”

Central coach Dave Cadelina added the touchdown to his team's list of mistakes, saying his safety should have moved over to help defend. “There's no way that should have been completed,” he said. “That was a character touchdown right there.

We didn't quite have it in the end.” With 33 seconds remaining and no timeouts, Hardison (8-of-16, 115 yards, three interceptions) hit Brenden Bish and then Jerry Upchurch twice to get the Hilltoppers to the Staples' 34 with 5 seconds left. Hardison avoided a rush and lifted a prayer to Upchurch that was batted away by Julian Seidman.

Marsilio led Staples with 82 yards on 17 carries and Kenny Lozyniak scored on a 33-yard run in the second quarter. Diaz led Central with 78 yards on five carries, while Keith Carlos ran for 25 on 12 carries.

“It ain't all over,” Cadelina said. “We've got Greenwich next week, which is going to be a toughie. We can either get back to work or pack it in. Nobody's packing it in.”

CENTRAL 8 6 0 0 — 14
STAPLES 0 8 0 9 — 17
C — Cordero Diaz 33 run (Jamarl Hardison run)
S — Kenny Lozyniak 18 run (Lozyniak run)
C — Will Nunez 1 run (pass failed)
S — Safety, Hardison kneeled in end zone
S — Matt Samela 19 pass R.J. Marsilio (Alex Lebow kick)
Records: Central 4-1; Staples 5-0.