Jack Capetola (36)at the mandatory weigh in as Dan Casale (28) waits his turn. Expectations were high as the Stafford Thunder 8's took to the gridiron on a sun-swept afternoon for their home opener against a tough Baldwin Bombers squad on Sunday, September 10th.

Head Coach Tim Stafford, along with assistants John Knowles, Bill Hughes, Stephen Chmil, James Atkinson and Gene Curry have been preparing the boys for the upcoming season with two and three a week practices since early August at St Paul's. After an early morning walk through practice on Saturday, the boys were ready for their home opener.

The captains took to the field and in what may have been an omen, lost the coin toss, putting the Thunder defense on the field for the first plays from scrimmage. On first down, Baldwin took a misdirection play down the right sideline for an opening score that put the Bombers up 6-0.

Undaunted, the offense, anchored on the line by center Brendan Dolan, gave quarterback Matt Chmil time behind the line for playmakers Jack Capetola, Sam Lucchesi, Brian Leggett, and Dan Confort room to run. With the "four horsemen" slashing the line, ground was gained, but points were at a premium.

Kevin MacDougal (46) on the run " With just over three minutes left in the first half, defensive back Jack Capetola stepped into the fray and picked off a Bombers forward pass, returning the ball to the Bombers 30 yard line. With time ticking away, Jack then took the ball around the right end Sean Knowles and was sprung for a beautiful 20 yard touchdown run after a crushing block was put on the Baldwin linebacker by Dan Confort, who trailed the play.

Trailing at the half, 12-6, Thunder came back onto the field for the start of the second half, with the offense ready to go. The offensive line, with Chris Halka, Mike DeSanti Michael Goulard, Joseph Philippas, Joe King and Jaime Atkinson pushed the pile back for running plays that netted some yardage both inside and out. Baldwin's line stiffened, however, and points were hard to come by.

With Baldwin running plays to the outside, defensive speed was a must and Thunder players Peter McCarthy, Dylan Hughes, Danny Casale, and Mike Franco along with defensive line stalwarts Kevin McDougal, Dominic Avitablile, James Murphy and Matt Muscarella stopped the Baldwin running game until it came to a 4th and 7 at Thunder's 35 yard line. Taking the snap, the Bombers took the ball down the right sideline, for a score that ultimately put the game out of reach. Despite hard nosed play from Brian McKenna, Matt Quinn, Christian Ferris and Max Sutherland to the final whistle, Thunder suffered an opening loss in this hard fought battle.

Dan Confort (72) Mike Franco (53) Jaime Atkinson(12) Matt Muscarella (81) and Sean Knowles(29) hold the line.

Brian Leggett (68) and Dan Confort (72) go after Baldwin as Mike Franco (53) trails the play.