WOODSTOCK — Woodstock coach Ramsey Worrell wanted his team to send a message Thursday night.

Ahead of the Wasps’ clash with Springfield, the only remaining unbeaten squad in the CVL, Worrell preached to his team about “living up to a standard,” one established in Woodstock long before he was the head coach.

He also wanted to see his team play with more physicality than it had in the first two games of the season — a 48-0 win over Poultney and a narrow 35-33 road victory in New York against Peru.

The Wasps were up to the task, finding the end zone five times and shutting out the Cosmos in the first half before rolling to a 40-8 victory.

“Right now, teams are kind of trying to jockey for who the top teams in our division are,” Worrell said. “And at this point, we’re both coming in 2-0. On paper, this is a big game. … We just wanted to set the tone.”

Woodstock’s defense held Springfield’s rushing attack at bay on the latter’s opening two drives, forcing a pair of punts. The Wasps took a lead they would never relinquish near the end of the first quarter when junior quarterback Aleks Oates hit senior running back Caeden Perreault on a short pass, who promptly broke multiple tackles on his way to a 45-yard touchdown. 

Worrell’s backfield produced another explosive play early in the second quarter, when Oates rolled out to his left and dumped the ball down to Vincent Petrone. The senior running back’s play mirrored Perreault’s from a few minutes earlier, as he weaved through traffic and darted down the sideline past a couple Springfield defenders for a score.

The duo of Perreault and Petrone combined for all five of Woodstock’s touchdowns in the first half, including a 30-yard punt return touchdown from Perreault. Petrone, meanwhile, finished the game with a team-high 119 rushing yards, highlighted by a 57-yard rushing touchdown to close the second quarter. 

Worrell attributed the duo’s evasiveness and ability to bounce off opposing defenders to a consistent dedication in the weight room.

“When I was a player, in the summertime we played basketball and did some conditioning, but kids lift weights now. It’s amazing,” Worrell said. “We have some big, strong, athletic kids. … Our starting backfield’s pretty tough and they showed it tonight.”

The Wasps, who earned the No. 1 seed in the Division-III state playoffs last year before being shut out 36-0 by Windsor in the state title game, are exhibiting a new level of confidence they didn’t have in 2023, according to Worrell. That boon in confidence coalesces with a roster that is balanced and experienced, he added.

Woodstock will now have two weeks to prepare for its next opponent after Oxbow canceled its 2024 season, removing the intended game on Saturday, Sept. 21 from the Wasps’ schedule. 

The unplanned bye week comes almost at the halfway point of the season, Worrell said, which allows him and his coaching staff to “fine tune some things” ahead of the team’s next game — a home clash against U-32 on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. 

Still unbeaten through three games, Woodstock’s expectations remain unchanged.

“We call it, ‘Get to the 11th game,’” Worrell said. “And this year for us, it’s 10 because we lost the game (against Oxbow). But we want to get to that last game. And if we can get there, then let’s see what we can do.”

Alex Cervantes can be reached at acervantes@vnews.com or 603-727-7302.