Two weeks ago, the West Haven football team was aware of the high-powered North Haven running game. The Westies were out to show they have one of their own.
Holding the Nighthawks to 254 yards of offense, West Haven rolled to a 32-7 victory over North Haven Friday evening at Vanacore field in North Haven.
West Haven (6-1) did the damage on the ground as Nick Conlan and Coryon Harris combined for 452 yards rushing and five touchdowns.
Harris ran for 206 yards and three scores, while Conlan added 246 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground.
Harris helped stake the Westies to a 13-0 lead when he scored on a 24-yard run on West Haven’s first possession, then added a 47-yard score on West Haven’s next possession just one minute into the second quarter.
Leading 13-7 at the half, the Westies set the tone in the second half, scoring on their first three possessions. West Haven finished the game with 540 yards of offense.
Conlan capped West Haven’s three-play, 55-yard drive to start the second half with a 47-yard score. After West Haven held North Haven on downs at the West Haven 20 to start the second half, Conlan marched his team 80 yards in 10 plays, capped with a 1-yard score by Harris for a 25-7 lead.
The West Haven defense came up big again on North Haven’s next possession, holding the Nighthawks short of a score at the 1-yard line. The Westies then needed three plays to go 99 yards, capped with an 85-yard touchdown run by Conlan.
Last week, West Haven won its seventh straight contest after an opening day loss with a 49-0 thumping of Branford Friday evening at Ken Strong Stadium in West Haven.
West Haven’s defense was the story as Kavonni Daniels had 3.5 sacks and Kadear Dembele had 2.5 sacks in the shutout.
Offensively, Conlan threw for 138 yards and three touchdowns, and he also ran for a score, while Harris ran for 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Westies got on the board quickly and never looked back with a 27-0 lead after one quarter and 41-0 lead at the half.
After a Branford turnover opened the contest, Conlan ran in from nine yards out for a 7-0 lead. Harris increased the lead to 13-0 with a 14-yard run, before Conlan connected with Dembele on a 6-yard scoring pass for a 20-0 lead.
West Haven capped the first quarter scoring when Conlan hit Caron Hannans for a 12-yard scoring pass. Harris added a 28-yard touchdown run and Tamarion Lafortune caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Conlan for the 41-0 halftime lead.
Ja’kyi Wright scored from six yards out in the third quarter and Mason Wright ran in the conversion for the final points of the game.
The West Haven boys soccer team opened the CIAC Class LL state tournament in impressive fashion. No. 22 West Haven trailed at halftime, but the Westies rallied to defeat No. 11 Brien McMahon, 3-1, in Norwalk Saturday.
Trailing 1-0 as McMahon scored with six minutes remaining in the opening half, West Haven scored three times in the second half to pull out the win.
“It was a great come from behind win,” West Haven coach Chris Cap said.
Robens Mervenson evened the game for the Westies off an assist from Bryan Monge 5:20 into the second half, before Monge gave West Haven the lead for good with a goal off an assist from Aidan Panton at the 62:00 mark.
Walter Romero iced the contest with a goal off an assist from Matthew Panton with nine minutes remaining.
Yahzeel Beyley made four saves in the win as the Westies held a 7-5 shot advantage in the contest.
After an upset victory in the opening round of the Class LL state tournament, West Haven was looking to keep the magic going. A pair of upsets in the opening round afforded the No. 22 Westies the opportunity to host No. 27 Norwalk.
Unfortunately for West Haven, the run ended as Norwalk jumped out to a quick three goal lead and held on for a 4-2 victory over the Westies at Ken Strong Stadium Tuesday afternoon.
“We fought hard in the second half to get ourselves out of a three- goal hole,” Cap said. “Unfortunately, we came up a bit short. The lads put in an incredible effort.”
Trailing 3-0 at halftime, the Westies fought back when Matthew Panton scored at the 63 minute mark off an assist from Romero to get West Haven on the board. Matthew Panton then scored 6:30 later to get the Westies within a goal, but Norwalk sealed the victory with a tally in the 78th minute to end hopes of a West Haven comeback.
Emerson Maldonado scored twice for Norwalk in the win.
West Haven held an 11-8 shot advantage in the contest. Beyley made two saves for West Haven.