Nick Conlan and Camren Kemp love the diversity of the West Haven offense. The pair has every reason.
Behind three touchdown runs and a touchdown pass from Conlan, and 156 yards rushing and a score from Kemp on his birthday, West Haven rolled to a 47-21 victory over Hamden in a Southern Connecticut Conference contest at Hamden High just before having the mandatory bye week. The Westies play North Haven at Ken Strong Stadium, Friday..
Conlan was on the money as well, connecting on 11-of-17 passes for 165 yards and the touchdown pass to Demarco Eady to give the Westies a 6-0 lead on the opening possession of the game.
The Westies, ranked second in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll, outgained Hamden 259-167 in the opening half, and it was big plays which had the momentum switching sides in the first 24 minutes.
Behind Conlan, West Haven gained 432 yards in the game and jumped out to a 20-0 lead before the Green Dragons stormed back.
Hamden used a 10-play, 66 -yard drive to get within 20-7 when Charles Hebron ran in from 2 yards out with 6:12 to go in the half, but it was a 35-yard connection between Jerard Gibson Jr. and Shijuan Young Jr. to the West Haven 40 on fourth down which gave Hamden life.
After stopping West Haven on its next possession, the Green Dragons looked as if they were taking control of the game, but West Haven’s Andrevion Dixon intercepted a Gibson pass inside the 10-yard line with 1:19 to go in the half.
That play by Dixon allowed West Haven to take a 26-7 lead at the break as Camren Kemp raced in from 64 yards out with 10 seconds remaining in the half.
The Green Dragons looked to get back in the game, but after stalling on its opening drive of the third quarter, Hamden watched West Haven take a 33-7 lead when Conlan ran in from 13 yards out.
Hebron’s second touchdown of the game got Hamden within 19, but West Haven iced the game with two touchdowns in less than 30 seconds.
Ya’Hinus Mercer scored from one yard out, before Avyon Graham intercepted Gibson on Hamden’s next offensive possession and returned the pick 12 yards for the score and a 47-14 lead.
West Haven set the tone of the game early as the Westies clicked on all cylinders, outgaining the Green Dragons 169-49 in the opening quarter, which saw the Westies take a 20-0 lead.
The Westies needed just five plays to go 49 yards to start the game, capped by a Conlan to Eady 35-yard touchdown connection.
After Hamden was stopped at the West Haven 10 on its initial possession of the game, West Haven marched 90 yards in 12 plays to take a 12-0 lead. The drive was kept alive on fourth and long because of a Hamden personal foul, and the Westies capitalized when Conlan ran in from 10 yards out with 2:13 left in the first quarter.
The momentum continued for the Westies when Jayden Franklin recovered a Hamden fumble three plays later.
Conlan made Hamden pay when he scored on a 40-yard run. Armani Reid then took a bad snap and ran in the conversion for the 20-0 lead as time expired in the opening quarter.
Devin Sanders led Hamden with 105 yards rushing, while Gibson finished with 155 yards in the air and two interceptions.
The girls volleyball team won its second consecutive match with a 3-0 victory over Hillhouse. With the 25-8, 25-13, 25-12 home win, West Haven improved to 6-5 on the year.
Hudanur Sahin and Sarah Davey ran the offense as Sahin had 10 assists and Davey finished with eight assists. Sahin also added four aces and three digs.
Olivia McDonnell had eight kills and three digs, Sam Close had eight kills, Bianka Portugal Morales finished with five aces, three digs, and two kills, Shannon Hoey added five aces, Alison Frazer had four digs, and Kemely Gomes-Soares and Maddie Scillia each had three aces in the win.
West Haven traveled to Guilford riding a two-game winning streak. That streak ended abruptly with a 25-13, 25-23, 25-17 loss to the Grizzlies.
With the defeat, West Haven fell to 6-6 on the year and needs two more wins to qualify for postseason play.
Frazer led the defense with 13 digs, Portugal Morales had 10 digs, while also adding four kills. Sahin had nine digs and seven assists, McDonnell added nine kills, and Hoey chipped in seven digs in the loss. Davey ran the offense with nine assists.
West Haven got back on the winning track with a 3-0 victory at Foran. The Westies improved to 7-6 with a 28-26, 25-17, 25-17 victory over the Lions.
Sahin ran the offense with 23 assists, while adding eight digs on defense. Portugal Morales and Hoey each had 12 digs, with Portugal Morales also chipping in six kills and three aces.
Frazer had 10 digs, McDonnell added nine kills, seven digs, and five blocks, Scillia had nine digs, Close added eight kills, and Camila Queiroz had six digs.
In a back-and-forth battle, West Haven fell to Jonathan Law 3-2. The Westies fell 25-16, 14-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-12 and fell to 7-7 on the year.
Sahin played extremely well with 19 digs and 19 assists, while McDonnell had 12 kills and six aces. Portugal Morales had 23 digs and five kills, Scillia added 11 digs and five aces, and Close had five kills.
West Haven is headed to the postseason. With a 25-14, 25-10, 25-17 victory at Career, the Westies improved to 8-7 on the year.
Sahin led the way for the Westies with 21 assists, four aces and two digs. Morales had 11 aces, seven digs, and four kills, McDonnell added eight kills and five aces, and Victalia Deida, Esther Ortiz, and Jayden Braacker each finished with four digs. Close chipped in four kills in the win.
The boys soccer team dropped its second straight decision with a 2-1 loss against Amity. The loss dropped the Westies to 6-3-1 on the year.
The Westies took a 1-0 lead when Ethan Masoperh scored off an assist from Rafael Gazcon at the 16:32 mark. Amity then scored twice in less than a minute late in the first half to take a 2-1 lead the Spartans never relinquished.
Amity held a 10-9 shot advantage in the game. Darwin Calvopina made six saves in the loss.
West Haven played to a 1-1 tie at Foran. The draw moved the Westies to 6-3-2 on the year.
West Haven got on the board early and took a 1-0 lead when Juan Vargas took a 1-0 lead at the 25- minute mark off an assist from Bobby Severino. The lead held up until 24:25 remained in the game when Foran evened the contest.
West Haven held a 10-4 shot advantage in the contest. Calvopina made two saves in the draw.
West Haven improved to 7-3-2 with a 2-0 victory at Wilbur Cross. The Westies received a solid team effort in the win.
After a scoreless first half, West haven finally took the lead at the 62:37 mark with an unassisted goal from Matt Hunter. Severino added an insurance goal less than eight minutes later off an assist from Masoperh for West Haven’s eighth win of the year.
West Haven held a 6-5 shot advantage in the contest. Calvopina made three saves in the shutout for West Haven.
West Haven fell to 7-4-2 with a 2-1 loss at Hamden. After a scoreless first half, Hamden scored twice in less than 12 minutes in the second half for a 2-0 lead and never looked back.
The Green Dragons scored at the 43:40 mark, then added a second tally 11:55 later for the two-goal lead.
West Haven cut the deficit in half at the 64:36 mark when Caleb Awuah scored off an assist from Severino. West Haven never got closer as Hamden held an 8-6 shot advantage in the contest.
Calvopina made five saves in the loss.
The girls soccer team overcame a late deficit with a stunning rally to defeat Lauralton Hall, 4-3, in Milford. With the victory, West Haven inched closer to the .500 mark and improved to 3-4-1 on the year.
Jaylyn Powell led the way with two goals, Amiyah Jones and Ariana Izzo (penalty kick) also scored, while Ariana Izzo, Annabelle Pasacreta, and Ilyanna Griffith each added an assist.
Izzo and Pasacreta picked up helpers on the goals by Powell, while Griffith assisted on the tally by Jones.
The Westies could not build off that momentum as they suffered a 7-2 road loss against Amity two days later.
The girls swim team fell to 0-6 with a 100-83 defeat at Branford.
The Westies placed second in the 200 medley relay with a team of Ava Gallipoli, Emma Dorjee, Khando Dorjee, and Emily Falanga in 2 minutes, 21.24 seconds. The 200 free relay team of Khando Dorjee, Falanga, Delia Vital, and Emily Guthrie was second in 2:07.39, and the 400 free relay team was also second with a team of Gallipoli, Caly Nyack, Guthrie, and Olivia DeLauri in 4:47.83.
Gallipoli won the 200 freestyle in 2:27.29, while Vital was third in 2:49.79. Khando Dorjee was second in the 200 IM in 2:54.04, Falanga placed second in the 50 Free in 31.77 seconds, and Vital was third in 33.69.
Madison Rowland was third in diving with 92.85 points, Nyack was third in the 100 fly in 1:26.27, while Khando Dorjee won the 100 free in 1:04.41, and Falanga placed third in 1:10.74. Gallipoli won the 500 freestyle in 6:38.11, Guthrie was third in 7:12.38, Nyack won the 100 backstroke in 1:15.28, and DeLauri placed second.
Emma Dorjee placed third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:37.86.
For all your West Haven sporting news throughout the year, including game articles by Mike Madera, highlights, photos and more, visit www.westieblue.com.