The Ray Tellier Midget Football League (West Haven Seahawks) opened the 2019 season under bright sunny skies. Mayor Nancy Rossi threw the ceremonial first football to 8U head football coach Rick Merritt to officially kickoff the season.
The flag football (5 & 6 year olds) teams hosted the Hamden Hurricanes to begin the day. The flag program is strictly fundamental and scores are not kept. The teams both looked good. The blue team was led by Colin Watson, Jackson Boynton, Payton Roach. The green team got a great effort from Andrew Loehn, Riley Ortiz and Elijah Vreeland.
The tackle football teams hosted the Naugatuck Hounds.
Mayor Nancy Rossi threw the first pass to 8U coach Rick Merritt while league president Mike Last and the football and cheer leading teams and coaches look on.
In the 8U game (7 & 8 year olds), the Seahawk squad raced off to an early start in route to a 32-0 victory over the Hounds, with Majesty Whitaker scoring one of his three touchdowns on the day. Two of the scores were on offense and one on defense as he had an interception for a score.
Tristian Crawford added two scores including an electrifying 99-yard touchdown run. The offense of line was led by CJ Schlauder, William Pastore, Jayden Potter, Jacari Harris and Mason Booker. A strong defensive effort was led by Jaden Spell who had an interception and six solo tackles.
The 10U Seahawk team (9 & 10) topped Naugatuck, 32-6, after falling behind in the first quarter. Quarterback Mason Wright accounted for four touchdowns, one rushing and three passing. Caden Stanley caught one touchdown pass and Joseph (JJ) Lugo caught passes for two more scores. TJ Stevenson also had two rushing touchdowns in the win. An aggressive and good tackling defense was led by Arthur Rossi and Azriel Pizarro.
The 12U game (11 & 12) saw two teams that matched up well and the game did not disappoint the fans. The Seahawks pulled away late in the game for a 21-2 win, but the defenses for both teams played well.
The Seahawks scored first with quarterback Nick Conlon hitting receiver Teriq Mallory for a touchdown. Running back Aedan Coe had two long touchdown runs. Anthony Dorsi and Bryan Tillman added the extra points. Jovon Williams, Joey Copela, Delaney Fludd and Lindell Jaynes led the defensive effort.
The 14U Seahawks (13 & 14) beat the Naugatuck Hounds, 39-24, in a competitive back-and-forth game. The Hawks pulled away late in the 4th quarter. Damari Barker accounted for five touchdowns on the afternoon and Javier Smith added his own 38-yard score. Quarterback Dylan Whitlow threw the ball well, hitting key passes including a 40 yard strike to receiver Xavier Fernandez.
Fullback Trysten Dos picked up key first downs while controlling the clock late in the game. Amber Militrano executed an onside kick in the fourth quarter with the score 25-24.
The Seahawks are back home at Veterans Field on Saturday will host the Stratford Redskins. The flag game will start at 8:45 with the 8U game at 10, 10U at noon, 12U at 2 and the 14U game at 4.