The West Have Blue Devils football team continued to make a statement and prove people wrong in the state of Connecticut with a dominant 27-0 victory at the Cheshire Rams.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Westies found themselves pinned deep in their own territory after a punt. Starting on their own 1-yard line, the Blue Devils ran a couple of plays to get them away from their goal line, then Zach Conlan broke off a 57-yard run to put the Westies in business in Cheshire territory. Several plays later, Jake Conlan pitched the ball to Chris Chance, who lofted the ball into the corner of the end zone to Jordan Wetmore. Wetmore pulled down a beautiful catch and appeared to put the boys in the lead but, it was ruled incomplete.
The Blue Devils would not be denied on this drive though. They continued to pound the ball down the field with their running game and got into the end zone with a Jake Conlan 1-yard leap into the pile to give them a 7-0 lead with 1:17 left.
West Haven then got another opportunity when Kyle Godfrey intercepted a Cheshire pass and weaved his way all the way down to the Ram 14-yard line with six seconds left. Jake Conlan hit Godfrey with a pass in the right flat and he raced for the corner of the end zone but was tripped up at the 2-yard line as time expired in a hard-fought first half with the Westies holding a 7-0 lead.
The Blue Devils took control in the third quarter with a 23-yard Kyle Godfrey touchdown run and a 2-point conversion on a Chris Chance pass to Jordan Wetmore in the corner of the end zone to make it 15-0 with 7:19 left in the quarter. Godfrey then came up with his second interception of the game in the fourth quarter on a fourth down play at the Westies’ 29-yard line to stop another Cheshire drive. Godfrey would tack on another touchdown with 6:26 left in the game on a 15-yard run and after a missed extra point it was 21-0.
The West Haven defense continued to stymie the Ram offense with a fumble recovery at midfield on the next Cheshire possession and an interception by Jordan Wetmore with 3:15 left in the game as the Rams were driving into Westie territory. Chris Chance then exploded for a 65-yard touchdown run with 2:27 left and the Blue Devils held a 27-0 lead after a blocked extra point.
Chris Chance finished with 164 yards rushing, Zach Conlan had 117 yards on the ground and Kyle Godfrey picked up 115 yards rushing to lead the offense while the defense was the story, never allowing the Rams to get into the red zone and coming up with big play after big play to preserve the victory.
This week, the Blue Devils host the Norwich Free Academy Wildcats in a rare Saturday evening contest in Ken Strong Stadium at 7.
The girls soccer team finally broke the string of four ties with a thumping of the Sacred Heart Academy Sharks 5-0 on Monday afternoon in Hamden. The Blue Devils exploded for four, first half goals over a span of seven minutes to grab an early lead. Mackenzie Holy scored an unassisted goal at 12:15 then Kelsey Gilmore took a Megan Froehlich pass and found the back of the net to make it 2-0 at 15:09. Keegan Riccio then set up Holy for her second goal at 18:10 and Taylor Nowak capitalized on a feed from Froehlich to increase the lead to 4-0.
Megan Froehlich picked up her third assist of the game on Kelsey Gilmore’s second goal of the game 14:45 into the second half for the 5-0 final. Alycia Morales was called on to make two saves in the shutout victory.
On Friday afternoon, the Westies traveled to New Haven to face off against Wilbur Cross and saw the offense light up the Governors in a 6-1 victory. On this day, the Westies spread the offense around with six, different players finding the back of the net. Keegan Riccio got the Blue Devils going with the assist going to Erin Smith just 1:49 into the game. Kelsey Gilmore then converted a pass from Emily Merola to put West Haven up 2-0 at 15:44.
After the Governors cut the lead to 2-1, it was all Westies. The Westies scored three goals over a span if seven and a half minutes late in the first half to take command. Mackenzie Holy scored at 31:13 assisted by Riccio, Taylor Nowak added a goal at 36:04 from Riccio again and then Jessica Robinson from Erin Smith at 38:43 increased the lead to 5-1 at halftime.
Erin Smith tacked on a goal 6:03 into the second half assisted by Kelsey Gilmore and the Westies had a 6-1 triumph. Betsy Magana made three saves in goal for the Blue Devils.
This week, the girls traveled to Guilford for a contest on Tuesday with the Indians and finish their week with a home battle with the Mercy Tigers on Friday at 6:30.
The boys soccer team continued to struggle to put the ball in the net and took a 2-0 loss to the Xavier Falcons at Ken Strong Stadium on Wednesday evening. Nash Noble saw time between the pipes for the Westies and did his best to keep the boys in the game with seven saves.
On Friday afternoon, the Blue Devils headed up the hill to Veterans Field to face cross-town rival Notre Dame. Unfortunately for the Westies, the offensive drought continued and the Green Knights capitalized on an opportunity in the second half to defeat the boys, 1-0. Saul Novoa made six saves in goal for West Haven.
This week, the boys hosted the Shelton Gaels on Tuesday and then travel to Wallingford for a game with the Sheehan Titans on Thursday at 6.
The volleyball team traveled to Milford for a match with the Jonathan Law Eagles on Monday evening. The Westies never got going and took a 3-0 loss. Megan Paterson had 14 assists and five digs while Nancy Tapia had nine digs to lead the Blue Devils. Veronica Lynn contributed with four kills, two digs and two blocks.
On Wednesday, the girls headed to Hamden for a battle with the rival Green Dragons. The Westies worked hard but got nothing to show for it in a 3-0 loss. Marianne Loo (five digs), Nancy Tapia and Danna Tartal (three digs each) and Megan Paterson (three assists and two aces) all contributed in a losing effort for West Haven.
On Friday, the Blue Devils traveled for a match at the Mercy Tigers. The Westies gave the Tigers everything they had, falling in a five-set classic. Megan Paterson led the Blue Devils with 20 assists, six digs, two aces and two kills while Nancy Tapia had 13 digs and five kills. West Haven also got contributions from Veronica Lynn with eight kills and three aces, Irene Ronan with seven kills and three blocks, Lexi Burzynski with five kills and Alyanah Bonilla with eight digs.
This week, the girls hosted the Guilford Indians on Tuesday and will travel to the Career Panthers on Friday at 5:30.