The West Haven football team opened its season at Vanacore Field in North Haven on Friday night with a SCC battle against the North Haven Indians. After the Indians struck for a 27-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead 6:27 into the game, it looked like the Blue Devils would get even on the ensuing kickoff when Kyle Godfrey scooped up the kick and went coast-to-coast but a penalty erased the score and the Westies would have to settle for a midfield start. With 57 seconds left in the first quarter, Chris Chance would take a handoff, find the hole and race 30 yards to tie the game at 7-7.
After Kyle Godfrey picked off an Indian pass and weave his way down to the North Haven 5-yard line, Jake Conlan scrambled and found Nikolas Camara in the back of the end zone with a 4-yard TD pass. The extra point was blocked and the Blue Devils held a 13-7 lead with 4:34 left in the 1st half. As the half was winding down, the Indians tried to forced their way down the field but Joe Steinman intercepted a pass and returned it 37 yards to make it 19-7 with 59 seconds left in the half.
The Westies increased the lead to 25-7 four minutes into the third quarter when Kyle Godfrey finished a drive with a 3-yard TD run. North Haven responded late in the quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:29 left to cut the lead to 25-13.
The Blue Devil defense came up big again when Doug Johnson scooped up an Indian fumble at midfield and raced for the TD and after a Conlan to Godfrey two-point conversion, West Haven was up 33-13. The Indians would make this one interesting though. About a minute and a half later, North Haven would strike on a 57-yard touchdown run to make it 33-20 and again on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds left to cut the lead to 33-27.
That is where the Indians’ comeback hopes would come to an end. With the Westies anticipating an onside kick, the North Haven kick would bounce out of bounds and after a kneel-down, the Blue Devils secured their opening night victory. The Westies will travel to New Haven for their second game of the season against the Wilbur Cross Governors on Friday at 3:30.The girls soccer team entertained the Sacred Heart Academy Sharks on Saturday afternoon at Ken Strong Stadium. After a scoreless first half, which saw the Westies dominate the game territorially, the girls were finally able to get on the board when Kelsey Gilmore struck with a goal from the right side that found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead with 18:20 left in the game. That would be all the Blue Devils would need with Betsy Magana and Alycia Morales splitting time between the pipes for the shutout and a strong defensive effort from Madison Barbieri, keeping the Sharks at bay.
The boys soccer team hosted cross-town rival Notre Dame in front of a boisterous opening night crowd at Ken Strong Stadium. Both teams battled all night with bodies flying all over the pitch. Notre Dame had quality chances in the first half, only to be denied by several, acrobatic saves by Saul Novoa. The Blue Devils had a chance with 15:53 left in the first half when Wanderson Maia had an opportunity on a breakaway but the Notre Dame keeper was able to sprint out and stop the attempt.
The Green Knights drew first blood with 18:52 left in the game on a penalty kick to make it 1-0. But the Westies continued to pressure Notre Dame and had an opportunity with 11:04 left in the contest. Daniel Morales drilled a direct kick from 20 yards out that went through the Knights’ keeper’s hands and into the top left corner to even the game at 1-1. That is the way this one would end.
The boys will travel to Shelton on Saturday for a 2:30 game against the Gaels and will then host the Sheehan Titans on Monday at 6:30.
The volleyball team opened its season against a tough Jonathan Law squad that jumped on the Westies for a straight-set victory, 25-7, 25-20, 27-25. After being dominated in the first set, the Blue Devils battled for the remaining, two sets but came up short.
Irene Ronan led the offense with 10 kills and three blocks while Megan Paterson had 14 assists. Also contributing for West Haven were Lexi Burzynski with five kills and three aces, Nancy Tapia with three kills and two digs while C.C. Condon and Danna Tortal each had four digs.
The Westies hosted Hamden on Monday and will then take on the Mercy Tigers on Friday at 5:15 in the WHHS Gym.
The rest of the fall sports teams will get under way this week. The girls swim team hosted Branford on Tuesday and then host North Haven on Friday at 3:45. The boys and girls cross-country teams got started with a trip to Sheehan to take on the Titans, the Hamden Green Dragons and the Shelton Gaels.