Both the Middletown and West Haven football teams entered Friday evening’s battle in unfamiliar territories. With each team struggling to start the season, something had to give.
What gave was the play of a trio of backs from the Westies.
Led by the running of juniors Deven Robinson, Avian Evans and Trevor Tompkins, West Haven rallied for a 20-13 victory over the Blue Dragons at Ken Strong Stadium.
Trailing 16-13 after Middletown sophomore quarterback Colin Skene connected with Matthew Steuerwald on a 71-yard scoring strike with 7 minutes, 43 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Westies went to work.
Behind a bruising offensive line, which helped the Westies rush for 377 yards in the game, West Haven needed just six plays to march 67 yards. The big play was a 46-yard run by Robinson, before Tompkins capped the drive with a 1-yard score with 4:58 to go for a 20-16 lead.
West Haven then had a pair of tests to pass. With Skene finishing 23-of-33 for 281 yards and a scoring strike, Middletown would get the ball back two more times with a chance to win the game.
On a 4th-and-7, West Haven held the Blue Dragons one yard short of the first down with three minutes to go. After West Haven failed to convert a first down to ice the game, Skene and company had one final chance.
West Haven again held firm. Despite the Blue Dragons marching to the West Haven 25, the Westies forced an incomplete pass on fourth down to end any thought of a Middletown comeback in the final seconds.
The Westies jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the opening quarter. After turning the ball over inside the Middletown 10 on its opening possession, West Haven took the first lead of the contest with a 7-play, 53-yard drive.
Evans, who finished the game with 147 yards on 16 carries, was the key to the drive, running for 34 of those yards. The junior capped the drive with a 17-yard scamper for a score with 4:43 to go in the first quarter.
Heading into the contest, Boshea was worried about the play of his special teams. Those concerns continued in the opening half as the Blue Dragons capitalized on West Haven’s miscues to get on the board and tie the contest.
A bad snap by the Westies on a punt after their next possession gave Middletown possession at the West Haven 22-yard line. The Blue Dragons needed just two plays to capitalize when David De’Leon scored from 11 yards out with 8:03 left in the first half.
West Haven appeared to remain in front when the extra point sailed wide, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave the Blue Dragons another shot, and Griffin Ladd capitalized to even the game.
The Westies did not take long to take the lead again as they marched 69 yards on 11 plays to go back in front 13-7. Evans had the big run in the drive with a 17-yard scamper, before Tompkins put the Westies in front 13-7 with a bruising 6-yard run with 3:07 to go in the half.
Middletown blocked the extra point, keeping the West Haven lead at six.
The Blue Dragons inched closer before the half and could have gotten more if not for three penalties stalled their last drive. Ladd saved the Blue Dragons as he booted a 36-yard field goal with 40 seconds remaining in the half to cut West Haven’s lead to 13-10.
Traveling to Guilford to play a tough soccer program is never an easy task. West Haven girls soccer coach Pete Trenchard can appreciate how his girls played Tuesday evening.
Holding a tough Guilford squad to just seven shots, West Haven came away with a 1-1 draw to move to 1-1-2 on the year.
With just five shots in the game, West Haven made the most of those opportunities when Madison Lentine scored a brilliant goal off a free kick at the 60:18 mark.
West Haven could not hold on as Guilford scored with 14 minutes to go to force the even game.
Kassidy Carrano finished with six saves in the draw for West Haven.
Looking to continue picking up points and playing its third straight contest away from home, the West Haven girls soccer team battled and came away with a 3-0 victory over Wilbur Cross Thursday afternoon. With the victory, West Haven improved to 2-1-2 on the year.
The Westies wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, then battled from there. Just one minute, two seconds into the contest, Julia Tsakonas scored off an assist from Cori Severino for a 1-0 advantage.
Severino, who was a part of the early first half celebration, then capped the first 40 minutes with another reason to celebrate as her unassisted tally gave the Westies a 2-0 halftime advantage.
The Westies again scored early in the second half. This time, it was Lentine who scored off of a free kick 2:40 into the half for a 3-0 advantage.
West Haven held a 12-3 shot advantage in the game with junior goalkeeper Carrano picking up the shutout with three saves.
The team fell to 2-2-2 with a 2-0 loss at East Haven Saturday morning. Despite forcing East Haven goalkeeper Sera Lendroth to make 11 saves, West Haven could not find the back of the net.
East Haven scored twice in the opening half and made the goals hold up. Emily Pycela had both goals, scoring at the 15 and 25-minute marks. Carrano made eight saves in the loss.
The West Haven boys soccer team improved to 2-0-2 with a 2-0 victory at Shelton Monday evening. The win allowed the Westies to remain undefeated early in the season.
The West Haven defense was again stellar, helping goalkeeper Brian Carew post his second shutout of the year. Carew needed to make just one save as West Haven held a 10-3 shot advantage.
West Haven took a 1-0 lead with 2:09 left in the first half as Donaldo Yanez scored off an assist from Victor Lorenzo. The goal by Yanez would hold up as the Westies limited the shots by the Gaels throughout the contest.
Mubarak Issa scored an unassisted goal 10:50 into the second half for a 2-0 advantage.
The success of the West Haven boys soccer team continues. After squandering a two-goal lead, West Haven rebounded to defeat North Haven 5-3 Tuesday evening at Ken Strong Stadium in West Haven.
Issa scored twice, Daniel Duarte, Yanez, and Alan Hernandez each scored once, and Carew made three saves as West Haven improved to 3-0-2 on the year.
Issa gave West Haven a 1-0 advantage with an unassisted goal at the 24:59 mark, before Duarte scored off an assist from Yanez 1:38 later for a 2-0 lead.
North Haven’s Jack Pollard cut the deficit in half 6:04 before the half, then evened the contest 13:44 into the second half.
With West Haven holding an 18-7 shot advantage in the contest, the Westies took the lead for good when Yanez scored off an assist from Brian Rivadera with 8:36 remaining. Issa scored with 5:39 remaining for a 4-2 advantage, before North Haven used a late goal to get the game closer.
West Haven suffered its first loss of the season Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 loss in Milford against Jonathan Law. With the loss, the Westies fell to 3-1-2.
Law got off to a quick start in the contest and never looked back as Marcus Dostal scored twice in the first 15 minutes to give Law a 2-0 advantage.
The Westies cut the deficit in half at the 21:32 mark of the opening half when Victor Lorenzo scored off an assist from Yanez.
The goal by Lorenzo was as close as the Westies would get as Law added another tally in the second half with 12 minutes to go to extend the margin to 3-1.
West Haven held a 17-5 shot advantage in the game, but could not dent the back of the net more than once. Carew made two saves in the loss for West Haven.
After losing the season opener on the road against Hamden, the West Haven girls volleyball team was looking forward to playing at home. Unfortunately, Sheehan spoiled the homecoming.
Despite playing well in the first two games, the Westies did not have enough in a 3-0 loss to the Titans Wednesday afternoon at West Haven High.
Asia Ford led the Westies with eight kills and four blocks, while Jenna Johnson had five assists, three digs, and three kills. Dulcemaria Castillo led the way defensively with four digs.
West Haven fell to 0-3 to start the season with a 3-1 loss at East Haven Friday evening. The Westies battled but fell, 25-22, 25-27, 17-25, 17-25.
Ford led West Haven with eight kills, while Jenna Johnson had seven assists and four digs. Mckayla Fowler added four kills, two digs and two aces in the loss.
West Haven played a tough match Monday afternoon at West Haven High. While it may have been the best the Westies have played thus far this season, it was not enough as Scared Heart Academy sent West Haven to its fourth straight loss to open the year.
In a hard fought match, the Westies fell, 18-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-21, 6-15.
Junior Jenna Johnson ran the offense with 24 assists, while adding five kills. She also had six digs on the defensive side. Castillo led the defense with 16 digs, while Jordyn Johnson had seven digs, and Branyelis Brito and Mckayla Fowler each added six digs.
Tanasia Fidalgo and Asia Ford also played well on the offensive side with 11 and eight kills, respectively. Fidalgo also added four blocks.
After starting the season with four consecutive losses, the West Haven volleyball team is finally in the win column. Playing a complete game throughout, the Westies posted a 3-0 road victory at Bassick Wednesday afternoon. With the 25-6, 25-6, 25-9 victory, West Haven improved to 1-4 on the year.
Fowler led the offense with 14 aces, while Ford had six aces. Jenna Johnson added three aces and three assists, Mya Flemming had three aces, Jordyn Johnson had three aces and two kills, while Morgan Montz chipped in three aces and one dig.
After posting its initial win of the season against Bassick, West Haven was looking to carry that momentum into Friday evening’s contest against Guilford.
Unfortunately for the Westies, Guilford had other ideas. Not letting West Haven get on a roll, Guilford posted a 25-14, 25-18, 25-21 win over West Haven.
Jenna Johnson led the way for West Haven with eight assists and eight digs, while Ford had six kills and Fidalgo had four kills. Castillo added seven digs and two kills, Jordyn Johnson had four digs, and Turcio chipped in three digs.
The West Haven girls swim team opened the year with a 98-80 loss at West Haven High Friday afternoon. Despite not having any first-place finishes, the Westies had plenty of swimmers place in the top three in different events.
The 200 medley relay team of Lauren Blake, Molly Wilson, Kaelyn Falanga, and Victoria Acuna was second in 2 minutes, 6.91 seconds. The 200 free relay team of Raquel Camey, Isabella DeLauri, Emily Guthrie, and Kaylee Taulty also placed second in 2:09.55, while the 400 free relay team of Acuna, Falanga, Blake, and Wilson placed second in 4:39.39.
In the individual events, Isabella DeLauri placed third in the 200 freestyle in 2:42.62, freshman Olivia DeLauri was second in the 50 freestyle in 30.91 seconds and third in the 100 freestyle in 1:12.09.
Wilson placed third in the 200 IM in 2:52.94, Taulty was second in the diving event, and the 100 butterfly saw Falanga place second in 1:10.11.
Acuna was third in the 500 freestyle in 6:56.47. Falanga also placed second in the 100 back in 1:12.46, and Wilson was also second in the 100 breast in 1:19.91.
West Haven fell to 0-2 with a 92-86 loss against Jonathan Law at Foran High Wednesday afternoon.
West Haven won the 200 medley relay in 2 minutes, 8.18 seconds with a team of Blake, Wilson, Falanga, and Acuna.
In the individual events, Falanga won the 200 IM in 2:36.20, Acuna was second in the 50 free in 30.11 seconds, Taulty was third in diving with 166.05 points, and Blake was second in the 100 butterfly in 1:21.85.
Wilson placed third in the 100 freestyle in 1:06.75, Falanga was second in the 500 free in 6:15.49, and Blake placed second in the 100 back in 1:17.41. Wilson won the 100 breast stroke in 1:22.24.
West Haven fell to Mercy 104.5-72.5 Monday afternoon at the West Haven High Pool. With the loss, the Westies dropped to 0-3 on the year.
The Westies placed second in the 200 medley relay with a team of Blake, Wilson, Falanga, and Acuna in 2 minutes, 9.73 seconds. Falanga also won the 200 IM in 2:38.27, while Wilson was second in the 50 free in 29.38 seconds.
West Haven had the top two spots in the diving event as Taulty was first and sophomore Amber Militrano was second. Falanga was victorious in the 100 fly in 1:14.24, Blake was second in the 100 back in 1:15.82, and Wilson was second in the 100 breast in 1:23.66.
The 200 freestyle relay team of Wilson, Emily Guthrie, Camey, and Acuna was second in 2:05.25, while the 400 freestyle relay team of Falanga, Acuna, Blake, and Khando Dorjee won in 4:34.94.
West Haven fell to 0-4 with a 94-89 loss at Hamden Thursday afternoon.
The 200 medley relay team placed first with a team of Blake, Wilson, Falanga, and Acuna in 2 minutes, 7.52 seconds. The 200 free relay also won in a time of 4:32.84 with a team of Acuna, Elyze Ancheta, Falanga, and DeLauri.
Emily Guthrie placed third in the 200 free with a time of 2:37.93, while the 50 free saw Falanga place second in 27.08 seconds, and Wilson place third in 29.02.
Diving say Taulty place third with 158.80 points, while the 100 fly had Blake second in 1:24.61 and Raquel Carney third in 1:36.35. Acuna was second in the 100 free in 1:08.44, while Ancheta was third in 1:21.21.
Falanga won the 500 free in 6:07.61, while Blake was second and Taulty third in the 100 back. The 200 freestyle relay was second in a time of 2:05.38 with a team of Blake, Dorjee, Emily Guthrie, and Wilson.
The West Haven boys cross country teams traveled to Wharton Brook State Park Tuesday afternoon to run against Lyman Hall, Hand and East Haven.
The boys topped Lyman Hall and East Haven, but fell to Hand, which was undefeated on the day. Despite losing all three team meets, the girls had improving times.
For the girls, junior Amanda Gullo placed ninth at 25 minutes, 50 seconds. On the boys side, senior Justin Rodriguez was ninth in 19 minutes, senior Alex Potter finished 11th in 19:11, and junior Khai Outhavong was 16th in 20:53. Sophomore Matt Pagan17th in 20:54.
The boys cross country team placed third Tuesday afternoon in a meet at Cheshire, which also included Jonathan Law and Wilbur Cross.
The Rams (30) were first, Cross (33) was second, West Haven (84) was third and Law (98) was fourth.
The top runners for the boys were Potter in 19 minutes, 20 seconds, and Pagan in 19:30. Pagan improved his time by one minute in one week. Senior Justin Rodriguez also ran well in 19:58.
The girls did not score as a team as they did not have five runners finishing the race. Gullo was seventh in 23:55, dropping her time two minutes off last week’s time.