If the ongoing Thanksgiving series between North Haven and West Haven matches the inaugural contest, fans will be in for a treat every Thanksgiving.
In a game which started in dense fog and ended with fireworks, West Haven used a late score to top North Haven 21-14 in a Southern Connecticut Conference battle at Ken Strong Stadium in West Haven Wednesday evening.
Amir Daniley provided the offense for the Westies as he scored twice and finished with 255 yards on the ground. Daniley’s second touchdown of the game came on a 46-yard run with 2 minutes, 5 seconds remaining in the contest.
“I just read the field,” Daniley said. “I know the back side was open. I used my speed to break that touchdown. I used all my energy for a touchdown. I had good blocks from my line. I took that advantage, and I just scored.”
The victory gives West Haven hope to play in the state playoffs as the Westies did their part and now need New London to top Norwich Free Academy for the Westies to secure the final spot in Class LL.
“A great line Rich Boshea used to say was when you have really good players, you give them the ball,” West Haven coach Tom Unger said of Daniley after his team finished the season at 5-5. “Give the ball to number four, Amir Daniley, and a lot of things will happen. The offensive line played tremendous. That was the best we ran the ball all year.”
Leading by a touchdown, West Haven had to hold off one late North Haven surge and got the play it needed when Cordell Barrow picked off a North Haven pass with 1:34 remaining in the game.
“As everyone knows, they (North Haven) are tough to stop,” Unger said. “First half, we were worried are we going to get a stop? Two years ago, they only had the ball four times and we couldn’t buy a stop. We don’t score on the fourth-and-one, and all I could think about was if these guys go on a 97-yard drive right now, we are cooked. We stop them, force them to punt.”
The game did not look as if it was going to end in West Haven’s favor as the Westies were stopped on downs on their first two possessions of the second half when North Haven denied Mason Wright on fourth-and-goal from the one, and the Nighthawks stopped a West Haven fourth down pass short to the West Haven one.
West Haven then toughened up on defense, forcing a punt where West Haven took over at the North Haven 46-yard line.
Daniley made sure the possession did not come down to another fourth down as he took the first play from scrimmage inside, then bounced outside untouched for the 46-yard score. Wright then hit Barrow on the conversion pass, keeping hope alive on the shore for the Westies.
The first half was an offensive affair as the two teams combined for 27 points and 373 total yards. Only a missed extra point prevented a tie score as the Nighthawks led 14-13 at the half.
The Westies wasted no time setting the offensive pace as they marched 77 yards in 8 plays to start the game, capped with a Wright to Jakari Harris 13-yard scoring strike with 8:22 left in the opening quarter.
The Nighthawks then took 12 plays for a 54-yard scoring drive which ended when Artie McCormack IV scored from three yards out to even the game at seven with 2:07 left in the opening quarter.
The scoring barrage did not slow down as West Haven needed one offensive play, a 75-yard run by Daniley for a 13-7 West Haven lead.
North Haven, who needed a win and some help to play in the postseason, then answered once again with a 60-yard drive, culminating with a 1-yard McCormack touchdown for a 14-13 North Haven lead 2:08 into the second quarter.
McCormack finished with 93 yards rushing and a pair of scores for the Nighthawks.