HAMDEN – Nick Conlan and Camren Kemp love the diversity of the West Haven offense. The pair has every reason to.
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Behind three touchdown runs and a touchdown pass from Conlan, and 156 yards rushing and a score from Kemp on his birthday, West Haven rolled to a 47-21 victory over Hamden in a Southern Connecticut Conference contest at Hamden High Friday evening.
“I was like, I’m ready to get that dub,” Kemp said in his return to Hamden after transferring to West Haven earlier this year. “It’s my birthday. We had to show out. I’m glad my team could get the dub. It really meant a lot to me.
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Conlan was on the money as well, connecting on 11-of-17 passes for 165 yards and the touchdown pass to Demarco Eady to give the Westies a 6-0 lead on the opening possession of the game.
“We knew it would be physical,” Conlan said after also rushing for 101 yards. “We knew they are big up front. They are a strong team. They usually always are.”
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The Westies, ranked second in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll, outgained Hamden 259-167 in the opening half, and it was big plays which had the momentum switching sides in the first 24 minutes.
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Behind Conlan, West Haven gained 432 yards and jumped out to a 20-0 lead before the Green Dragons stormed back.
Hamden used a 10-play, 66 -yard drive to get within 20-7 when Charles Hebron ran in from 2 yards out with 6:12 to go in the half, but it was a 35-yard connection between Jerard Gibson Jr. and Shijuan Young Jr. to the West Haven 40 on fourth down which gave Hamden life.
After stopping West Haven on its next possession, the Green Dragons looked as if they were taking control of the game, but West Haven’s Andrevion Dixon intercepted a Gibson pass inside the 10-yard line with 1:19 to go in the half.
“I thought the turning point was the interception before the half,” West Haven coach Rich Boshea said after his team improved to 5-0. “They are about to score and make it possibly 20-14. We tip the ball and intercept it. Cam (Kemp) runs a 64-yarder for a touchdown with 10 seconds left. I thought that was the turning point. It was a great series for the defense and offense.”
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That play by Dixon allowed West Haven to take a 26-7 lead at the break as Kemp raced in from 64 yards out with 10 seconds remaining in the half.
“We lacked discipline tonight and our lack of discipline caught up to us,” Hamden coach Tom Dyer said after his team fell to 3-2. “That’s a reflection of the job I am doing. I need to do a better job. We need to be more disciplined. We have opportunities. We were moving the ball at will in chunks tonight. We have to be able to finish. Our discipline backed us up with penalties. You can’t give teams free yards and free downs like that.”
The Green Dragons looked to get back in the game, but after stalling on its opening drive of the third quarter, Hamden watched West Haven take a 33-7 lead when Conlan ran in from 13 yards out.
Hebron’s second touchdown of the game got Hamden within 19, but West Haven iced the game with two touchdowns in less than 30 seconds.
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Ya’Hinus Mercer scored from one yard out, before Avyon Graham intercepted Gibson on Hamden’s next offensive possession and returned the pick 12 yards for the score and a 47-14 lead.
West Haven set the tone early as the Westies clicked on all cylinders, outgaining the Green Dragons 169-49 in the opening quarter, which saw the Westies take a 20-0 lead.
The Westies needed just five plays to go 49 yards to start the game, capped by a Conlan to Eady 35-yard touchdown connection.
After Hamden was stopped at the West Haven 10 on its initial possession of the game, West Haven marched 90 yards in 12 plays to take a 12-0 lead. The drive was kept alive on fourth and long because of a Hamden personal foul, and the Westies capitalized when Conlan ran in from 10 yards out with 2:13 left in the first quarter.
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“We are a very difficult club to defend because we have Nick who is an explosive runner,” Boshea said of Conlan. “We have Nick who is a smart player, and we have Nick who can throw the ball to Demarco (Eady) or Armani (Reid) or Cam (Kemp) out of the backfield. It makes it so hard to defend the field against that many really good players.”.
The momentum continued for the Westies when Jayden Franklin recovered a Hamden fumble three plays later.
“We can’t turn the ball over in games like this and expect to win games,” Dyer said. “The discipline will be corrected. That’s on me.”
Conlan made Hamden pay when he scored on a 40-yard run. Armani Reid then took a bad snap and ran in the conversion for the 20-0 lead as time expired in the opening quarter.
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“I think they were worried about Cam (Kemp), and it just opened up,” Conlan said. “As soon as they saw him (Kemp) go outside, everyone swarmed to him. It made it easy for me.”
Devin Sanders led Hamden with 105 yards rushing, while Gibson finished with 155 yards in the air and two interceptions.
Player of the Game
Nick Conlan, West Haven junior quarterback: Ran for 101 yards and three touchdowns, and also threw for 165 yards and a touchdown in the victory.
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Quotable
“It is all because of my line. They have been doing great. A lot of people doubted them in the beginning of the season. Obviously, we have great receivers and running backs. Everyone knows that. They really stepped up.” — Nick Conlan on the team’s success.
West Haven 47, Hamden 21
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