FRIDAY'S ROUNDUP

 Je'Vaughn Moore had a 99-yard touchdown run, recovered a fumble 36 yards for a touchdown amd Harold Cooper had three touchdowns as Hillhouse routed Lyman Hall 46-0 in a Southern Connecticut Conference Division II game in Wallingford.

Andre Anderson added a 30-yard touchdown of his own for Hillhouse (6-2) in the win over Lyman Hall (0-8).

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SATURDAY'S ROUNDUP

No. 9 West Haven 47, Wilbur Cross 12: Eddy Williams carried 14 times for 177 yards and two touchdowns to lead the host Westies to this SCC Division I East victory.

Ervin Philips scored on an 11-yard run, on a 3-yard run and on a 57-yard pass from Javon Taylor for West Haven (7-1).

Kadialy Toure returned a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown for the Westies.

Marshont Little and Stevie Swinson each had rushing touchdowns for the Governors (1-6).

Valley Regional/Old Lyme 41, Lewis Mills 7: Phil Cohen completed 12-of-14 passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns for the visiting Warriors in this Pequot Conference Sassacus Division win at Muzzy Field in Bristol.

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HOW THE TOP 10 FARED


No. 3 Ansonia wallops Wolcott to win NVL Brass Division

ANSONIA — For a few fleeing moments, the Wolcott football team seemed on the verge of making a contest out of its meeting with fellow unbeaten Ansonia despite being down by two touchdowns.

But the Chargers responded to every rally attempt, led mainly by senior Andrew Matos and junior Arkeel Newsome.

Matos and Newsome each scored three times as Ansonia, ranked third in the Register Top 10 Poll, earned a 41-12 Naugatuck Valley League Brass Division victory Friday at Jarvis Stadium.

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Senior Matt Walsh scored on a 1-yard run with 5:54 remaining to break a tied game, and then sophomore Tyler Phan booted the successful point after kick, as No. 1 Hand prevailed with a 21-20 SCC Division I East victory over the No.8 Westies Saturday at the Surf Club in Madison.

On the ensuing West Haven possession, Ervin Philips scored on a 1-yard run, but the pass on the 2-point conversion fell short, and the Tigers (6-0) survived.

Walsh carried six times for 51 yards and two scores for Hand. Ian O'Toole had a four-yard touchdown run and Brendan Bilcheck completed 22-of-27 passes for 169 yards.

Philips finished with 86 yards on 17 carries and two scores. Eddy Williams rushed six times for 59 yards and a touchdown for West Haven (5-1).

Hand has won 19 straight games.

Here's what happened in Week 1 on Friday:

 

 No. 1 Xavier blanks Notre Dame-West Haven

Fairfield Prep shuts out Wilbur Cross

 

 

North Branford rolls past Valley Regional/Old Lyme

 

Philips, Williams lead West Haven past Hamden in season opener

 

ROUNDUP: Cheshire slips past Shelton

 

Follow the action on our Week 1 Scoreboard

I went down to Ken Strong Stadium Friday and checked out the scrimmage between Ansonia and West Haven.

When I left, Ansonia held a 21-0 lead after three quarters. Looked like each teams' B-Unit was about to enter the game.

Final ended up being 28-7.

Some thoughts: 

• Ansonia junior running back Arkeel Newsome, the reigning Register player of the year, scored three times, including one on a long gain. The two other scores came near the goal line, although he did break off another long run to set up the Chargers' first score.

• Senior Andrew Matos caught a few passes from sophomore quarterback Jai'Quan McKnight. McKnight took over the QB duties from expected starter Tyler Lester, who broke his leg in a preseason camp. Lester may return late in the year. McKnight did a decent job directing the offense. McKnight was expected to be the second option after Newsome in the backfield before Lester's injury. McKnight also had an interception on West Haven's first offensive series.

• Ansonia's young and inexperienced offense line is coming along. The Chargers' defense was impressive.

• West Haven's defense was also solid despite surrendering those three scores. The Westies have some big and athletic kids. Senior Bobby Sampson had a solid game at defensive back, making several tackles and swatting away a few pass attempts.

• Offensively, West Haven struggled to get a rhythm. Junior Ervin Philips and senior Eddy Williams had some nice runs, though. Philips was open several times in the flat but quarterback Javon Taylor, a transfer from Wilbur Cross, was unable to make the completion. Taylor, standing around 6-feet-3, has a good arm and should be quite a weapon this season.

Overall, both Ansonia and West Haven looked good, and both should make runs at qualifying for the postseason. Ansonia, the defending Class M champions, move down to Class S. West Haven has a strong shot to qualify in Class LL, although its regular season schedule is again brutal.