No 4. Darien blasts Westhill
Blue Wave live up to wake of Southington win
STAMFORD — Any Darien fans worried about a letdown after the Blue Wave beat Southington last week, were quickly put at ease Saturday at J. Walter Kennedy Stadium.
The Blue Wave, ranked No. 4 in the latest GametimeCT Top 10 Poll, scored on their second play from scrimmage, putting up 28 firstquarter points and never looking back en route to a 480 win over Westhill.
“Beating Southington was a great win and you have a game the next week which you know, is not the hardest,” Darien coach Rob Trifone said. “I said to them ‘let’s see how you come out?’ We had a good week of practice because these guys know they have to get better each week, regardless of the opponent.”
Will Kirby ran for three touchdowns and Peter Graham threw two for the Blue Wave, who move to 30.
Westhill (03) could not keep up with Darien but
coach Joe DeVellis was pleased with the effort of his team.
“Darien is a really good football team,” DeVellis said. “It is good to play those guys. It gives us a good measuring stick of what you really need to do. I am very proud of how we fought and battled. We challenged the kids this week to have a good week of practice and be high energy and high tempo. We have to keep grinding and keep working.”
After Westhill went threeandout on its opening drive, Darien wasted no time, scoring on its second play from scrimmage on a 52yard pass from Graham to Michael Minicus.
A Westhill fumble again set up the Blue Wave in great field position and Kirby ran in his first score from 7 yards out.
Westhill got an inch of momentum on an interception by Jordyn MacDonald but it was quickly wiped away on a pick6 by Darien’s Sam Wilson on the very next play.
Darien would go up 280 still in the first quarter on a 5yard run by Kirby.
The onslaught continued in the second quarter with Kirby breaking off a 20yard touchdown run and Graham hitting Jackson Peters for a 10yard passing touchdown, sending the teams into halftime with Darien up 410.
Darien added a 1yard touchdown run by Callum McNear in the third quarter.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Will Kirby, Darien: The senior scored three touchdowns and after the game was serenaded by his teammates with “Happy Birthday.”
QUOTABLE
“We refocused and try to come out every day strong,” Kirby said. “We just want to come out and get better, each week. It feels great (playing on his birthday). Had a great game and the ‘O’ line played well. The offense and defense were both great. Great team win.”