Entering the 2017 Westhill football season, the team had high hopes for success. The Westhill Varsity Football Team was hoping for a winning season, despite a difficult looking schedule. They would face the powerhouses of Greenwich and New Canaan, as well as tough rivalry games against Trinity and Stamford. This did not phase any players, and they were going to fight till the bitter end.
The Vikings ended the season at a 6 and 4 mark, exceeding expectations set by others, but not by themselves. There were tough losses along the way, but also fulfilling wins which brought the team even closer. “Internally, we fell short,” said senior Kerns Louis. “From the jump we knew we were going to shock people,” Louis continued. In week one against Fairfield Ludlowe. Westhill crushed the falcons 50 to 27 on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Quarterback AJ Laccona threw four beautiful touchdown passes, including three to receiver Noldylens Metayer. On the defensive side, the Vikings had three interceptions and picks from Jakai Young and Jemeson Charlestin.
Week two brought another challenge for the team, but nonetheless they prevailed. They defeated Norwalk in a nail-biter by a score of 26 to 21. They then continued their winning streak the following week against Danbury, when they defeated the mad hatters 34 to 10. Entering the third quarter they were down 10 to 7, but touchdown catches by Saquan Kelly and Wyklend Turenne turned the offense around. Entering their game against New Canaan, Westhill was riding high after three straight wins. The team, however, was defeated by the Rams 49 to 7. At halftime, they were down by 21 and were making mistakes left and right. The following week, The Hill returned to victory with a huge victory against Capital/Achievement 45 to 27.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, another streak could not be started. The following week, they were crushed by Greenwich 60 to 15. This did not bring them down. They instead bounced back and went on to win their next two games, including one against Trinity by a score of 30 to 17, and one against Trumbull 29 to 21. “The best win of the season was against Trumbull because we were the first senior class in years to win on our senior day,” said All-FCIAC first team defensive back Noldylens Metayer.
The game featured a record 16 sacks from the Westhill defense and was the first time Westhill had officially beaten Trumbull. The Vikings’ first win over Trumbull five years ago was forfeited due to player complications.
The final two games of the season did not go the way the Vikings wanted them to go. They fell to Wilton 57 to 6 on a bitter Friday evening, and lost to Stamford 25 to 14 on Thanksgiving. “It was just a big rivalry game and there’s just a lot of emotion that goes into that game,” said Kerns Louis. “It just sucks we lost,” he continued.
Despite ending the season on a two game losing streak, there were a lot of positives to build off of. “The team chemistry was the best the program had in years because we, as players, actually cared for one another,” said Noldylens Metayer. Fans can look forward to watching very talented juniors taking over the team next year and continuing their victories.
