WEST HAVEN — Of all the big plays made by West Haven in the second half of Friday night's SCC Division I matchup with rival Xavier, the biggest play of the night actually might have come before the second half started.

Much to West Haven coach Ed McCarthy's surprise, Xavier elected to give the Blue Devils the wind to start the third quarter.

So when Xavier coughed up the ball on its first two possessions of the second half, the top-ranked Westies rode the wind and senior back James Alford to a 28-17 victory at Ken Strong Stadium.

Alford rushed for 160 yards on 18 carries and caught the go-ahead 56-yard touchdown pass from Maurice Wearing in the third quarter. Charlie Kelly caught an 18-yard touchdown pass. The top-ranked Westies remained unbeaten at 6-0 with their 15th victory over Xavier in 17 meetings. Xavier, the defending Class LL champion, fell to 4-2 and all but out of the playoff picture.

"I'm just very proud of them," McCarthy said of his team. "They prepare hard every week. They're a really special group right now."

The two teams played about as even a first half as possible. Xavier's Alondre Rush and West Haven's Alford both rushed for over 100 yards, while Xavier's Ryan Katon and West Haven's Wearing threw a touchdown passes. The game was tied 15-15 at halftime.

But Rush, who finished with 119 yards on 25 carries, was hit by West Haven lineman Pat Baransky, who recovered Rush's fumble at the West Haven 43.

"That was real big," Alford said. "It

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gave us all the momentum, and that was it."

Alford started the barrage by catching a 56-yard touchdown pass from Wearing to put the Westies up for good.

"I was a little surprised they gave us the wind in the third period. Maybe they thought it would be there for them in the fourth," McCarthy said. "We figured we'd take a shot to make something happen.

"Maurice threw a nice ball to James on the three-man route to break the tie. I thought that was the biggest play of the game."

On Xavier's next possession Julian Matheson recovered a fumble by Dan Hickey on the Xavier 38.

Alford took the first West Haven snap and juked 20 yards through a half dozen Xavier defenders to set up West Haven's final touchdown.

"He's like Houdini out there sometimes," McCarthy said of Alford.

That run set up Wearing's 18-yard strike to Kelly in the corner of the end zone to put the Westies ahead 28-15.

Forced out of its run game, Xavier didn't fare well passing, even with the wind in the fourth quarter.

Kelly picked off Katon at the goal line to end one drive. He added one more interception to end the game.

Katon finished 7-of-21 for 75 yards for Xavier. Wearing completed 5-of-8 passes for 107 yards for West Haven.

Xavier drove 41 yards in five plays and struck first on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Katon to Derek Williams on the first play of the second quarter.

It didn't take long for West Haven to respond. Durell Dixon took the kickoff 47 yards, Alford ripped off a 38-yard run and Wearing cashed in from a yard out to tie the score.

On its next possession, Mike Brockenberry caught a screen pass and weaved 29 yards to put the Westies ahead 15-7. Pinned deep in its own territory, West Haven made a huge gamble by going for a fourth-and-two from its own 14.

But the Westies botched the snap, Xaveir took over on the 8 and, three plays later, Rush bulled in from a yard out with 59 seconds remaining in the half. Katon converted the two-point run to tie the game.

"They struck first but we never backed down," Alford said. "They're a good team. They're tough. They're going to win a lot of games. But we kind of had a chip on our shoulder."

XAVIER 0 15 0 2 — 17
WEST HAVEN 0 15 13 0— 28

X — Derek Willaims 13 pass Ryan Katon (Kevin Lenehan kick)
W — Maurice Wearing 1 run (Tom Lawrence kick)
W — Mike Brockenberry 29 pass Wearing (James Alford run)
X — Alondre Rush 1 run (Katon run)
W — Alford 56 pass Wearing (Lawrence kick)
W — Charlie Kelly 18 pass Wearing (kick failed)
X — Safety, West Haven snapped ball out of end zone
Records: Xavier 4-2; West Haven 6-0