New London — The easy narrative after the New London football team outclassed another opponent on Friday night is that the Whalers are back after last season’s two-win nightmare.

“I’ll leave that to up you guys (to decide),” New London senior Melquann Gomez said, showing off his media savvy.

Truth be told, the Whalers gave first-year head coach Juan Roman more than enough material to get on them about after their win over 2015 Class M semifinalist Killingly.

They’re getting better, though.

New London 41, Killingly 7.

Three games. Three routs. And one more win than last year.

“We did not have a good week of practice, but we came out here and performed well,” Roman said. “I just want to see this team have a great week of practice, come out here, and be efficient. We turned the ball over at the (Killingly) 4-yard line. We missed some reads. I believe, on their touchdown, that we didn’t shift over on their unbalanced line. And those are the things that can’t happen because you’re not always going to score 41.

“The biggest thing is, yes, I’m ecstatic with the result, but I don’t want our kids thinking they can practice the way they did and that it’s sufficient. We have to be a better team from top to bottom, not just on Friday nights.”

Gomez completed 13 of 27 passes for 215 yards with four touchdowns and an interception for the Whalers. He spread the workload out pretty evenly. Gio Lopez had five catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Efrain Santiago had three catches for 57 yards and a score. Yale-bound senior D. Major Roman had four catches for 57 yards and a touchdown for New London. He added a fumble recovery in the third quarter that helped turn a 14-point lead into 20.

Jacob Commander also ran 15 times for 136 yards for the Whalers.

“He’s tough,” Killingly coach Chad Neal said of Commander. “A few times we had him and he snuck out. He’s hard to find.

“They have a lot of weapons, there’s no question about it. They’re tough to stop.”

Spencer Lockwood ran 35 times for 149 yards and a touchdown for Killingly (2-1).

New London led 14-0 at halftime despite Killingly all but playing keep away in the first half. It had a 38-18 edge in offensive plays, including a 20-play drive that nearly devoured the entire second quarter.

The Whalers also wasted a chance to score late in the first half with a turnover at the Killingly 4.

Killingly had just recovered a muffed punt at the New London 49 with over five minutes left in the third quarter when it tried a hook-and-lateral. The Whalers forced a turnover that Roman recovered at the Killingly 46. It led to Gomez throwing a 7-yard touchdown to Lopez and pushed New London ahead, 20-0, with 3 minutes, 49 seconds left in the quarter.

The Whalers scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a 36-yard interception return by Monty Johnson II.

“I can’t say we’re back yet,” Roman said. “Hopefully after five weeks, (people) are going to say, ‘they’re back’ because there are things we can clean up; things that we can tighten up.

“Then, when we tighten those things up, this could be a good team.”

n.griffen@theday.com