New London — Norwich Free Academy ran for 319 yards and five touchdowns.

Oh, by the way — the Wildcats did that in just the third quarter.

On 12 plays.

And in 8 minutes and 48 seconds.

Khaleed Exum-Strong and Jawaun Johnson ran for 303 yards apiece and scored all nine of the Wildcats' touchdowns as they trampled New London, 63-40, at Cannamela Field on Thursday to earn a CIAC Class LL-Large playoff berth and win the Eastern Connecticut Conference Large Division title.

"As the game is going on, I don't even comprehend how many yards they've run for," NFA head coach Jemal Davis said. "It's about the system and execution. And then at the end you kind of look at the numbers ... I'm thrown back a little by it."

Johnson, a sophomore and first-year quarterback, finished with 24 carries with seven touchdowns and a two-point conversion.

Exum-Strong, a senior running back, ran 26 times with two touchdowns and a two-point conversion.

"You've got a two-headed monster there with Exum-Strong and Johnson," New London coach Duane Maranda said.

"I think it speaks volumes in terms of our offensive line in the sense that we challenged them today (to get us) about 400 yards," Davis said. "They came out and executed excellently, so I'm very proud of them."

Center Nick Jacaruso, guards Stephen Agnatovech and Marc D'Elia, and tackles Noah and J'von Brown dominated New London up front.

It was the 153rd game in the nation's oldest rivalry, which began in 1875. NFA leads the series, 76-65-11.

NFA (7-2, 3-0) will either be the second or third seed in Class LL-Large. It will be third and play at Southington in the Dec. 6 semifinals should either Bristol Central or Cheshire clinch the eighth and final spot in Class LL.

Central plays Bristol Eastern on Saturday. Cheshire plays that day at unbeaten Southington, the top-ranked team in The Day's Top 10 state coaches' poll, and will clinch the berth with a win.

The Wildcats will be seeded second and play host to New Britain if both Central and Cheshire lose.

The Whalers (7-3, 2-1) are teetering on the edge of the Class M-Large playoffs, but can qualify if they catch some breaks over the next two days.

Danny Maranda threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns for New London. Jelani Lucas caught both TD passes as he put on a show.

The senior had five catches for 156 yards, caught three two-point conversions, and scored on an 82-yard kickoff return.

"He's a phenomenal playmaker," Duane Maranda said. "Any time the ball goes in his hands, he's got the ability to score and make something happen big. He's a great player."

NFA led 13-3 at halftime and received the second-half kickoff.

Davis opted to have Johnson return a kickoff for the first time.

Wise move. Johnson returned it 47 yards to the Whalers' 43. Exum-Strong followed with a 43-yard touchdown run to give NFA a 19-3 lead.

"(Johnson's return), and coming back with Khaleed off tackle and going down the sideline (for a touchdown)," Davis said, "I think for (New London), they were like, 'Oh, man.' It's like a 1-2 (punch)."

Maranda admitted "the touchdown right after halftime hurt."

The Whalers answered back with an Efrain Santiago 3-yard run, although the two-point conversion failed.

But NFA fired back with a flurry. A 9-yard touchdown run by Exum-Strong beget Johnson's 83-yard sprint for a score. That beget a Johnson 1-yard TD run to extend the Wildcats' lead to 41-9.

Danny Maranda ran for a 42-yard touchdown on New London's next drive.

NFA started its next drive at the Whalers' 32 after a failed onside kick and Johnson immediately ran for a 32-yard touchdown to push NFA's advantage to 49-16 with 3:12 to play in the third.

"(Johnson) really gives us another running back," Davis said. "If you look back at 2012 (when NFA played for the LL title), we were really successful offensively because of the play of (mobile quarterback) Joey Paparelli."

n.griffen@theday.com

Twitter: @MetalNED