New London — Many months of the offseason passed and Owen George thought about it every day: Come September, he'd have among the most noteworthy high school athletic positions in this corner of the world:

The quarterback at New London.

And George, a sophomore, took the field with his boys under the Friday night lights of Cannamela Field, with all the hope and wonder the beginning of the season always brings.

His first play: a toss to Jacob Commander. Except that George threw it behind him for a 17-yard loss.

His third play: incomplete pass, after which he ended up on his rear end.

"I came off the field and the coaches were like, 'What are you doing?'" George said. "It was all adrenaline."

George found a calmer place soon enough. Then he showed why he's among the most promising players in the league, if not state. He finished 11 for 13 for 161 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Whalers past Waterford 38-14.

"I thought it was important to get Jacob and Monts (Monty Johnson) the ball," George said, alluding to New London's running backs. "This whole night came together because of our line."

Graduation and injuries hit New London the hardest on the offensive line. But if Friday night proved nothing else, an ever-improving line will make the Whalers even more dangerous.

"We have talent, especially in our skill positions," New London coach Juan Roman said. "But the O-Line takes you where you want to go."

New London led 32-0 at halftime.

Six of George's completions went to senior Gio Lopez, who caught touchdown passes of 22 and 13 yards. Johnson scored on touchdown runs of 1, 7 and 32 yards, while Jahyde Marcus returned a fumble for a score.

It was not, however, the cleanest game the Whalers ever played, thus giving Roman plenty of ammunition for this week of practice.

"My thing is let's do this the right way," Roman said. "We don't need to talk and chirp. What bothers me is prior to the game, we told them to play hard and say nothing. I mean, if you beat someone up, why do you have to say anything? You think they don't know?"

Waterford trailed 38-0 in the fourth period before quarterback Peter Turello hit Max Mazzella with a pair of touchdown passes. Mazzella also had a 29-yard reception earlier in the game.

"When we executed, we actually did OK," Waterford coach John Strecker said. "We don't have many guys who have ever been on the field on Friday night before. They can play, but they're young. Coming here, I think we played like we were trying not to make mistakes and that's when you make mistakes. And New London's a really good team, in case you're wondering."

m.dimauro@theday.com