Not only did West Haven’s 20-point lead over Hamden evaporate Saturday night, the Blue Devils suddenly found themselves trailing and were facing fourth-and-9 from their own 43-yard line.

But West Haven head coach Rich Boshea still believed everything was going to be fine.

Boshea was correct. Sophomore quarterback Nick Conlan threw a low pass that Armani Reid sprawled to the turf for a catch on the Hamden sideline and right at the first down marker.

West Haven converted another fourth down five plays later with Conlan and Reid hooking up again, this time for a go-ahead 17-yard touchdown pass as it battled back for a 27-23 victory.

The Westies’ win, coupled with then-No. 1 Maloney’s shocking 28-21 overtime loss to Glastonbury last Thursday, moved them to first in The Day’s Top 10 state high school football coaches’ poll on Monday.

“I have confidence he can do something,” Boshea said about Conlan. “I’ve seen him do some things I haven’t seen seniors do. And so I have faith in Nick.”

West Haven (9-0) received 11 of 13 first-place votes. It was third last week.

The Blue Devils are the fifth team to be ranked No. 1 in eight weeks of the poll, further driving home the point what a crazy season this has been.

Greenwich (8-1) remained second with one first-place vote, followed by Southington (8-1), St. Joseph (8-1, one first-place vote) and Maloney (8-1).

Saturday night’s game was greatly anticipated as both the Blue Devils and Hamden (8-1) have thumped most everyone on their respective schedules.

A hyped and overflow crowd at West Haven’s Ken Strong Stadium watched Demarco Eady take the opening kickoff for an 80-yard touchdown and his team take a 20-0 lead with 11 minutes, 19 seconds left in the first half.

The Green Dragons fought back and had to do so without Camren Kemp, their leading rusher. He suffered a gruesome arm injury with under a minute left in the third quarter.

Hamden had what looked to be a late touchdown called back and settled for a 22-yard field goal by Kodjo Gassese to go ahead, 23-20, with 3:03 remaining.

The Westies started their final drive at their own 47 with 2:55 left.

Conlan was sacked twice to start the drive as West Haven ended up in a third-and-27 hole. But Conlan and West Haven wouldn’t stop.

“They’re resilient,” Boshea said later. “They’re good kids.”

Boshea, a West Haven lifer, needed surgery last month to remove a tumor from his tongue. The procedure entailed having half of his tongue removed and rebuilt from his forearm.

Boshea said he is also dealing with a tumor on his esophagus and one on his trachea. The tumors are too large for surgery, so chemotherapy is being used to shrink them. He has needed to use a feeding tube in his side for months.

“The man is a rock,” West Haven assistant Tom Unger told GameTimeCT. “He has battled through everything.”

The Blue Devils gathered around Boshea after the game and sang, “Boshea, Boshea, Boshea” to the tune of “Ole, Ole, Ole” heard at sporting events everywhere.

Week 10 got off to a crazy start when Maloney fell at home in overtime to Glastonbury (7-2).

Oddly enough, the Spartans usurped Southington for No. 1 last week after rallying to beat the Blue Knights in double overtime, 31-28, a week earlier.

The previous week, Southington beat Glastonbury, 27-6.

New Canaan (8-1) is sixth and Hamden remained seventh despite the loss.

Newtown (8-1) is eighth, Fairfield Prep (6-3) debuts at No. 9 and Ansonia (10-0) is No. 10.

Prep jumped to No. 9 following last Thursday’s 17-13 win over then-No. 8 North Haven to clinch the SCC Tier 1 title, arguably the state’s toughest division.

Voters looked past Prep’s losses because it has played the state’s toughest schedule, losing to Belen Prep of Miami, 15-14, in the season opener.

The Jesuits outgained New Canaan, 155-93, in Week 3 and allowed just six first downs but lost, 14-7. Prep then lost six days late at Hamden, 42-7.

Since then, it has beaten Cheshire (33-10), Shelton (16-15) and Notre Dame of West Haven (14-7) in SCC Tier 1 play. All received votes in this week’s poll.

Killingly and Ledyard, both 8-1, are the lone Eastern Connecticut Conference teams receiving votes.

n.griffen@theday.com