By David Fierro
Greenwich headed into the bye week with a record of 4-0, while holding the No. 1 ranking in the GameTimeCT Top 10 Football Poll, then Wilton visited Cardinal Stadium Friday night for a rare meeting against the Cardinals and the situation Greenwich was in surprisingly changed.
Holding a 10-point lead with less than one minute remaining in the second quarter, the Cardinals were close to entering halftime with a double-digit advantage, yet the Warriors scored 13 points during a pivotal 32-second span – one that was indeed a difference-maker in this intense FCIAC matchup.
Wilton prevailed in its first game against Greenwich since the 2008 season, using a 13-point spurt in the final minute of the second quarter and a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to register a well-earned 20-17 win over the Cardinals before a large Cardinal Stadium crowd. Greenwich’s record is now 4-1 going into its road game at Trumbull on Friday.
“We have to go back to the drawing board and find out what went wrong and reassess how we approach a bye week moving forward,” Cardinals coach Anthony Morello said. “Ultimately, the time off did not do us very well this year. We can’t wallow in sorrow that long, we have to turn the page.”
Indeed, Greenwich must be ready to face a tough Trumbull team that is coming off victories against Brien McMahon and Ridgefield and is especially formidable on its home field. To do so, the Cardinals know they must tighten up certain aspects of their game.
“We have a lot of work to do, obviously, we’re beatable,” Greenwich senior quarterback M.J. D’Angelo said. “I trust everyone around me. “Little things got to us today (Friday night) but we’re going to work on them.”
Wilton, which started its 2024 season with two losses, showed poise and precision in the game’s closing minutes, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 3:39 remaining in the fourth quarter on its way to recording the come-from-behind win over Greenwich.
With their third consecutive win and its first against Greenwich in recent memory, the Warriors raised their record to 3-2. When asked to rate the significance of the win to the team’s program, Wilton coach EJ DiNunzio didn’t hesitate to respond.
When asked to rate the significance of the win to the team’s program, Wilton coach EJ DiNunzio didn’t hesitate to respond.
“I’ll put it right up there with the New Canaan and Darien win a couple of years ago and the Ridgefield win when we beat them, it’s right up there,” DiNunzio said. “Why I say it’s right up there is because we were missing one of our better linemen, a couple of guys were banged up. Coming off a bye week, so I wasn’t sure what we were going to get tonight. But I knew we would play hard, I knew we were going to play tough, we’ve been working these kids really tough the last two weeks. We said if you want to go out and beat Greenwich you have to want it more.”
Senior tight end Cael Dexter caught two touchdown passes from senior quarterback Joey Hagerty and junior running back/receiver Charlie Calabrese scored the winning touchdown for the Warriors, whose defensive unit was sound throughout.
“I knew we would play hard, my coaches we worked hard the past two weeks,” DiNunzio said. “We tried to figure out every possible scheme to stop the running back, quarterback, the receivers. The coaches did a phenomenal job, but the kids, the execution of what we talked about the last two weeks was flawless, they did a great job.”
Trailing 17-13, the Warriors took possession at their own 40-yard line with 8:17 left in the fourth quarter. A pass interference penalty on GHS moved the ball up to the Cardinals’ 45-yard line, then Hagerty gained positive yards on a pair of scrambles.
Later in the drive, Hagerty completed a pass to Calabrese, giving the visitors a first down at the Cards’ 17-yard line. Several plays later, Calabrese took an option pitch from Hagerty and sprinted his way around the left side for a 3-yard touchdown. After converting the ensuing PAT, Wilton seized a 20-17 edge with 3:39 to play.
“We called the motion, they were bumping with the motion, we went away from it – speed option it was a nice touchdown,” Calabrese said of his winning score. “It was great blocking.”
On Wilton’s previous possession its potential scoring drive stalled at the Greenwich 5-yard line, as the Cardinals defense stiffened.
“We got stopped in the red zone previously in the game and our coaches had told us at halftime that we were going to have a new red zone play,” Calabrese noted.
Hagerty knew their second trip to the red zone in the fourth quarter had to result in the go-ahead points.
“We do it at practice – two minute drill,” Hagerty said. “There was obviously five minutes left, but it was still a late game scenario. We knew we had to get into the end zone. We were confident we were going to get into the end zone.”
Facing a three-point deficit, Greenwich was unable to gain a first down and punted with less than two minutes remaining in the final quarter. However, the hosts got the ball back quickly, using its timeouts to stop the clock, while forcing a Wilton three-and-out.
D’Angelo tried to scramble and bye time to pass, but the Warriors defense held on Greenwich’s final possession and the visitors held off the Cards.
“Both teams had a fair shot to win, we just didn’t execute,” Morello said. “We made way too many mistakes. We had really costly turnovers, costly penalties, we turned people loose. It was not our night, we did not execute the way we wanted to, Wilton made more plays than we did and came through in the big moments. Hats off to coach DiNunzio, they needed that win and they got it.”
The Cardinals took a four-point advantage at the 5:45 mark of the third quarter. D’Angelo threw a 5-yard scoring strike to senior wide receiver Matthew O’Donnell, capping a 56-yard drive and giving GHS a 17-13 edge. D’Angelo connected with O’Donnell and senior wideout Blake Martin during the scoring drive. On the touchdown, O’Donnell made a nifty leaping catch near the right corner of the end zone while being tightly covered by Wilton junior defensive back Jake Padilla.
D’Angelo’s 1-yard touchdown run with 1:58 to go in the opening quarter put GHS on top, 7-0. A reception for a first down by senior wide receiver and a scramble which moved the first down chains keyed the Cards’ first scoring drive.
A 27-yard field goal by senior placekicker Julian Ravina extended Greenwich’s lead to 10-0. Ravina’s field goal was set up by a reception of more than 40 yards by senior Hector Lopez, who hauled in a D’Angelo pass and dashed his way down to the Warriors’ 5-yard line. Ravina’s field goal came with 8:31 remaining in the second quarter.
Wilton proceeded to go on a long, time-consuming drive, sparked by receptions from Padilla and senior wideout Ethan Bailey. With 32 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Hagerty rolled to his right and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass Dexter, who brought in the pass in the right corner of the end zone, cutting Greenwich’s advantage to 10-6.
Junior defensive back Connor McAndrews came up with a key interception for the Warriors on Greenwich’s ensuing drive, then the visitors worked some last second magic to take the lead.
Hagerty completed a pass over the middle to Dexter, who took it to the end zone from more than 30 yards out as time expired, ending the first half and putting the Warriors ahead, 13-10.
“The last play of the half was huge,” DiNunzio said. “Our offensive coaches thought the middle would be open. We hit Dexter with a great pass. That’s a huge play to get us into the half the way we did. We had to pull out every stop, we probably practiced six or seven trick plays during the week and we probably used four or five of them.”
“Shout out to the interception by Connor, No. 12, great play,” Calabrese noted.
Said DiNuzio of his team’s touchdown to end the first half: “The last play of the half was huge. Our offensive coaches thought the middle would be open. We hit Cale Dexter with a great pass. That’s a huge play to get us into the half the way we did. We had to pull out every stop, we probably practiced six or seven trick plays during the week and we probably used four or five of them.
“Not one of them got in, but we kept them on their toes,” he continued. “If you don’t keep a team like Greenwich on their toes – you can’t expect to beat them man-on-man – they’re too good.”
D’Angelo passed for 137 yards for the Cardinals, who gained 160 rushing yards against the Warriors.
“I’m going to push this team the rest of the season as hard as I can and a lot of good is going to come out of it,” D’Angelo said. “Feeling this loss early is something that we didn’t have last year. We can learn from things like this, it’s not over for us.”
Senior defensive lineman Richie McMurray registered a sack, senior defensive back Jack Carroll had a pair of tackles resulting in lost yardage, as did sophomore linebacker Justin Carroll and junior linebacker Jack Kelly for the Cards (4-1). Peter Vomvolakis, a senior center, helped pave the way on the offensive line for GHS.
“Not that we underestimated them, but we went into this game thinking we were unbeatable and we have to put that on ourselves and recover from that,” D’Angelo said. “It wasn’t our best game, so we have a lot of work to do.”
Morello reflected on what transpired late in the second quarter as pivotal moments in the matchup.
“You’re up 10 points with four-and-a-half minutes left and all of a sudden you’re down 13-10 at halftime and the rest is history,” he said. “It’s disappointing, the first loss for any team is disappointing, but we’ve played with the best in the state and out of state and we know what we can do when we’re playing well. It was not our night, we did not execute the way we wanted to.”
Wilton knows it can build off the boost it received from Friday’s spirited triumph against previously undefeated Greenwich.
“It’s huge, they’re obviously a great team, the best team in the state,” Hagerty said. “It feels great, starting off 0-2 with tough for us. But it’s just resilience, we came back, we battled it out today and we couldn’t have asked for a better game for the boys.”
“The line was blocking great, I had so much time,” Hagerty continued. “Even when I was scrambling, I was able to find holes that they created. Shout out to Cale Dexter, two touchdowns in the first half – the kid’s a stud. Everyone played well, props to everyone.”
DiNunzio knew his squad had to do its best to keep Greenwich’s offense off the field.
“It definitely set the tone, I kept reminding Joey, work the clock,” DiNunzio said of his team’s long scoring drive late in the second quarter. “The less possessions they had the better off we are. Our offense moved the ball enough, controlled the time of possession. It’s a really tough, gritty football team.”
While Greenwich travels to Trumbull for a Friday night game, Wilton will has two tough home games coming up. The Warriors will play host to New Canaan on Friday night, then will face visiting Darien on Nov. 1.
