By David Fierro
Entering its road game against Ridgefield on Nov. 8, coach Anthony Morello and the Greenwich High School football team were well aware of what transpired during their previous appearance at Tiger Hollow Stadium in 2022.
“The last time we were here in 2022, the first quarter, Ridgefield 21, Greenwich zero, they came out and executed everywhere and we were in a 21-point hole, so the goal this week, the focus this week, was to get to 21 before they did,” Morello said reflecting on the Cardinals’ come-from-behind win against Ridgefield two seasons ago.
The Cardinals certainly got to 21 before the Tigers did, in fact they put up 21 points in the first quarter and cruised from there.
Scoring 21 first-quarter points, then adding 17 more in the second quarter, Greenwich rolled to a resounding 38-0 victory over host Ridgefield in an FCIAC matchup that saw the Cardinals excel on both sides of the ball. With the one-sided win, Greenwich raised its record to 7-1. Ranked No. 1 in the CIAC Class LL state rankings, the Cardinals host Westhill in its final home game of the regular season Saturday at 1 p.m. Senior running back Hector Lopez ran for three touchdowns for Greenwich, which capitalized on two recovered fumbles by its special teams unit to score 38 first-half points.
“We executed, we threw the ball, Hector did a great job running the ball and it was a good performance in all areas,” Morello said.
The visiting Cardinals scored on its first possession, with Lopez entering the end zone on a 1-yard burst through a hole the offensive line opened for him. Senior Julian Ravina converted the extra point, giving GHS a 7-0 lead with 8:46 remaining in the first quarter. Lopez broke loose for a long run down the right sideline, setting the ball up on Ridgefield’s 1-yard line.
“I give a lot of credit to my O-Line, they do a great job with their assignments, they work really hard,” said Lopez, Greenwich’s leading rusher. “The offense looked great, there’s some things we still have to fix. Overall, it was a great night for our offense.”
Indeed, the Cards had a positive feeling following their touchdown on their opening possession. It was certainly a sign of things to come.
“Every game that we have scored on our first possession we have won this year, so that’s the only data we need, we have to score first,” Morello noted. “It was a team effort, obviously, the offense had some struggles the past two weeks, so we went back to basics and what got us here in the first place. It was nice to just get back to doing our thing.”
Greenwich’s first drive covered 65 yards in nine plays and included completed passes from senior quarterback M.J. D’Angelo to senior wide receivers Blake Martin and Matthew O’Donnell. Ridgefield, quarterbacked by sophomore Connor Chojnacki, was forced to punt on its opening drive, as senior defensive back Noah Steele and junior linebacker Santi Parra made key tackles for GHS.
With 3:06 left in the second quarter, Greenwich scored on its second possession, as Lopez broke away from the Tigers defense for a 44-yard touchdown run, putting the visitors on top, 14-0.
“We saw some avenues on film we could take and Hector took one cut and he has the speed,” Morello said. “Once he gets through the first line, he could be really dangerous. Hector ran the ball really well. Give credit to the offensive line they did an outstanding job of blocking.”
Senior center/captain Peter Vomvolakis powered the offensive line, along with junior Colin Falla, junior Richie McMurray and junior Henry Wahl. The Cards O-Line set the tone of the offense with their strong push up front throughout this FCIAC matchup under the lights at Tiger Hollow Stadium.
“We knew what kind of defense they were running, we had a really good plan of how we were going to stop that defense and what they were going to do,” Vomvolakis said. “We made a strategy to stop that defense and we did a really good job of executing it.”
At the 1:23 mark of the first quarter, D’Angelo dropped back to pass and threw a 31-yard scoring strike to junior tight end Alex Mrdelja. The 6-foot-3 238-pound Mrdelja found himself wide open behind Ridgefield’s secondary on his way to the catch-and-run score, putting GHS ahead, 21-0.
Ravina continued his excellent season as the Cards’ placekicker, booting a 34-yard field goal, making it 24-0 midway through the second quarter. D’Angelo completed a long pass to Lopez, then Lopez reached the end zone again, sprinting 47-yards for a score, giving GHS a commanding 31-0 advantage with 5:30 still left in the second quarter. Senior wide receiver Matthew O’Donnell capped the Cardinals’ scoring, taking a pitch from D’Angelo on a jet sweep and running around the left side for a 6-yard TD run with 51 seconds to go in the first half.
“Our offensive line, all the guys worked really hard,” Vomvolakis noted. “Hector was balling out there, I think we had over 200 rushing yards today. You like to see a guy running 50 yards for a touchdown.”
Meanwhile, Ridgefield was challenged to get anything going offensively against Greenwich’s defense, which was physical throughout.
“We trusted our guys, we went over the game plan in practice all week and we just trusted the guys we have and just played ball,” said Greenwich senior defensive back/captain Jack Carroll, who helped pace Greenwich’s superb play in the secondary. “I thought we played really well tonight and the DBs, passing-wise, played really well, the linebackers played really well.”
“Our whole defense played stout today and we’re looking forward to next week,” Carroll added.
Said Greenwich defensive lineman/captain Max Marek, who once again, was a force on the line: “We’ve had a lot of games this year where we’ve had high expectations for ourselves, but I felt today we stayed disciplined and we were just firing off on all cylinders. We played hard and when we play hard with a good mentality, good results happen.”
Marek pointed to the complimentary football the Cards played. The offense and defense were highly effective and the special teams unit recovered two Ridgefield fumbles on kickoff returns, giving the offense a short field to work with.
“Having those key special teams moments when we recover two kickoffs in a row is huge,” Marek said. “The offense was there to support us, we love having a good program where we can depend on the offense, the offense could depend on us.”
The Cardinals have two games remaining in the regular season. They visit Westhill Saturday and will travel to Westport for their annual Thanksgiving Day game against rival Staples on Nov. 28. If Greenwich wins both games, they’ll likely earn the No. 1 seed in the CIAC Class LL Tournament.
“We have Westhill next week and we’re not taking anyone lightly,” Lopez said. “Practice will be hard and we’re going to work hard for it.”
Said Vomvolakis: “We still have to stay disciplined, the season’s not over, we have to take it week-by-week we have to keep working hard. It’s just another roadblock, that’s what we say, go 1-0 every week.”
