Greenwich High School’s football team’s 2022 season ended with a 37-17 win over Fairfield Prep in the championship game of the CIAC Class LL Tournament and its 2023 season will begin with a game against none other than Fairfield Prep.

The Cardinals and Jesuits will renew their non-conference rivalry on Sept. 9 at Cardinal Stadium and with the season-opener rapidly approaching, Greenwich is busy preparing for its first challenging test of its 2023 campaign.

Training camp recently began for Greenwich, which started practicing at Greenwich High School this week and will host Iona Prep in a scrimmage on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Cardinal Stadium.

Coached by Anthony Morello, the Cardinals are coming off a memorable 2023 season that saw them register a record of 11-2 on their way to winning the Class LL state championship – the varsity program’s ninth state title overall. More than 30 players graduated from Greenwich’s championship squad, a number of whom played starting roles, yet there is still a wealth of talent and experience on the Cardinals’ impressive roster.

Like their predecessors, this season’s seniors are aiming to leave the program as champions.

“These seniors have worked hard for their senior year and their moment,” said Morello, who has been at the helm since 2019. “They are all coming off a championship year and those are big shoes to fill. So, there is obviously, going to be pressure that comes with that. But when it comes to this group, they have embraced it since the beginning.”

Captaining the Cardinals are seniors Nick Aravides, John Insinga, Sebastian Parra and George Vomvolakis. The group of captains contributed greatly to the Cards’ success a season ago and are expected to provide significant leadership to their respective positions.

“It feels great, coming out of a state championship season,” said Insinga, a senior linebacker, who earned All-State and All-FCIAC accolades as a junior in 2022. Being a part of last year’s team was a great experience, we had a great senior class and they led by example. It was just a great experience, overall. Hopefully, we can go down the same path, do everything the same way and have the same results this season.”

Insinga helped energize the Cardinals’ defensive unit last season, registering 149 tackles (83 solo tackles, 66 assisted tackles), ranking him No. 1 in the state in tackles.

“You don’t have to look very far on MaxPreps or Huddle to see the statistics that our linebackers piled up last year,” Morello noted. “John Insinga and Sebastian Parra are the heart and soul of our defense. Those linebackers set the tone every day in practice. John Insinga led the state in tackles last year and Sebastian Parra was not far behind.”

Insinga and Parra give Greenwich an imposing group of linebackers, along with senior Jayden Scott, who saw plenty of action in 2022 and senior Ian Kim.

“We graduated a lot of seniors, but we have a lot of young kids that are really good,” Parra said. “We have to step up and come out firing the first game. It’s going to be exciting to go up against Fairfield Prep. We know they are going to be coming out firing, so we know we have to do the same thing.”

One of the many graduates from the Cardinals’ title-winning 2022 team was quarterback Jack Wilson, who was a two-season starter. Wilson threw 25 touchdown passes and threw for 2,211 yards last season, while spreading the ball around to numerous receivers. Rocco Grillo, an incoming senior, served as Wilson’s backup last fall and has received the majority of the repetitions with the first team during practice. Brandon Boone and Kaine Rama are also senior quarterbacks who are accustomed to the Cardinals’ offensive system.

“We have a slew of senior quarterbacks and they are all four-year players,” Morello noted. “They have gone through the program. What I’m most excited about Rocco now is the leadership. He is pound for pound one of our stronger guys on the team and he throws a beautiful football. Hopefully, we won’t miss a beat.”

“Brandon and Kaine they both offer value with different styles,” Morello continued. “Brandon is our best runner, he is an excellent general on the field. He is a great scrambler, he makes things happen outside the pocket. Kaine quite possibly has the strongest arm of the bunch. With all of that talent, we are trying to find ways to utilize all of these quarterbacks.”

Grillo appeared in the several 7-on-7 passing competitions the team participated in prior to the preseason and has formed an important bond with the wide receivers.

“I really like our offense,” Grillo said. “I’ve been working with our receivers during the offseason, they’ve helped me out, I’ve helped them out. I like the O-Line they have been doing a lot of work in the offseason. We can be a quick, explosive offense and I feel the offense can work well.”

“I’ve played with some of these guys since third grade, so we know where each other is going to be on the field,” Grillo continued. “We know where to put the ball and I know how they play – it is going to pay off.”

George Vomvolakis enjoyed a highly productive year at running back as a junior last fall, gaining a team-best 1,034 rushing yards. He also ran for 12 touchdowns. Look for Vomvolakis to lead the Cardinals in the backfield, with Ian Kim also getting some carries.

Besides helping lead the team at two positions, Vomvolakis, also a defensive back, is embracing his role as one of the Cards’ senior captains.

“It feels good, it’s an honor and it comes with a lot of responsibility,” Vomvolakis said of being a captain. “Being a leader – encouraging other people – it’s a lot of fun.”

In Greenwich’s memorable victory against Fairfield Prep in the 2022 Class LL final, Vomvolakis rushed for a team-high 152 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.

“Winning the state championship was a dream come true,” Vomvolakis said. “I remember dreaming as a kid doing that, so for that to become a reality was surreal. Just being part of that motivates me to want to do that again.”

George’s brother, Peter Vomvolakis, an incoming junior, returns to lead the squad’s offensive line. Peter Vomvolakis started the previous two seasons at right tackle, earning All-State and All-FCIAC Team honors, but has shifted to center for the upcoming season.

“Peter has started every game since freshman year,” Morello noted. “He knows the offense so well and he is an unbelievable talent. It will be great to have him at the middle of the field for every play.”

Dylan Brehm has shifted from linebacker to the left guard position, while Nick Granitto and David Virella will help solidify the line at tackle. Tommy Passamano, James Roina and Colin Falla are guards.

Wide receivers James Wailgum (980 receiving yards) and Charlie Dixon (682 receiving yards) propelled Greenwich’s passing attack a season ago as seniors, so several players are looking to step up to fill the void left by the graduation of the dynamic 2022 receiving duo.

Seniors Jake Stefanowicz and Gavyn Gennarelli, both of whom received a lot of action last season, will be relied upon to lead the receiving unit, which also features seniors Brandon Auguste, Ryan McBrearity and a group of promising first-season varsity players.

“Jake is in a position where he knows the playbook backwards and forwards,” Morello said. “Gavyn Genarelli – he was a starter for us toward the end of the season. He caught some big touchdowns in big moments in the playoffs as well.”

The speedy Auguste, who displayed his elusiveness, particularly on special teams in 2022, is expected to spark the team as a slot receiver, while John McHugh is among some of the returning senior tight ends.

In the defensive backfield, Aravides (6-foot-2) brings height and experience to the safety position. Strong defensive play has been one of the Cardinals trademarks for decades.

“In the secondary, we are young but everybody is flying around,” Aravides said. “The linebacker position is second to none in the state – I think we have the best linebacker core in the state. The defense is pretty well established.”

“I think we had the best run defense in the state last year, so the run defense is pretty established,” Aravides added.

Noah Steele, Ryan Park, Jack Carroll, Mark Holtz, Guy Germain and George Vomvolakis are among some of the defensive backs, while Logan Jozwiak, Richie McMurray, Ignacy Pietryka, Peter Vomvolakis and Yahcere McGhee are a group of physical defensive linemen.

“I think we look great, I am really proud of the defense,” Insinga said. “We had a big team meeting after we won the state championship with the guys that are coming back to the team and went over what we needed to do to go after another state championship.”

Photos courtesy of Dylan Goodman Photography: Greenwich plays Fairfield Prep in its 2023 season-opener.

Greenwich will scrimmage Iona Prep from New Rochelle, N.Y., on Sunday at 1 p.m., then will visit FCIAC rival New Canaan for a scrimmage game on Sept. 1 at 6 p.m.

“That will be a good measuring stick for where we’re at this preseason,” Morello said. “There will be at least a full half of football for all of our projected starters. But we also have a battle going on having graduating so many starters from our senior class. New Canaan next Friday night should also be a good test for our offense, which has a lot of new faces – a new quarterback and very fresh offensive line.”

Photos by Dylan Goodman Photography: Greenwich is the defending CIAC Class LL state champion.

Following its season-opener at home against Fairfield Prep, Greenwich will host FCIAC foe Stamford on Sept. 14, before visiting non-conference opponent Maloney on Sept. 22.

We’ll have another season preview article a few days prior to Greenwich’s game against Fairfield Prep.