Greenwich and Stamford played each other to a standstill during the first three quarters of Thursday night’s FCIAC varsity football showdown before an enthusiastic crowd at Cardinal Stadium, however, the fourth quarter belonged to the Cardinals.

Scoring 14 straight fourth-quarter points, enabled the Cardinals to separate from the determined, upset-minded Black Knights and earn their second straight win to start their 2023 season.

George Vomvolakis, a senior running back/captain, rushed for three touchdowns and Greenwich’s defense produced an effective effort in a hard-fought 28-14 victory over Stamford in an FCIAC matchup. With the win, Greenwich, ranked No. 1 in the GameTimeCT Top-10 Football Poll, improved its record to 2-0. Stamford, which opened its season with a triumph against Norwich Free Academy, is 1-1.

The Cardinals and Black Knights entered the second half tied at 7-7, then Stamford took a 14-7 lead on its opening possession of the third quarter. Stamford succeeded in putting pressure on Greenwich senior quarterback Rocco Grillo during the majority of the first half and used the running and passing of junior quarterback Ejai Presley to put points on the scoreboard.

“We knew Stamford was going to come ready to play tonight and they exploited us in a lot of ways,” Greenwich coach Anthony Morello said. “We definitely have some things to work on, but I was proud of the second-half effort. I was proud of the grit and determination to come back from a deficit in the second half.”

Powered by senior linebackers/captains John Insinga, Sebastian Parra and numerous others, the Cardinals were consistently sparked by its defensive unit.

“The defense has been strong all season they were really sound other than one breakdown,” Morello said.

Stamford’s touchdowns came on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Presley to senior wide receiver J.J. Salvatore and a 10-yard scramble from Presley. “I told the team, we went toe-for-toe with the No. 1 team in Connecticut and you’re upset that we lost,” said Stamford coach Donny Panapada, who has the Black Knights squad moving in the right direction. “We’re making progress. Our energy and effort was tremendous.”

Panapada, who served as an assistant coach at Greenwich under former head coach Rich Albonizio, coached Morello when Morello was an offensive lineman for the Cardinals.

“Coach Panapada was my coach, so I have a lot of respect for him and what his guys do out there,” Morello said. “They played a great game. For us tonight, we made a ton of mental mistakes.”

Greenwich struck first in this game featuring a pair of longtime FCIAC foes. The Cards’ opening touchdown came on its third possession, as sacks by Stamford’s Brian Augustin and Jonas Paul foiled their second drive.

Getting the ball deep with their passing game was part of Greenwich’s game plan against the Black Knights.

“They were penetrating backside B-gap and unfortunately, our guys up front had a tough time picking up some of their blitzes,” Morello noted. “Based on what I saw on film, I thought we could really stretch the field vertically, so I wanted to take a lot of shots early. Unfortunately, every shot that we took down field was incomplete.”

“That, paired with false starts, illegal formations and improper formations equates to third-and-long situations where you don’t want to be, where there is only so much you can call,” Morello continued. “We just have to get back to doing what we do well. When we set up manageable second and third downs, we can be a really dangerous team.”

Vomvolakis escaped for a 28-yard touchdown run, giving GHS a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.

At the 9:07 mark of the second quarter, Presley rolled left and threw a 15-yard scoring strike to Salvatore, who hauled in the pass in the right corner of the end zone, knotting the score a 7-7.

Salvatore, also a linebacker, also excelled on defense for the visitors.

“Salvatore is a hell of a football player and I’ve got a lot of good football players,” Panapada said. “Some people not from Stamford got to see him on the field tonight.”

Presley showcased his speed, scoring on a 10-yard scramble to give Stamford (1-1) a 14-7 lead with 6:16 to go in the third quarter. Vomvolakis’ 11-yard touchdown rush at the 2:57 mark evened the score again at 14-14.

“That Stamford team was 10 times better than what they were last year,” said Vomvolakis, Greenwich’s leading rusher. “Kudos to them for picking it up, but we really have to play well this week in practice. We’re playing a really good opponent next week, so we are going to lock it in this week and see what happens against Maloney.”

Greenwich, the defending CIAC Class LL champion travels to Maloney for its first-ever meeting against the Spartans, based in Meriden.

The Cardinals took the lead for good at 21-14 on the first play of the fourth quarter. A 28-yard run by Grillo put the ball on the Black Knights’ 1-yard line. Two plays later, Grillo scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak. Senior Erick Perrino’s PAT put the Cardinals on top, 21-14, four seconds into the final quarter.

The Cards’ added to their advantage when Vomvolakis bulled his way into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter, making it 28-14.

“In the second half, we really locked it up and we scored 21 points on them, which is a great improvement from what it was in the first quarter,” George Vomvolakis said. “It’s always nice to score touchdowns like that. But at the end of the day, you have to give credit to your teammates. Peter (Vomvolakis, his brother on the offensive line) was hurt during the whole entire second half and he still kept playing, which is beyond me, so hats off to them for doing that.”

Both defensive units were sound, especially during the opening half. Insinga combined with Parra for a sack and had several tackles resulting in lost yardage, while senior defensive end Johnny McHugh registered a first-half sack for the Cardinals.

“They came out and they were ready to play,” Insinga said of Stamford. “They came out and kicked us in the teeth. We know they love fast guys, we have been studying to face them.”

Insinga knows the Cardinals must step up their play next week when they make a lengthly road trip to play unfamiliar foe Maloney.

“If we play like this at Maloney we are going to be destroyed,” he noted.

The score that put Greenwich ahead 21-14 was set up by an interception by senior linebacker/captain Sebastian Parra.

“I saw him (Presley) scramble out and I saw that he wasn’t going to throw to his first read,” Parra said of his interception. “There was a guy behind me and I stayed there and caught it. We knew they ran the ball a lot and can also pass the ball. But we just had to play physical and make plays.”

Both starting quarterbacks were forced to leave the game late in the fourth quarter. Presley was hit hard out of bounds on a scramble on Stamford’s sideline – no penalty was assessed – and he left the game. Grillo took a hit to his face while sliding to the artificial turn on a running play late in the final quarter. Stamford received a 15-yard penalty on the play and Grillo left the game. He was seen talking to the coaches on the sideline, while cheering on his teammates.

“Rocco is fine,” Morello said. “He took a shot to the lip but he didn’t have any head pain or trauma. Watching the film, it wasn’t a malicious attack. He got pushed from behind one of his guys so it’s a physical game. He’ll be OK.”

Panapada was pleased with his squad’s defensive performance against Greenwich’s versatile offense.

“The defensive staff, the coaching staff came up with a very good game plan,” Panapada said. “I was on them last week, we gave up some big plays to NFA, guys got behind us, but they came up with a good plan. We executed it pretty well we just came up a little short.”

Greenwich’s defense has fared well against two formidable offensive units to start the season.

Said Greenwich senior linebacker Jaden Scott: “I thought the defense played great. All of our guys went out there and gave 100 percent every play until the last whistle. When people went down, people were ready to hop in.”

“Nobody played on a separate level today,” Scott continued. “We all played as one team and we came out with the win. Their offense was very good, but it’s nothing that we haven’t prepared for. Our coaches did a good job of preparing us this week. At halftime it was 7-7, I give props to the whole team for sticking together and not giving up.”

Greenwich’s game against Maloney on Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

“It’s going to be exciting to go out there and play them,” Parra said. “We know they have a lot of good players. We just have to go out there and prepare and do our best.”