One of the marks of a team on the rise is its ability to defeat an opponent that it lost to in the past.

Well, the Greenwich Country Day School football team has certainly shown that it is indeed, on the rise.

Greenwich Country Day School, which was defeated by New Hampton School in 2022, upended the visitors from New Hampshire on Saturday, earning a decisive 39-6 victory.

Reining in the rain, the 2-0 Tigers, who began their 2023 with a 40-30 win against Capital Prep Harbor on Sept. 15, bolted to a 25-0 halftime lead against New Hampton School in their Evergreen League opener.

“It was a result of an awesome week of preparation,” GCDS coach Kevin Avery said. “Our coaches do a fantastic job of preparing our guys, getting them right and making sure that we are dialed in to our assignments in all three phases and I think it showed today.”

Senior quarterback/captain Jesse Ripka threw three touchdown passes and junior wide receiver/defensive back/kick returner Austin Rinello continued his early season scoring surge, totaling three more touchdowns to propel the Tigers.

In the Tigers’ non-league season-opening matchup versus Capital Prep Harbor, Rinello scored four touchdowns. Saturday, the elusive, speedy Rinello returned a kickoff and punt for scores and caught a touchdown pass.

“He’s a special player, he does special things and it helps out a lot,” Ripka said of Rinello. “It was tough coming out in the rain obviously, we had to change our game plan a little bit. It’s not easy for a quarterback to throw. Testament to my teammates, they really picked up the load.”

GCDS seized a 7-0 lead on their first possession behind a 3-yard touchdown run by Jake LeDonne. A senior running back/linebacker, LeDonne helped pace the Tigers’ ground game.

“We did a nice, methodical job and Jake punched it in,” Avery said of his squad’s opening drive. He (LeDonne) played like an absolute warrior today. He ran the ball incredibly hard; he caught the ball out of the backfield – lowered his shoulder when he had to kind of be his own blocker.”

Entering this Evergreen League matchup, the Tigers had plenty of motivation. Last season saw New Hampton School top GCDS, 41-26, in New Hampshire.

“We knew last year we had a good game with them the first half and the second half, they got the best of us,” LeDonne recalled. “So, we knew this year was a statement game. We wanted to come out and drive and just keep doing what we’ve been doing. Last week, the first half, we kept it going and we wanted to keep it going this week.”

Ripka tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass with 3:34 remaining in the second quarter, making it 13-0, then Rinello displayed his athleticism. He ran back a punt more than 50 yards for a score at the 2:02 mark of the second quarter, putting the Tigers on top, 19-0.

“It starts with the blocking, Elijah and Luke – they are setting a good edge for us,” Rinello said of his punt return for a TD. “We really care about special teams here and it’s showing.”

Senior defensive end/captain Cooper Edwards recovered a fumble deep in the Huskies territory, leading to the Tigers’ next score.

Rolling right, Ripka threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Rinello in the corner of the end zone, giving the Tigers a commanding 25-0 lead with 36 seconds left in the second quarter.

“It’s tough playing in the rain,” Rinello said. “The line played the best I’ve seen them play, props to them. The offense was going today. Jesse, despite the rain, threw a great game.”

The second half began in impressive fashion for GCDS, courtesy of Rinello. He caught the kickoff to start the second half, eluded a number of New Hampton players and sprinted down the left sideline for an 80-plus yard touchdown. Crain converted another PAT and the home team went ahead 32-0 16 seconds into the third quarter.

“We were coming out of the locker room saying we need to punch this one in on offense and make it 31-0 and then Rinello just takes the first kickoff back,” Ripka said.

Special teams have indeed, been special for GCDS during its first two games.

“The game of football is a three-phase game,” Avery said. “We take special teams very seriously here. Our special teams coordinator does a great job each week scouting the programs. We want it to be a weapon for us and it showed today.”

The Tigers’ capped their scoring with 4:35 to go in the third quarter. Ripka dropped back to pass and lofted a long touchdown pass to junior wideout Luke Miles, who was wide open on the play. Avery appreciated how Ripka managed the offense during inclement weather.

“Today really showed how important it is to have great quarterback play,” Avery noted. “Driving rain and wind and our quarterback is doing a really efficient job throwing the ball, being explosive down the field when he needed to – extending plays and again, we are blessed to have him, the receivers, the skill guys that can play through the elements.”

Like Week 1, GCDS’ offensive line gave Ripka plenty of time to throw.

“It was a great day for our offensive line to jell together,” Avery said.

New Hampton reached the end zone late in the third quarter, scoring a touchdown with 53 seconds to go in the quarter. Sophomore Jakob Stevens was quarterback for the Huskies (0-1), who were paced defensively by senior linebacker Brady Clough and senior defensive back Sean Treadwell.

Edwards was active throughout for the Tigers, consistently finding his way into the Huskies’ backfield, while helping to disrupt their offense. He recovered a fumble in the second quarter, setting up a GCDS touchdown.

“It all comes down to preparation,” Edwards said. “We were working our tails off in practice. They were going to try to pound the ball, maybe throw a couple of passes. We got on that early and knew what was coming. It’s just a matter of playing fast and executing.”

Junior linebacker Dylan Kellan intercepted a pass, while junior Zach Montone recovered a fumble in the winning effort.

“This win feels great,” Edwards said. “All season, we’ve had a lot of time to prepare for this game and we learned what we did wrong in our last game against them.”

“Our defense was incredibly dialed in,” Avery said. “We ran to the football today, we swarmed and tackled together and finished plays. It was a great effort by our defense. They put us in great field position the entire time.”

Greenwich Country Day travels to Canterbury School on Saturday for an Evergreen matchup. The game is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Canterbury opened its season with a 21-6 league triumph against Albany Academy for Boys. In last season’s meeting between GCDS and Canterbury, the Tigers were defeated, 40-32, in a game that certainly didn’t lack offense. The Tigers will be looking to beat another opponent it lost to one season ago.

“We have another tough game against Canterbury,” Rinello noted. “We’ll try to get that one back too and continue this good start to the season.”

“Canterbury is a good opponent but I think we’re going to be ready this week,” LeDonne said.