Greenwich High School football coach Anthony Morello provided a significant synopsis to the media regarding the Cardinals’ game against visiting FCIAC rival St. Joseph – a matchup that saw his team earn its sixth win of the season.

“I will give you a headline right now, sometimes a great defense is the best offense,” Morello said. “There have been games where I’ve had defensive coaches come up to me and say ‘coach offense saved us today, offense bailed us out today, well, today was the reverse. Today we needed our defense to pick us up.”

And the defense certainly did give the Cardinals a lift – along with the special teams unit.

Returning two interceptions for touchdowns, Greenwich upped its record to 6-1, registering a hard-fought 23-14 win over St. Joseph before a big crowd at Cardinal Stadium on Nov. 1. Ranked fifth in the GameTimeCT Top-10 Football Poll, the win was the second straight for the Cardinals.

Junior linebacker Santi Parra and sophomore linebacker Justin Carroll each intercepted St. Joseph passes and ran them back for touchdowns, igniting the Cardinals on this night. Senior wide receiver Blake Martin caught a 3-yard touchdown from senior quarterback M.J. D’Angelo for Greenwich’s other touchdown.

The Cadets (5-2), who like the Cardinals, entered this FCIAC showdown with a record of 5-2, received a touchdown run from sophomore Finn Kilmartin and a scoring reception from senior Tyrell Wright. The Cards held a 10-0 lead following the first quarter and went into halftime with a 10-7 edge.

“Offensively, we couldn’t get out of our own way, we couldn’t throw the ball, we couldn’t run the ball, we couldn’t align right, but our defense took care of our points with two scores and our special teams, which has been great all year, is outstanding,” Morello said. “I’m not afraid to punt it, because he has been putting the ball inside the 20 all season long.”

A 29-yard field goal by senior placekicker Julian Ravina gave Greenwich a 3-0 lead with 2:14 remaining in the first quarter.

On the ensuing possession, the Cards got some crucial points from its defense. Parra intercepted a pass from St. Joseph quarterback Martin Broz and returned it approximately 30 yards for a touchdown. Ravina split the uprights with the PAT, extending Greenwich’s advantage to 10-0 with 52.6 seconds left in the first quarter.

“I saw the ball, I wanted a touchdown in this game,” Parra said. “I could feel a touchdown for the defense, because our offense was having a little trouble. I definitely wanted to put us up on the board.”

The Cadets closed to within 10-7 with 8:53 left to play in the second quarter.

Kilmartin reached the end zone on a 4-yard run, capping St. Joe’s scoring driving and making it a three-point game. Greenwich’s next TD came courtesy of the special teams unit. A muffed St. Joseph punt was recovered by GHS at the Cadets’ 7-yard line.

After a D’Angelo run got the ball down to the 3-yard line, D’Angelo threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Martin, who was open in the left corner of the end zone, putting the hosts on top, 16-7, at the 6:18 mark of the third quarter.

“It was a fade into a comeback, we practice it all season, me and M.J., we just hit the pylon and that’s what we practice every day,” Martin said of his touchdown catch.

The Cardinals wide receiver credited the squad’s defense for their outstanding performance throughout this critical conference game.

“Defensively, they were great tonight,” Martin said. “We had a game plan and we weren’t executing our best, we were struggling a little bit, but our defense picked us up and that’s what we needed.”

St. Joseph again made it a one-score game, scoring with 5:48 to go in the third quarter. That’s when Broz threw a 47-yard scoring strike to Wright, who made a nice catch-and-run, cutting Greenwich’s lead to 16-14.

The home team’s defense came up clutch again, giving their squad some much-needed breathing room. Carroll intercepted a Broz pass and returned it for a touchdown with 3:46 left in the fourth quarter, making it 23-14 in favor of the Cards.

“Our secondary, our D-Line was doing the job, I just sat in that window, I saw the ball and I took it,” Justin Carroll said of his TD. “I thank everyone else and just took it to the crib. It felt great to seal the victory.”

“We had to step up today, special teams and defense had to score some points and our defense takes a lot of pride in that,” he continued.

Junior linebacker Jack Kelly, senior lineman Peter Vomvolakis, senior lineman Max Marek, junior lineman Michael Golden, Parra, Jack Carroll, Justin Carroll and senior lineman Kyle Ebanks were among some of the Cardinals’ defensive players who made several tackles for the game.

Golden and Ebanks combined on a sack, while Vomvolakis recovered a fumble. Senior Noah Steele helped pace Greenwich’s secondary, with several breakups on St. Joseph pass plays.

Vomvolakis, who will play collegiate football at the United States Naval Academy, made his 44th straight varsity start, a Greenwich High School football record.

“We knew they were going to be a really tough team and we knew they were going to be ready to play against us,” Vomvolakis said. “During the first half, we struggled moving the ball on offense. They gave us a different defense than we saw this week. We made the correct adjustments and we started moving down the field a little more.”

This matchup between the Cardinals and Cadets was certainly a defensive battle, with both defensive units rising to the occasion.

“The defense played a tremendous game, two touchdowns – special teams played amazing,” Vomvolakis noted. “I really have to give it up to those guys, they played awesome.”

Morello mentioned how well his linebacker corps is playing, with Parra and Carroll sparking the unit. Santi Parra’s brother, Sebastian, was an exceptional linebacker for the Cardinals. He graduated from GHS in 2024.

“It’s a lot of pressure for him to replace his brother and follow in his footsteps,” Morello said of Santi Parra. “He’s done a great job of solidifying himself in this defense. Between him and sophomore Justin Carroll, those two guys have unlimited responsibilities and jobs. Tonight was a microcosm of the work they put in during the offseason and the regular season.”

Said Parra: “They were a pretty good offense. I think we did pretty good, we have to calm down on our flags, but we have to keep going until we have a ring on our finger.”

Morello was pleased with how his squad grinded out the victory in a game where things weren’t always going their way.

“It’s a game of points and it’s not always going to be pretty,” Morello noted. “But we led the entire game and that’s what I tried to tell them. Don’t turn the football over, play field position and put pressure on St. Joe’s to make the plays. St. Joe’s defense is outstanding, they give us fits every year.”

Said Martin: “Defensively, they were great tonight. We had a game plan and we weren’t executing our best, we were struggling a little bit, but our defense picked us up and that’s what we needed.”

Up next for Greenwich is a road game against Ridgefield on Friday at 7 p.m.

“We have to keep learning. I’m proud of those guys, we have a young team and they really took to the coaching at halftime and really took to the learning and put it out in the second half,” Vomvolakis said of the Cards’ victory.