Like the matchup on Thanksgiving between the Greenwich and Staples High School football teams, a shutout was posted when the Cardinals and Wreckers played each other in today’s CIAC Class LL Tournament semifinal-round game.

Only this time, it was Greenwich’s defense that shut out the Wreckers’ offense.

How’s this for avenging a loss? Only 10 days after being shutout and losing in convincing fashion to longtime rival Staples, Greenwich returned the favor in a game with more at stake. Receiving a dominant performance on defense, a big play on offense and a stellar special teams effort, third-seeded Greenwich earned a berth in the state final, defeating second-seeded host Staples, 14-0, in the CIAC Class LL Tournament semifinals.

The Cardinals (10-2) advanced to Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. CIAC Class LL Tournament final where they will play fifth-seeded West Haven at Central Connecticut State University. West Haven (10-2) rolled past No. 1-seeded Fairfield Prep, 42-7, in today’s other Class LL semifinal-round matchup.

Greenwich won the Class LL championship in 2022 and will play for another state title when it faces West Haven in Saturday’s championship game.

“It’s hard to put into words how proud I am of this team,” said Greenwich coach Anthony Morello, whose squad dropped a 27-0 decision to Staples on Thanksgiving. “They faced adversity throughout the course of the year and they bounced back. Thanksgiving left such a sour taste in their mouths and we were just hoping that we would get a second chance to show what we can do and we did just that today.”

“The effort across the board was unbelievable,” Morello continued. “For the defense to pitch a shutout against an offense like that – the way their quarterback and their offense has played all season – just shows how hard they’ve worked to get to this point.”

Senior wide receiver Blake Martin scored on an 85-yard pass play and junior running back Hector Lopez reached the end zone on a 3-yard run for the Cardinals, who forced four turnovers, two of which were interceptions by senior defensive backs Noah Steele and Jack Carroll.

“They took our Thanksgiving and our thing was to take their season and we did that,” said Martin, who also caught a long pass during the second half for the Cardinals, besides scoring a touchdown.

Greenwich applied consistent pressure on Staples junior quarterback Nicholas Weil, who turned in a stellar effort when the Wreckers beat GHS on Thanksgiving, 27-0. Today’s game was quite a turnaround, as the Cardinals’ defense stepped up, limited the hosts’ scoring chances and was physical throughout. The victors were also successful in slowing down Staples’ running game, headed by senior Anthony Armentano.

“Aggressiveness, definitely aggressiveness,” Greenwich senior offensive/defensive lineman/captain Peter Vomvolakis said of the defense’s success versus Staples. “This week we focused more on running the ball and on defense, blitzing and get pressure on the quarterback. We tried to get pressure on him and be more aggressive. We did that today and that’s why we won this ball game.”

The Cardinals were also aggressive on offensive, starting with the offensive line, which includes Vomvolakis, junior Colin Falla, junior Richie McMurray, junior Henry Wahl and Frank Kingsley, also a junior. The offensive line gave D’Angelo time to throw and opened up room for Lopez to run the ball.

“Peter Vomvolakis – I’ll stand on a stool and tell the world he’s the best offensive lineman in the state,” Morello noted. “He’s been a rock for us every single game.”

Morello also credited D’Angelo for effectively leading the offensive unit against Staples’ tough defense.

“The heart that M.J. has shown, being able to battle back from the game he had on Thanksgiving and perform the way he did today and be the general we knew he could be on the field, was impressive,” Morello said.

Following a scoreless first quarter, Greenwich took the lead for good with 6:40 remaining in the second quarter. D’Angelo completed a short pass to Martin in the flat on the left side of the field, a screen pass. Martin eluded a pair of defenders and sprinted down the left sideline for an 85-yard touchdown. Senior Julian Ravina converted the PAT, giving Greenwich a 7-0 lead.

“M.J. put it in my hands, I told him if he could throw me the ball I’ve got it, I told him to trust me, he threw it to me,” Martin said of his 85-yard touchdown. “I saw a hole, I made a cut and it was magic.”

D’Angelo said: “Blake Martin, I have to work on getting him the ball more. Blake makes plays.”

“Blake Martin had that huge touchdown for us,” Morello added. “Blake made the big plays in the biggest moments.”

The Cards went ahead by two scores when Lopez capped a key drive by bulling his way up the middle into the end zone on a 3-yard run, putting Greenwich ahead, 14-0, with 9:45 left in the fourth quarter. Lopez led Greenwich’s ground attack, carrying the ball numerous times and gaining several clutch first downs behind the blocking of Vomvolakis, Wahl, Falla and McMurray up front.

“I’m a little banged up, but still got the job done, it’s a great feeling,” Lopez said. “It feels amazing, we’ve worked so hard for this. We worked all offseason and it’s a dream come true. We came out here and executed.”

The hard-running D’Angelo also had several runs inside for first downs, while completing a few passes to Martin.

“This win means a lot to me personally, because Thanksgiving was rough,” D’Angelo said. “I had to bounce back from a lot of mistakes that I made. But this team believed in me throughout.”

Forcing the Wreckers to punt on most of their possessions, Greenwich’s defense sparked the team’s offense.

“Our defense had a great game and we couldn’t have asked for a better performance in this game,” said D’Angelo, who celebrated his birthday today and his teammates sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him following the game. “We wanted our revenge, so we got that today.”

Senior defensive back Noah Steele stopped a Staples drive in the first half intercepting, a Weil pass, setting GHS up at the Wreckers’ 20-yard line.

“We were so motivated,” Steele said. “After they left us with a donut two weeks ago, we knew we were going to do the same with them and that’s exactly what happened.

As for playing in another state championship game?

“We were there two years ago – been there done that, let’s do it again,” Steele said.

Staples coach, Adam Behrends, whose squad captured the Class LL state title in 2023, credited his team’s defense.

“Our defense did a great job,” Behrends said. “I thought they did an awesome job of keeping us in the game as they had all year and special teams was awesome.”

McMurray recovered a Staples fumble, as did Cardinals junior linebacker Santi Parra. Senior defensive back Jack Carroll capped the Cards’ huge win by intercepting a Weil pass late in the fourth quarter.

“Bad play calling, I didn’t put our kids in a good situation to score points, so it’s 100 percent on me,” Behrends said. “They did the best they could with what they had. They were an unbelievable group. They haven’t lost many football games here and they have been great leaders. Even though we didn’t get the result we wanted today, they are leaving the team in a good place.”

Jack Carroll, his brother Justin Carroll, a junior linebacker, Jack Kelly, a junior linebacker, senior defensive lineman, Kyle Ebanks and senior defensive lineman/captain Max Marek were among the numerous players on defense that stepped up for the Cards, who had dropped three straight games to the Wreckers.

“That was probably our best game yet,” Jack Carroll said. “We shut down the run, we made them pass and we improved from last time. We shut them down, down the middle.”

Indeed, the Cardinals had their sights set on the Wreckers since Thanksgiving.

“There’s no better feeling,” Jack Carroll said. “Losing 27-0 left a sour taste in our mouth. We worked hard the last week and expected this outcome.”

Vomvolakis, Marek and Ebanks each registered sacks for Greenwich, which made it difficult for the Wreckers to sustain drives throughout.

“Thanksgiving our defense played solid, but not well enough,” Marek noted. “Our defense gave up too many mistakes and they capitalized on it. On the bus ride coming up here, I just felt inside that we had a pretty good shot to win this game. I thought our guys prepared very well. Our defense was physical, we communicated well and we didn’t give up.”

Said Ebanks: “We had a game plan, just blitz, blitz, blitz and we executed our game plan to perfection. We are so excited. They thought they had our number, they thought they could beat us again, they couldn’t do it again. We were prepared and we wanted it.”

As has been the case all season, Greenwich received a significant boost from its special teams unit. Punter Alex Kvaratskhelia, a senior, had an excellent game punting. He pinned Staples back to its 1-yard line with one of his booming punts, as GHS won the field position battle.

“Special teams was great,” Morello noted. “Alex has kicked great for us all year and today was no exception.”

“This was a resounding win,” Morello continued. “The pressure from the defensive line today disrupted that quarterback from the beginning of the game. Coach (Bryan) Hocter (defensive coordinator) called an amazing game for his defense. A tremendous win across the board for this football team.”

Vomvolakis, who recently signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the United States Naval Academy, where he will play Division I football said: “It feels great, we finally got our revenge. “We knew on that Thanksgiving game it wasn’t our day at all. Today we really showed what Greenwich football is all about. Coming out with a ‘W’ is the greatest thing.”