The old sports adage, “defense wins championships,” certainly held true for the Greenwich High School football team, which registered two straight shutouts and allowed only six points in three postseason games on its journey to capturing what it had been chasing all season – the CIAC Class LL Tournament championship.

Oh yes, a productive running game also helped the cause and the Cardinals amassed plenty of yards on the ground in Saturday’s Class LL final against West Haven, thanks to hard-running senior quarterback M.J. D’Angelo, who spent the evening at Central Connecticut State’s Arute Field, running around, away and through the Blue Devils’ defense.

Another dominant defensive effort and D’Angelo’s running keyed third-seeded Greenwich’s 14-0 victory over fifth-seeded West Haven in the title game of the Class LL Tournament before a big crowd at frigid Arute Field. The win capped an 11-2 season for the Cardinals and gave them their second state championship in three seasons.

Greenwich also won the Class LL title in 2022, defeating Fairfield Prep in the final and in 2018 GHS topped New Canaan for the state championship, so that’s three state titles in seven seasons for the Cards.

Coached by Anthony Morello, the Cardinals avenged one of their two losses of the season when they shut out Staples, also by a 14-0 score, in the semifinal-round of the Class LL playoffs. Greenwich’s other regular season loss came when it was upset by Wilton, but Morello’s squad mostly excelled since that setback.

“All I kept hearing all season since the midway point was Wilton this and Wilton that, Greenwich lost to Wilton and man oh man, what are people saying now about this team,?” Morello said. “It just goes to show football is a funny game and one loss should not define you. Especially in the regular season.”

“It’s the playoffs that define you and this team showed that when their backs were against the wall and it was do-or-die, they decided to do and they did it together as a team,” Morello continued. “A total team win this entire playoff run and today was no exception.”

On a cold night suitable for running the football, D’Angelo anchored Greenwich’s ground attack. The senior quad-captain ran the ball effectively throughout the season, but was called upon to do even more since junior running back Hector Lopez, the Cardinals’ leading rusher with more than 1,200 yards during the squad’s 2024 campaign, left Saturdays’ state title game with a high ankle sprain with 2:47 left in the first quarter. Lopez was injured while being tackled on a running play.

“Unbelievable, what an amazing kid,” Morello said of D’Angelo. “It was an absolute delight to coach him. He was not your prototypical Greenwich quarterback, he didn’t throw for 200, 300 yards per game, but he has one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever coached. He’s totally selfless, he put his body on the line week in and week out, never wavered and always believed in himself and his teammates. The end result is so gratifying for me as a coach to watch him celebrate with his teammates. An amazing performance today.”

Protected well when he dropped back to pass and supported when he ran the ball by offensive linemen Peter Vomvolakis, Colin Falla, Frank Kingsley, Richie McMurray, Henry Wahl and Mickey Petrone Jr., D’Angelo rushed for an impressive 202 yards on 18 carries to lead Greenwich’s offense in this championship showdown.

“I’m feeling overwhelmed and blessed,” said D’Angelo who scored both of Greenwich’s touchdowns against West Haven. “I kind of spoke this into existence throughout my four years here. Everybody wrote me off, I didn’t write back though, I’m just happy to be a part of it. All credit to the O-line, the O-line played a great game and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Following a scoreless first quarter, the Cards reached the end zone 19 seconds into the second quarter, courtesy of D’Angelo. A well-executed fake handoff to junior running back Jack Kelly sent the Blue Devils’ defense toward Kelly and D’Angelo broke loose through the left side of the line and sprinted down the left sideline for a 58-yard touchdown run. Senior placekicker Julian Ravina split the uprights with his point-after kick, giving GHS a 7-0 lead on West Haven with 11:41 left in the second quarter.

“I had to listen to my coaches, they were screaming at me to pull the ball,” D’Angelo said of his first touchdown run. “They know how to win games and championships, so I just listened to them and the rest was history.”

Prior to Greenwich scoring on its fourth possession, West Haven was forced to punt on its first four possessions, a theme that played out throughout the game for coach Rich Boshea’s Blue Devils. Seniors Kyle Ebanks and Max Marek registered key tackles on the defensive line in the opening quarter, sparking the Cardinals defense to a strong start. Ebanks, Marek, junior Jacob Mobley, sophomore Andy Stedem and Vomvolakis helped pace the defensive line.

Led by senior Noah Steele, senior captain Jack Carroll, senior Guy Germain, senior Chase Inesta and junior Nico Galinda, Greenwich’s secondary provided excellent coverage throughout the championship matchup, making it challenging for Blue Devils senior quarterback/captain Nick Conlan to connect with his wide receivers. Conlan completed 17 of 34 passes for 179 yards and was intercepted by Steele.

“We had the same mentality as we did last week – play as hard as you can and play as aggressive as you can,” said Vomvolakis, a quad-captain, who will continue his football career next year at the United States Naval Academy. “We had the same game plan. Our corners played great, our safeties played great, D-line, linebackers, everybody played great. It was a team effort and that’s why we won today.”

Said Ebanks: “We schemed, countless hours in the film room, we knew what was coming. We just played our game. Coach called great plays, we executed and that’s the result, a shutout. It was a great team effort. All of us, we were a unit.”

With Lopez sidelined after leaving the game late in the first quarter, Kelly and D’Angelo carried the ball the remainder of the game. Kelly finished with 68 rushing yards on 18 carries and ignited a second-quarter drive that saw the Cardinals move past the Blue Devils’ 30-yard line. However, the drive was halted by West Haven at the 25-yard line and the Blue Devils moved the ball past midfield with hopes of tying the score just before halftime.

Yet Steele kept the Cards in front, leaping high in the air to intercept a pass by Conlan that was intended for senior wide receiver Thompson Tahmayn. Steele intercepted the pass at the West Haven 5-yard line.

“The receiver ran a post and I saw the ball beautifully, I know the quarterback likes to chuck it up and it hit off his helmet,” Steele said of his interception.

Indeed, defensive coordinator Bryan Hocter’s defense was in sync the whole game, preventing West Haven’s offense to get into a rhythm. Greenwich was victorious against West Haven during the regular season, 24-6.

“We played them Week 1 and we kind of had them shut out until the end,” said junior Santi Parra, who along with sophomore Justin Carroll, propelled the Cardinals’ linebacker corps. “We were all locked in and this is what we played for.”

“My teammates and coaches helped me throughout the season and we prevailed at the end,” Parra continued. “We got what we wanted and it feels amazing.”

As was the case in the Class LL semifinals against Staples, GHS won the field position battle versus West Haven due to the standout punting of Alex Kvaratskhelia. A senior, Kvaratskhelia consistently pinned the Blue Devils deep into their own territory behind his booming, well-placed punts that covered more than 40 yards each time.

His punt late in the fourth quarter put West Haven on its own 11-yard line and after Greenwich forced another punt, it took over at the Blue Devils’ 35. D’Angelo soon capped the Cards’ short drive, running into the left side of the end zone from 2 yards out and giving Greenwich a 14-0 advantage four seconds into the fourth quarter.

For the game, Greenwich totaled 299 rushing yards, 202 of which were from D’Angelo.

“I called the same play like six times in a row in the third quarter,” Morello said. “We were running M.J. left, right, forwards and backwards. In games like this you have to have your most dependable guys with the ball in their hands and he was. I’m proud of him.”

Leading 14-0, Greenwich’s defense took it from there. Conlan continued to face pressure when he dropped back to pass and West Haven’s running attack totaled just over 30 yards for the game, with senior Coryon Harris receiving the bulk of the carries. Sophomore defensive lineman Andy Stedem recorded a fourth quarter sack for the Cardinals, who consistently put West Haven in third down and challenging situations.

“As a defense we were coming off a great performance against Staples, but our huge mentality during the week was we are never satisfied, stay humble,” said Marek, a quad-captain. “We came out here with a fresh mindset, a hungry mindset and we fought, fought, fought and came out on top.”

Said Steele: “Great coaching, give it all back to the coaches and the player’s ability to take with the coaching. We have great coaches, we have great plays designed, we predict what they are going to do and we do it better. We are on top of the world. We put in the effort for 365 days and this is the greatest feeling ever.”

Greenwich faced some adversity this season, as it was dealt losses by Wilton and Staples. Like championship teams though, the Cardinals responded to the adverse times by correcting their mistakes of the past, resulting in a 2024 championship season to remember.

“It feels amazing, all the hard work and dedication the guys put into this team – to see it all come together on one night, is an amazing feeling,” Marek noted. “It’s been such an amazing ride with Greenwich football and to come out on top is an amazing feeling.”

“Being able to be back in a state championship is a dream come true,” said Vomvolakis, also a member of Greenwich’s 2022 state championship squad. “We knew we had to work hard this week, we couldn’t let up. We played a great team today. We never doubted ourselves, we might have been a little nervous, but we never showed doubt. That’s what we did today, we played as hard as we could and showed as much effort as we could.”