Greenwich High’s varsity football team scored touchdowns on a run, reception, interception return and a fumble recovery all in less than seven minutes of action during the first quarter of its game against host Westhill High School on Oct. 7. That’s right, the Cardinals reached the end zone in all those ways in the first five-plus minutes of play versus the Vikings, amassing an astounding 35 points in the process.

Needless to say, there was little doubt how this FCIAC matchup turned out, as the game held in Stamford, went to running time in the second quarter with the Cardinals holding a 42-point lead.

Despite running only 15 plays in the first half, Greenwich rolled up 56 points and coasted to a lopsided 63-6 win over Westhill, improving its early-season record to a perfect 4-0. The Cardinals will face a much sterner challenge on Saturday (Oct. 11) when it hosts FCIAC rival Trumbull on Homecoming Day at 2 p.m. Cardinals coach Anthony Morello couldn’t be more pleased with how his squad quickly handled the overwhelmed Vikings.

“We have a job out here to do and we came out firing on all cylinders and we took care of business early in this one,” said Morello, whose Cardinals captured the CIAC Class LL State Tournament championship in 2024. “You always want to start hot. I run through the first 10, 15 plays in my head over and over and it was the closest to what we expect from a game script.”

Indeed, everything the Cardinals did worked, much to the dismay of Westhill, which was challenged to generate much offensively and was unable to stop Greenwich’s offense. Greenwich outgained Westhill, 257-111 for the game, while totaling 176 rushing yards, despite not having the ball that much, since they scored so quickly on both sides of the ball and on special teams.

“We had good kickoffs, good coverage on kickoffs, three-and-outs and then efficient offense, scoring every time we had the ball,” Morello said. “No punts, it just seemed like everyone was complementing everyone.”

Senior running back/captain Hector Lopez gained 107 yards and three touchdowns on only eight carries, sophomore quarterback Phil Tarantino completed 5 of 5 passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns and GHS also scored on defense and special teams in this FCIAC rout.

“The defense played great, the offense played great and that’s what we really need to continue the season until we reach the final game and the final goal, which is the championship,” said Cardinals senior linebacker Santi Parra, who has helped anchor the Cards’ defense throughout the season.

It took exactly 11 seconds – one play for Greenwich to take the lead on Westhill. Tarantino dropped back to pass and connected with senior wide receiver Hudson Squires for a 46-yard touchdown pass. Sophomore placekicker Michael Galano converted the first of his nine point-after attempts, giving Greenwich a 7-0 lead.

“Our coach came out with a really good game plan and we had to execute and that’s what’s most important and I think we did that really well,” said Squires, who had 56 receiving yards for the game, a team-best.

“Since the Prep game, we hadn’t really established a good passing game and we wanted to do that and keep rolling into our next game,” Squires continued.

On the ensuing possession, the Vikings fumbled and Cardinals senior defensive end Andy Stedam recovered the fumble in the end zone, resulting in a touchdown, making it 14-0 in favor of Big Red just 43 seconds into the opening quarter.

A 3-yard touchdown run by Lopez capped a quick GHS drive on its next drive, putting the team on top, 21-0, at the 7:55 mark of the first quarter. Just 17 seconds later, Greenwich senior defensive back Joseph Sarno intercepted Westhill’s quarterback, showing impressive anticipation. Sarno ran the interception back seven yards for a touchdown. Galano converted another PAT with senior Lauren Judge holding the ball in place for him, giving the Cards a commanding 28-0 advantage.

Greenwich wasn’t nearly done imposing its will on Westhill. Senior tight end Michael Golden caught a pass thrown over the middle by Tarantino for a 9-yard touchdown at the 5:10 mark of the first quarter, making it a 35-0 game. Golden has emerged as a receiving threat from his tight end position this fall.

“It was a really good play, it’s what we’ve been practicing during practice and what we continue to do in practice definitely shows on the field,” Golden said of his touchdown catch. “I’ve started to get more involved in the passing game and I’ve stepped up. All of our receivers are working to get better one game at a time and it’s certainly showing.”

Lopez added a 5-yard run for a score on the final play of the first quarter, putting the Vikings in a huge 42-0 hole. Lopez, who has produced four 100-yard plus rushing games already this season, broke free of Westhill’s defense for a 54-yard touchdown run with 8:11 to go in the second quarter.

“I just have to thank my line,” Lopez said. “My line does everything for me, they come to practice every day and do what they’ve got to do. I just come with my head down every day, come with 100 percent every day and I’m working to get better.”

The Cards’ stingy, tenacious defense scored a second first-half touchdown. This time, Parra, a captain, pounced on a Vikings fumble in the end zone and the Cardinals completed a 56-point first half.

“It felt amazing, from the first play on offense a touchdown and as soon as we got on defense, we got a touchdown on that side of the ball,” Parra said. “Overall, it was a good look for the whole team.”

Greenwich certainly didn’t need to run a lot of plays to compile its points in the opening half of play.

“We only ran 15 plays of offense in the first half, which is a testament to our defense – our defense was scoring and our special teams,” Morello noted. “We had a lot of short fields.”

Senior Josh Agreda dashed 30 yards to the end zone on a running play for the Cards in the second half. Westhill’s touchdown occurred with 5:46 left in the fourth quarter on a 26-yard screen pass play.

Junior defensive back Colin Suvansri intercepted a pass, while senior defensive back Wim McCarthy recovered a fumble in the winning effort. Lauren Judge also saw action at cornerback in the game for Greenwich, besides being the holder on special teams.

“Our defense, we’ve been executing, we made all our adjustments and every single week we know what we’re going to do and we just execute,” said Golden, who has also made his presence felt at defensive end. “Every opportunity we get we go out there and we do our job.”

While the Cardinals have an overall record of 4-0 and are 2-0 in the FCIAC, their next opponent, Trumbull, is 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

“Trumbull has a lot of good guys on their team, it’s definitely going to be a challenge for us,” Lopez said. “We just have to put our heads down and get ready to get back to work.”

“I can’t remember a first half against Trumbull where it wasn’t knotted up at halftime or a one-possession game at halftime,” Morello noted. “They have one of the legendary coaches in the FCIAC or CIAC history (Marce Petroccio). “He is certainly top five in all-time wins. He knows how to win football games.”