Following a loss to Wilton in a game that was decided in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Greenwich High School’s varsity football team knew it could ill afford to be dealt another disappointing defeat when FCIAC rival Darien visited Cardinal Stadium on Nov. 14 for showdown under the lights before a big GHS Senior Night crowd.

Limited to only a field goal in their road loss to Wilton their previous game, the Cardinals’ offense bounced back in a big way against the Blue Wave, resulting in a happy Senior Night for the home team.

Effectively running and passing the ball, Greenwich scored 21-first half points, opened a 21-point lead in the third quarter and cruised to a 35-15 win over Darien. The Cardinals, who also received a standout effort from their defense, improved their record to 7-2. With one regular season game remaining, a Thanksgiving Day matchup versus rival Staples High School, Greenwich is ranked No. 3 in the CIAC Class LL state rankings.

“We had a tough loss last week, we played five games on the road out of the last six, we had been on the road and it was grueling,” Greenwich coach Anthony Morello said after the team’s win over Darien on Nov. 14th. “These were all playoff contenders we were playing against. The schedule has been tough and brutal, we’ve had no time to rest, we’ve had no time to worry about our losses. We’ve just been able to put our best foot forward and focus on the next one. We put it all together and put together a pretty resounding win.”

Greenwich, which was edged by Wilton, 7-3, in its previous game, received two touchdown passes and a pair of scoring runs from quarterback Phil Tarantino. A sophomore, Tarantino completed 6 of 11 passes for 96 yards, including the two scoring strikes. He also added 33 yards rushing with two touchdowns.

The Cardinals held a 7-0 lead on the Blue Wave following the first quarter and entered halftime with a 21-7 advantage.

“I thought in the first half our offense did really well,” Tarantino said. “We were putting up points and doing everything we wanted with the ball.”

Senior running back Hector Lopez, one of the Cards’ captains, once again, powered Greenwich’s rushing attack. Lopez gained 103 yards on 18 carries for GHS, which finished the FCIAC matchup with 134 running yards.

Held out of the end zone against Wilton, a rarity for Greenwich’s usually high-scoring squad, Morello’s team cashed in on their chances after they reached the red zone versus the Blue Wave (6-3).

“The offense was really humming in the first half, scoring on three out of four drives,” Morello noted. “There is really a lot to take away, I thought we ran the ball well and it was really nice to see our pass game going and see Phil connecting with his guys back there.”

“We ran the ball so well last week (against Wilton), we just didn’t capitalize in the red zone and turn it into points,” Morello continued. “It was a really big bounce back win.”

The Cardinals scored the game’s first points on their special Senior Night. Tarantino threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Alex Mrdelja, who found himself behind Darien’s secondary. Mrdelja’s reception, followed by sophomore placekicker Michael Galano’s PAT, gave Greenwich a 7-0 lead on Darien with 2:39 remaining in the opening quarter.

On their second possession, the Cardinals embarked on another long drive. Senior linebacker/running back/captain Jack Kelly capped the drive when he hauled in a 5-yard pass from Tarantino, who rolled to his right, for a touchdown, putting the hosts on top, 14-0, at the 10:54 mark of the second quarter.

“It’s amazing to come out here and get a win on Senior Night and celebrate our last four years here,” Kelly said.

The Blue Wave cut the Cardinals’ lead to 14-7 when sophomore wide receiver Bruce Hopkins scored on a 3-yard run with 4:00 left in the second quarter. However, Greenwich quickly regained its two-score edge, reaching the end zone with 1:19 to go in the second period.

This time, Tarantino kept the ball himself and snuck into the end zone, making it a 21-7 game. The drive was keyed by a 34-reception by GHS junior wideout Dan Black and a significant run for a first down by Lopez.

“That was a huge play,” Tarantino said of Black’s 34-yard catch. “That’s when we started to gain full momentum and control of the game.”

As has been the case all season, Greenwich’s defensive unit was stingy. The Cardinals’ defense earned a touchdown, courtesy of junior linebacker Jack Carroll. Lane threw a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Carroll, who ran it back 31 yards for a touchdown. Galano again split the uprights with the ensuing PAT, giving Greenwich a comfortable 28-7 cushion at the 4:07 mark of the third quarter.

“We had to get a late score on the board,” Carroll said. “Our defense turned it up, I saw the ball, instincts kicked in and I took it to the house.”

Senior linebacker/captain Santi Parra recorded a sack, while junior defensive end Andy Stedem registered two sacks for the Cardinals, who put a good amount of pressure on Lane throughout. Senior defensive tackle Jacob Mobley also pressured Darien’s signal caller during the course of the Cardinals’ Senior Night game.

Greenwich, which saw its offensive line of senior captain Colin Falla, senior Frank Kingsley, junior Mickey Petrone, junior Nick Vomvolakis and Casey Baker, also a junior, provide excellent blocking on both running and passing plays, received a 2-yard scoring run by Tarantino with 7:21 to go in the final quarter – a TD putting Greenwich in front, 35-14.

Hopkins caught a 29-yard scoring strike from Lane 19 seconds into the fourth quarter for Darien’s second touchdown of the night. Senior wide receiver Hudson Squires added a pair of receptions for the Cardinals, whose only negative statistic was committing 12 penalties for 117 yards.

“The second half comes around and we saw a revert to some of those mistakes that we’ve had early in the season,” Morello noted. “We had three false starts on the first two drives we had in the second half, so we sputtered a bit on offense. Defensively, we were playing physical and flying all over the field, but we were a little too reckless. How many 3rd-and-15 plusses and 4th-and-15 plusses did we give up for first downs? We have to clean that up. I loved the energy. But sometimes when you play that intense and at that high a speed, you open yourself up for penalties.”

Said Parra: “We played pretty well, we got a lot of pressure on the quarterback, which is something we always want. But we will have start eliminating our flags, because there’s so much potential behind our defense, but those flags are holding us back. Other than that, I think we did an amazing job and we have to turn the page to Staples.”

“We’re happy with the win, but we know we have a lot to work on with the penalties,” Kelly added. “We just have to keep working. The penalties, combined with third-and-long and fourth-and-long letups, we know if we make those mistakes down the line, they can hurt us pretty bad, so we have to fix that.”

Still, Greenwich left the game especially satisfied with defeating a high-quality opponent such as Darien on its Senior Night.

“It feels pretty great to get another ‘W’ on the board,” Carroll said. “We have to work on a bunch of things, but it’s only up from here. We have playoffs soon, so we’re trying to fine tune every single detail we can.”

“The emphasis this week was to finish our drives and to put points on the board and play complementary football,” Morello said. “Special teams contributed a bunch tonight – great punts, great coverages, a great kickoff return.”