Photos by David Fierro: Senior running backs Hector Lopez, left and Jack Kelly each rushed for two touchdowns in the Greenwich High School varsity football team’s 41-7 win over Staples in the quarterfinal-round of the CIAC Class LL Football Tournament on Dec. 3, 2025, at Cardinal Stadium.

Staples remained close to Greenwich High School’s varsity football team in the first half of the CIAC Class LL Tournament quarterfinal-round matchup on December 3rd, but like the Thanksgiving Day matchup between the rivals, the Wreckers couldn’t keep the Cardinals from soaring once the second half started.

The Cardinals quickly turned a seven-point lead into a comfortable double-digit advantage in the second half of action, using their powerful running game, tenacious defense and strong special teams play to earn another trip to the state semifinals.

Senior running back Hector Lopez ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, while senior running back/linebacker Jack Kelly gained 72 yards on the ground on 10 rushes with a pair of touchdowns for third-seeded Greenwich in its resounding 41-7 victory over sixth-seeded Staples in the Class LL quarterfinals under the lights at chilly Cardinal Stadium. The defending CIAC Class LL state champion Cardinals (9-2) advanced to the state semifinal round game where they will visit second-seeded Fairfield Prep on December 8th at 6 p.m.

In the other Class LL semifinal, scheduled for Dec. 8th, fourth-seeded Southington will host eighth-seeded NFA. Greenwich’s 33-19 win over visiting Staples on Thanksgiving saw Kelly and Lopez, both captains, rush for three and two touchdowns respectively and tonight, the dynamic duo picked up where they left off less than a week ago. The hard-running tandem gained yards on runs inside, outside and every which way in this state quarterfinal against the Wreckers (5-6).

“We started off kind of slow, they knew what our goal was, they watched a lot of film on us, that’s for sure,” said Lopez, the Cardinals’ leading rusher. “But later on in the game, they couldn’t stop us. We have one of the best running backs, Jack Kelly – that guy does it all for us. It was working all day for us.”

The Cardinals took a 14-7 lead into halftime, then outscored the Wreckers, 27-0 in the second half. On Thanksgiving, Greenwich blanked Staples in the second half, 13-0. Indeed, the hosts absolutely owned the second half once again.

“It was the same message we sent at halftime on Thursday – they’ve got a lot of guys going both ways, they’ve got players out – we just have to bear down, we got to come out and score, make that two score lead and it was just off and running from there,” said Greenwich coach Anthony Morello, who guided the Cardinals to the Class LL Tournament championship in 2024 and 2022. “It was a really exciting second half.”

Sophomore quarterback Phil Tarantino continued his pattern of excellence for the Cards, completing 12 of 18 passes for 144 yards. Tarantino, who is in his first season as Greenwich’s starting signal caller, added 54 rushing yards on seven attempts for a touchdown. Staples received 182 yard passing from senior quarterback Nicholas Weil. However, the Wreckers were limited to just 12 yards rushing for the playoff game. Greenwich compiled 379 yards of total offense, while Staples managed 194 total yards.

Senior Hudson Squires led Greenwich’s receiving corps with 43 yards on four catches, while Lopez had four receptions for 42 yards.

Running the Wildcat, Kelly kept the ball and ran it into the end zone behind solid blocking from the offensive line, giving GHS a 7-0 lead with 5:50 remaining in the first quarter. At the 3:38 mark of the second quarter, Kelly reached the end zone again. This time, he darted 32 yards to the end zone, running around the right side, while following his blockers, giving the hosts a 14-0 advantage.

“I love running the Wildcat,” Kelly noted. “All credit goes to the offensive line up front, the tight ends. They’re making huge holes and it’s all credit to them. The O-Line up front, they’re unbelievable right now.”

Senior captain Colin Falla, junior Michael Petrone, junior Casey Baker, senior Frank Kingsley and junior Nicholas Vomvolakis enabled GHS to control the line of scrimmage with their standout blocking throughout this state playoff matchup.

“The combination of the Wildcat with Jack Kelly and Hector’s running has been a good 1-2 punch the last two weeks,” Morello noted. “We have some big bodies up front. The linemen are doing a great job. It’s a total team effort.”

“Jack and Hector, they’re dynamic together,” said Falla, who like his fellow seniors, thoroughly enjoyed his final football game at Cardinal Stadium. “They do a great job of complementing each other. Then when we get the passing game going, it only helps the running game as well. Being multiple is great for our offense.”

Staples made it 14-7 heading into halftime, scoring on the last play of the second quarter. A 30-yard reception by Jake McGeehan put the ball on the GHS 1-yard line. After three straight incompletions, Weil scored on a quarterback sneak with no time remaining, giving Staples new life going into intermission.

Greenwich, however, quickly regained the momentum right from the opening kickoff to start the third quarter. Sophomore Max Townsend nicely returned the kickoff to midfield and the Cardinals went ahead by two scores again, with Lopez sealing the drive with a 6-yard scoring run with 7:00 to go in the third quarter.

“Credit to Greenwich, they’re an extremely well coached team,” Staples coach Matty Jacowleff said. “They were able to spring a kickoff back to the 50-yard line. It’s really hard to beat a great team when you don’t execute when you don’t execute in those moments when they’re shield is a bit cracked. They did a good job in short yardage sets, but at the end of the day, I’m proud of the way our kids battled. I’m proud of the way our seniors stayed together and I’m proud of the way we prepared.”

Tarantino scored on an 8-yard quarterback keeper at the 3:34 mark of the third quarter, while senior tight end Michael Golden caught a 14-yard scoring strike in the fourth quarter. Lopez added his second TD run late in the final quarter. As has been the case all season, sophomore placekicker Michael Galano was effective, kicking four extra points. Senior Henry Wahl was also impressive, booming his kickoffs deep into Staples territory.

“I thought we complemented each other really nice,” said GHS junior linebacker Justin Carroll, who helped spark the defense. “Special teams, defense, offense all played up to each other and overall, I think that was the key to our success.”

Senior Nicholas Galindo intercepted a Weil pass, senior defensive lineman Jacob Mobley registered two sacks and Carroll had a sack to help propel the Cardinals’ defense.

Said senior linebacker/captain Santi Parra, who also powered the Cards’ defense: “Following (defensive) coach (Bryan) Hocter’s game plan is all we had to do. He spends all his time correcting every mistake to make sure we execute on the field and that’s exactly what we did today.”

“It was great, we had some trouble early, we had some trouble defending the screen,” Morello proudly said of his squad’s defense. “We are so aggressive that sometimes, screens can be our worst enemy. But we got that fixed at halftime and we made those adjustments. They have a great quarterback over there. He can move, he can throw. They have some great receivers and skill guys.”

Greenwich gained 19 first downs for the game, while Staples was held to eight first downs. Senior Justin Halky caught five passes for 82 yards, while McGeehan had 64 receiving yards for the Wreckers, who were challenged to consistently move the ball against the Cardinals’ stingy defense.

“We just had to be physical,” Falla noted. “We knew all week in practice we had to improve upon what we did on Thanksgiving. It wasn’t a perfect game. You saw it today, we came out here and we dominated in our last game at Cardinal Stadium. For the seniors, it means a lot to us.”

Greenwich, which defeated West Haven in the 2024 Class LL state final, beat its state semifinal opponent Fairfield Prep, 31-17, in the 2025 season-opener.

“This was one step and the next one on Monday night, off we go to Prep again,” Morello said. “This is a battle of playing teams twice. Prep has changed a lot from Week 1. They’re a great football program. We haven’t been back there since 2021. These guys are tuned up, they’re tuned up, let’s go.”

“We played 10 games to get ready for the playoffs,” Morello noted. “The first 10 games, they’re an audition. What really matters is how you finish your season. This team has proven time and time again, once the playoffs roll around, they’re a different ballclub.”

Photos by David Fierro: Colin Falla, left and Justin Carroll after helping lead the Greenwich varsity football team to victory against Staples in the CIAC Class LL Tournament quarterfinals, 41-7.