Winners of two consecutive CIAC Class LL Tournament titles, the members of the Greenwich High School varsity football team begin their 2026 season with obviously, high expectations, lofty goals and a third straight state championship on their minds.

Such aspirations always begin by taking care of the task at hand in Week 1 and the Cardinals did so in emphatic fashion, dominating in all aspects of the game during their season-opener against Bridgeport Central before a large, supportive crowd at Cardinal Stadium.

Scoring on its first four possessions, Greenwich posted 28 points on the scoreboard in the first quarter, led by 35 points at halftime and rolled to a resounding 42-0 win over Bridgeport Central on Sept. 10. Junior quarterback Phil Tarantino completed 7 of 9 passes for 125 yards and three touchdowns for the Cardinals, who needed to run just over 30 plays to compile 42 points.

For the game, Greenwich gained 251 yards, while holding Central to negative overall yards and did not allow the visiting Hilltoppers to complete a single pass. Tarantino is coming off a sophomore season that saw him pass for 1,342 yards with 14 touchdown passes in his first fall as a starter.

“Offensively, we did really well, it’s kind of what we expected going into this game,” Tarantino said of the Cardinals’ 2026 season-opener. “We wanted to be perfect and I think we were near perfect. We ran the ball very well and we threw the ball just as well, if not, better.”

Junior wide receiver Max Townsend caught two touchdown passes from Tarantino and senior wideout Dan Black hauled in a Tarantino scoring strike for the Cardinals (1-0), who excelled throughout in this season-opening matchup.

“The offense played great,” Townsend said. “The first quarter, Phil was chucking it around, getting it to all the receivers. The line was holding up and the receivers were doing what they were supposed to do, coming up with all the catches.”

Sophomore running back Evan Beilenson ran for two touchdowns, while gaining 44 yards for the game on only three carries for the Cardinals, who were able to get plenty of athletes into the game. Greenwich head coach Anthony Morello, who has guided the Cardinals to two straight state titles and three in the past four seasons, competed against Bridgeport Central when he was an athlete with the GHS football team in the 2004 FCIAC championship. Since then, Central hasn’t been the same team/program, but of course, they are focusing on improvement and building the program back up.

“We did some good things early,” Morello said of the season-opening matchup. “It was nice to see Phil spread the ball out. He peppered all of the receivers that we’ve been depending on.”

Townsend, senior Bobby Stanley and Black each return from the Cards’ championship 2025 squad, which registered a record of 11-2 – their losses coming in close road games against New Canaan and Wilton. Townsend totaled four receptions for 49 yards and two touchdowns, Black caught a 60-yard touchdown pass and sophomore wide receiver Theo Ho caught a 45-yard scoring pass from junior quarterback Harry Collier, who saw plenty of action in the second half for GHS.

One of the many strengths the Cardinals boast is the offensive line, which features three returners from last year’s championship team – senior captain Casey Baker, senior captain Mickey Petrone and senior Nick Vomvolakis.

“Those three guys have been steady rocks for us,” Morello noted. “We have two new guards in there and we have six or seven linemen who will continue to get varsity reps, as we find our rhythm and find the best five for the right moment.”

The starting offensive line, which includes junior Danny Insinga and junior Nate Collins, consistently gave Tarantino plenty of time to throw the ball and opened up space for the running backs to navigate.

“The guys up front, the returning starters, are very valuable,” Tarantino said. “Running behind those guys  – there’s not many like them in the FCIAC – so they really make our job easy, they open up holes.”

“With Casey, Mickey and Nick Vomvolakis – they’re awesome,” Tarantino continued. “They are very key pieces to this team.”

Greenwich’s defense held Central quarterbacks Joey McCulley, Anthony Belcher and William Bramwell to 0 for 9 passing. Senior captain Justin Carroll, senior Gustav Pietryka, junior Daniel Powers and Collier registered one sack apiece against Central. Kellen Aslansan, a junior, senior Luke Wells and senior Josh Alexandre were also in on a number of tackles for the Cards.

Carroll is an aggressive linebacker, Pietryka, Powers and Alexandre help anchor the defensive line and Wells and Aslansan bring experience to the secondary, which is led by senior Colin Suvansri. The 2026 Cardinals are captained by Carroll, Petrone, Baker and Suvansri.

“I’m definitely stepping out into a leadership role and I feel really good about it,” said Carroll, also a running back. “I feel that I can definitely lead this team, hopefully, to a third state championship.”

Greenwich certainly didn’t waste time in imposing their will on Central. On the game’s first play from scrimmage, Tarantino dropped back to pass and lofted a long pass down the field that was caught by Black for a 60-yard touchdown. Junior placekicker Michael Galano converted the first of his five point-after attempts and Greenwich held a 7-0 lead just 19 seconds into the opening quarter.

Beilenson’s 4-yard run through the right side, followed by Galano’s PAT put the Cards ahead, 14-0, with 6:21 remaining in the first quarter. Still in the first quarter, Tarantino connected with Townsend for a 9-yard touchdown pass, making it 21-0 at the 4-minute mark. Townsend ran over the middle, caught the pass and sprinted untouched into the end zone.

Tarantino and the GHS receivers were in sync the whole game.

“The receiving corps this year is very good, we have a lot of potential,” Townsend said. “There were not a lot of mistakes from us, especially the start of the game. There’s a lot of potential here from these guys.”

Greenwich, which topped Southington, 45-6, in the 2025 CIAC Class LL State Tournament final, took a 28-0 advantage on Central when Tarantino threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Townsend with 1:12 to go in the second quarter.

Beilenson broke free for a 30-yard TD run 50 seconds into the second quarter and Ho hauled in a 45-yard scoring strike from Collier at the 8:51 mark of the second quarter to cap the Cards’ scoring. With Greenwich ahead by 35 points, the game went to running time in the second half.

“Overall, I’m really pleased,” Morello said. “We hope to pick up where we left off.”

Greenwich’s journey toward winning the 2025 CIAC Class LL state championship included a 41-7 win over Staples in the tournament’s quarterfinals and a 31-10 victory against Fairfield Prep in the semifinals. Hector Lopez, one of the Cards’ 2025 senior captains, rushed for 1,664 yards and 16 touchdowns last season, so Greenwich will rely on several players to fill the void left by Lopez’s graduation. Hudson Squires, a 2026 graduate, led the group of receivers from last season’s squad with 44 receptions for 540 yards and five touchdown catches.

The two-time defending state champion Cardinals will receive a challenge in Week 2, as they will travel to Veterans Stadium to play New Britain on Sept. 18th. The non-conference game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

“Friday night game at New Britain, that’s going to be a real test for us,” Morello said. “Early in the season, they are loaded.”

Veterans Stadium in New Britain is the site of Greenwich’s greatest win in 2025.

“We’re really excited to get back up there,” Tarantino said. “We knew they’re going to be tough competition, a tough opponent and we hope that we can have a similar performance of what we did today.”

Carroll reflected on Greenwich’s season-opening triumph and discussed their upcoming showdown at New Britain.

“I was very excited for the game, I thought we played good, we executed,” Carroll noted. “This week we are focusing on turning the page for our game against New Britain next week.”

Defensively, the Cardinals were stellar throughout in Week 1.

“Defensively, I thought we played really aggressive, hard-hitting,” Carroll said. “I’m really happy with all the new faces we have there and how they are developing.”

After traveling to New Britain, Greenwich hosts Fairfield Warde on Sept. 26 at 1 p.m.

“The captains always talk about a standard and we have to keep a standard of winning,’ Townsend said. “Our goal is to not let our past years get to us, it’s a whole new season. Just win games.”

Here are some more pictures from Greenwich’s victory versus Bridgeport Central.