Excellent defensive play, a powerful running game, an efficient passing attack and a strong special teams performance, resulted in an especially Happy Homecoming Day for Greenwich High School’s varsity football team, which held yet another opponent off the scoreboard.

For the third time in four games, the opposition couldn’t figure out how to score on the Cardinals’ defense, which like the entire team, continues to thrive.

Two-time defending CIAC Class LL champion Greenwich upped its record to a perfect 4-0, upending Newtown, 24-0, before a big, enthusiastic Homecoming crowd on a sunny, picturesque day at Cardinal Stadium.

Senior running/back linebacker Justin Carroll rushed for three touchdowns and once again made his mark defensively as well for the Cardinals, who forced three turnovers and held Newtown to 28 rushing yards.

“Our defense stepped up,” said Carroll, one of the Cardinals’ senior captains. “We had two picks, a bunch of sacks from the D-line and linebackers. I’m really happy with then and I’m really excited about what’s to come.”

Greenwich entered its Homecoming Day matchup coming off a 17-0 home victory against FCIAC foe Fairfield Warde. The Cardinals also shut out Bridgeport Central, 42-0, in their season-opener. For the season, Greenwich has outscored the opposition, 118-7.

“We were averaging 2.33 points (allowed) per game, we were allowing that much, so I challenged the defense to lower that average and somehow, they found a way to do that,” Greenwich head coach Anthony Morello said following the team’s triumph versus Newtown. “The defense has played at that level of excellence this year.”

Morello emphasized that each defensive position has been productive throughout season’s first four games.

“It’s not just Justin Carroll, Justin Carroll has been a centerpiece for us all season long,” Morello noted. “We’re getting great play from first-year starters. Our entire D-line is first-year starters. The other linebacker pieces, we got Jacari Hughes back. He’s been out all season, resting an injury. He was back today and was great for us.”

The Cardinals played their way through a bit of a slow start on offense in this matchup against the Nighthawks (1-3). The hosts lost fumbles on their first two possessions and committed four turnovers for the game. Greenwich got on track offensively in the second quarter, scoring 14 points to enter halftime with a 14-0 lead.

“I thought the defense played outstanding, I feel that’s just what they do at this point,” said GHS senior center, Casey Baker, one of the squad’s captains. “It’s our third shutout of the season. The offense, we need to catch up and be where the defense is right now. But the defense continues to play fantastic.”

Carroll gained 96 yards rushing with three touchdowns on just eight carries to pace the Cards’ running game. Sophomore Evan Beilenson added 41 rushing yards on 10 rushes for GHS, which produced 148 yards rushing.

Junior quarterback Phil Tarantino efficiently and effectively ran the offense again for the victors, completing 14 of 25 passes for 102 yards.

“The running game is a big part of our offense,” said Carroll, who scored all three of Greenwich’s touchdowns against Newtown. “We go in these heavy sets looking to run the ball and looking to have a bunch of yards. The offense, we started off a little bit slow we made a bunch of mistakes. But the next week, we’re going to get coached up, watch the film and once you make a mistake once, we’re not going to make it again.”

Victorious Greenwich totaled 250 yards on offense, compared to 146 for Newtown. Nighthawks senior quarterback Jack Colonel passed 37 times with 18 completions for 115 yards. Receiving a good amount of pressure from the Cardinals’ defensive line and linebackers throughout, Newtown’s quarterbacks were sacked eight times. Cam Kullgren also played quarterback for the Nighthawks.

Senior defensive lineman Joshua Alexandre registered two of those sacks for Greenwich. He discussed what has keyed the Cards’ success on the defensive line.

“Play aggressive up front, get under the pads, make moves, get off blocks quick – just basically use our best moves, our best pass rush moves, because they really threw the ball a lot today – 80 percent of the time,” Alexandre said.

Greenwich lost fumbles on two of its first three possessions, but found the end zone the fourth time it got the ball. Tarantino handed off to Carroll, who ran right, broke several tackles and dashed to the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown run. Junior placekicker Michael Galano converted the ensuing PAT, giving Greenwich a 7–0 lead on Newtown with 9:52 remaining in the second quarter.

The Cardinals’ first scoring drive covered 70 yards in six plays, highlighted by a 16-yard run by Beilenson and a 22-yard gain on a running play by Carroll.

After holding the Nighthawks to only two yards in three plays on the ensuing possession, GHS took over at its 44-yard line and proceeded to quickly extend its advantage.

Another impressive run by Carroll, this time for 20 yards, followed by Galano’s PAT, gave the Cardinals a 14-0 lead with 5:48 left in the second quarter. The Cards marched 55 yards in just four plays on their way to their second touchdown, with sophomore wide receiver Theo Ho sparking the drive with a 22-yard reception on a Tarantino pass.

Ho led the receivers versus Newtown with five receptions for 52 yards. Junior wideout Max Townsend caught three of Tarantino’s passes for 25 yards and senior wide receiver Bobby Stanley totaled three receptions for 18 yards for the Cardinals, who found some rhythm offensively after Newtown held them scoreless their first three possessions.

“The first quarter, it seemed that we took a few steps forward, we took a few steps back,” Morello said of the team’s offensive unit. “It’s a credit to Newtown, they haven’t shown a 3-3 stack all season, they came out in a 3-3 stack today. We worked on it a little bit just in case, but they’ve been primarily a four down front all season. They threw in some wrinkles that we needed to adjust to.”

Indeed, as the game progressed, Greenwich’s offense became more in sync, showing a solid balance between running the ball and passing.

Senior offensive lineman Mickey Petrone, one of the Cardinals’ captains, described the offensive line’s performance against the Nighthawks.

“We had a lot of turnovers, but speaking up front, there’s nothing we can do about that,” Petrone said. “Up front, we had some challenges before, not communicating, but today, I think up front all five of us played very well, very sound in the pass and the run. We were communicating, picking each other up and that’s what the O-line is supposed to do.”

The third quarter was scoreless, then Big Red added 10 more points in the fourth quarter. Galano booted a 39-yard field goal, putting GHS on top, 17-0, four seconds into the fourth quarter. Galano’s field goal was set up by a fumble recovery by senior teammate Gustav Pietryka at the Newtown 33-yard line.

The Newtown fumble in Cardinals’ territory was set up when senior defensive lineman Anthony Cebanos sacked Colonel, forcing the turnover. Cebano helped power Greenwich’s defensive line, registering four tackles, three of which resulted in lost yardage, two assists and a highly impressive 3.5 sacks.

Pietryka recorded two tackles, one assist and recovered a fumble, while Alexandre had three tackles resulting in lost yardage two go along with his 2.5 sacks.

“I was getting double-teamed a lot, but we had to stand our ground and get tackles for loss and keep moving them back,” Alexandre noted.

Carroll capped the Cardinals’ scoring by dashing to the end zone from eight yards out with 8:47 to go in the final quarter, pushing the host’s advantage up to 24-0.

Greenwich’s offensive line certainly enjoy blocking for Carroll and Beilenson, both of whom have churned out an impressive amount of yards through four weeks of the season.

“Carroll and Beilenson – they make us look good up front,” Baker said. “But as an O-line, this could be one of our best games. We are really coming together as a group. A bunch of props go to Evan and Justin, those guys were awesome.”

Defensively, the Cards’ made significant plays throughout this non-conference matchup. With 25 seconds left in the second quarter, senior defensive back Luke Wells intercepted Newtown junior quarterback Cameron Kullgren, returning it to the GHS 35-yard line.

At the 7:43 mark of the third quarter, Wells tallied his second interception. He picked off a Kullgren pass, bringing it back to the Cardinals’ 47-yard line.

“Coach put us in great spots to make plays and it was just about going out there, executing the game plan and doing what you had to do to win,” Wells said. “We knew they ran a lot of deep routes, we knew they cross a lot, so our goal as DBs was stay back, let the linebackers do what they do up front and we would just do what we do in the back.”

Senior captain/defensive back Colin Suvansri registered two tackles and one assist, as did Pietryka, who also forced a fumble, while senior Alexander Nietzell had three tackles and one assist in the winning effort.

“It really feels amazing, Homecoming, all the Alumni, all the families and fans coming out,” Suvansri said. “To put a goose egg on the scoreboard – I’m really proud of the way we played and our defensive effort.”

Senior linebacker Jacari Hughes was also in on a couple of tackles, after returning to action from an injury. His presence at linebacker strengthened the defensive unit even more.

Newtown, which caused two Greenwich fumbles and intercepted two passes, received six receptions for 24 yards from Andrew Moran and five catches for 30 yards from Spencer Maddox.

The Nighthawks had good field position several times after Cardinals turnovers, but didn’t move the ball much due to Greenwich’s stellar defensive effort.

“If a turnover happens, we’re going to go in there do our job, get a three-and-out and and come back to the sideline,” noted Carroll, who registered 1.5 sacks. “Our defense stepped up. We had two picks, a bunch of sacks from the D-line and linebackers. I’m really happy with them and I’m really excited about what’s to come.”

Greenwich hopes to improve its record to 5-0 when it visits FCIAC foe Norwalk on Saturday (Oct. 10) for a 2:30 p.m. matchup.

“I’m feeling really confident in our abilities,” Suvansri said. “We obviously, have stuff to clean up, we were messy here or there, but you can’t complain about a 24-0 shutout. If we keep playing like this we’re going to keep rolling.”

Here are some more scenes from Greenwich’s Homecoming win over Newtown.