Hard-hitting Greenwich beats Southington for second straight Class LL title

Greenwich High players celebrate after beating Southington for a second straight Class LL championship on Saturday.

NEW BRITAIN, Dec. 13, 2025 – The Greenwich High football team gave No. 4 Southington little room to breathe in Saturday night’s Class LL championship game.

The No. 3 Cardinals (11-2) hit hard, intercepted three passes and rolled to their second straight state championship with a 45-6 victory at Willow Brook Park.

Greenwich’s Jack Kelly rushed for three touchdowns and caught a fourth as the Cardinals won championships in consecutive years and the third time in program history. The Cardinals have won three Class LL titles in the past four seasons.

“It’s not how you are playing at the middle of the season. What matters is how you finish the season,” Greenwich head coach Anthony Morello said.

In a three-week span in late October and early November, the Cardinals lost to New Canaan by seven (14-7) and dropped a four-point decision to Wilton (7-3).

“We find the recipe,” he said. “We find that correct chemistry right when it matters. This team, more than any team that I have seen in the (Class) LL playoffs, has put on a showcase of who they truly are. I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”

Greenwich only gave up 23 points in three playoff games and they shut down a Southington squad that had won seven straight games and had found new life behind junior QB Luke Prozzo and sophomore running back Ben Beaulieu.

In the last five games, Beaulieu had rushed for more than 740 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Blue Knights, who were making their first appearance in a title game since 2014.

But Southington (9-4) ran into a wall against Greenwich. Prozzo and Beaulieu each left the game with injuries. Beaulieu returned but Prozzo did not.

“The defense has been great all season,” Morello said. “The physicality we demonstrated tonight was above and beyond what they have done all season. We haven’t played Southington in years so there was no bad blood.

“It was state championship fever,” he said. “We were watching games since 10 a.m. this morning and we were waiting for our opportunity and getting hungrier and hungrier. They just seized the moment as the defense has done all season.”

Prozzo completed his first four passes for Southington for 19 yards but the Blue Knights only picked up a first down.

Greenwich drove 55 yards on six plays on their opening drive to take an 8-0 lead on a one-yard run from Kelly and a two-point conversion pass from QB Phillip Tarantino to Nicholas Mussolini. Tarantino had a big 19-yard run on the drive and Hector Wood had a 17-yard scamper to the one-yard line.

After an interception, the Cardinals made it 15-0 on a seven-yard run from Kelly and an extra point from kicker Michael Galano with 2:41 left in the first quarter.

Southington had a few moments to smile. Beaulieu had a big 29-yard run late in the first quarter to the Southington 49-yard line. But the drive stalled. Beaulieu gained nothing on the next play, a completed pass lost a yard and Prozzo was tackled at the line of scrimmage.

Southington’s Walter Mierzejewski had an interception but Southington only managed one first down and was forced to punt. Greenwich blocked that punt.

Greenwich extended their lead to 22-0 with 4:31 left in the second quarter on a one-yard run from Kelly and made it 29-0 with 44 seconds left in the first half on a 13-yard touchdown reception by Kelly from Tarantino.

The Cardinals took a 36-0 lead on a two-yard run from Kelly in the third quarter before Southington got on the board with an 11-yard touchdown reception to Beaulieu from Jacoby Roman.

Kicker Michael Galano had a 27-yard field goal and Tarantino had a 14-yard touchdown run to close out the scoring for Greenwich.

Greenwich 45, Southington 6
At New Britain
Southington (9-4)                  0    0     6  0  — 6
Greenwich (11-2)                  15  14  10  6  — 45
First quarter
G: Jack Kelly 1 run (Nicholas Mussolini, Jr. pass from Philip Tarantino), 5:25
G: Kelly 7 run (Michael Galano kick), 2:41
Second quarter
G: Hector Lopez 1 run (Galano kick), 4:31
G: Kelly 13 pass from Tarantino (Galano kick), 0:44
Third quarter
G: Kelly 2 run (Galano kick), 6:50
S: Ben Beaulieu 11 pass from Jacoby Roman (kick blocked), 5:39
G: Michael 27 FG, 1:55
Fourth quarter
G: Tarantino 14 run (kick blocked), 4:25
Individual leaders
PASSING: Southington – Nathan Pelletier 0-1-1, 0, Jacoby Roman 9-23-1, 87; Luke Prozzo 8-13-1, 45; Greenwich – Phillip Tarantino 10-14-2, 110
RUSHING: Southington – Lonnie Green 4-5, Roman 3-17, Walker Mierzejewski 1-minus 2, Ben Beaulieu 14-29, Luke Prozzo 2-15; Greenwich – Tarantino 7-45, Hector Lopez 17-110, Jack Kelly 7-24, Dan Black 1-minus 1
RECEIVING: Southington – Rosco Cook 3-13, Jaxiel Rivera 5-27, Leif Renehan 2-18, Beaulieu 3-27, Thomas Carr 1-6, Mierzejewski 2-41; Greenwich – Dan Black 2-13, Hudson Squires 2-19, Lopez 2-25, Kelly 2-22, Daniel Ciccarelli 1-6, Nicholas Galindo 2-41