GREENWICH — Smoke rose from the corner of the stands, carrying with it the smell of burning meat. The hamburgers for the overflowing homecoming crowd at Cardinal Stadium were done by halftime.

Though Central proved to be a bit more stubborn, second-ranked Greenwich had the Hilltoppers cooked just minutes into the third quarter Saturday afternoon.

Upset with themselves for al-lowing Central to hang around, the Cardinals scored two quick touchdowns to start the second half and went on to crush the Hilltoppers 37-6.

Afterward, the Cardinal players raised their helmets and delivered a message to the rest of Connecticut.

“We're the best team in the state,” said captain T.J. Cameron.

He should know. Though the all-FCIAC tailback was lost for the year with a broken ankle six weeks ago, Greenwich is 6-0 without him.

Against Central (4-2), Jimmy Dunster, the junior tailback who replaced Cameron, rushed for 76 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns.

Junior teammate Jonathan Meyers barreled his way through Central's front seven 16 times for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Though Meyers fumbled twice, he made up for it at linebacker on defense, leading a relentless unit that held Central to 48 total yards, including an incredible minus-25 yards and a safety in the second half.

“I didn't think we'd win like this, but we knew we were going to win,” said Meyers, who speared through Central's
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line all afternoon.

“We hadn't been tested yet until today. We passed this test with flying colors. It was a really big day, a really big win for us, and everybody is pumped.”

Five different Greenwich players made tackles for losses, including senior defensive end Charles Willams, who had a sack and a fumble recovery.

Central quarterback Jamarl Hardison completed 3-of-13 passes for 62 yards and was intercepted twice.

“We came ready to play,” said linebacker Sean Bannon, who had an interception. “We wanted this one bad. We were pumped up and it started from the beginning.”

Specifically, it began with defensive back Matt Piro pick-ing off Hardison on the second play of the game.

Piro returned it to the Cen-tral 2 and Meyers scored from there to put Greenwich ahead just 31 seconds into the game.

Dunster capped off a seven-play drive with a 22-yard touchdown run at the end of the first quarter.

Still, Central managed to stay within 14-0 at the half with second-quarter fumble recoveries by Jovan Harvey and Hattrey Wilson and an interception by Angelo Louis.

“They're a good team, they were tough, but we knew we were going to win,” Meyers said. “The offense, we made a few mistakes but we just got back at it.”

It only took a minute into the third quarter. Nick Edwards caught a pass from Joe Poletsky and outraced Central's Keith Carlos for a 68-yard touchdown.

“We blew a couple opportunities and we thought we should have been up at least 21-0 at halftime,” Greenwich coach Rich Albonizio said.

“Luckily, these kids are resilient. They understand the immediacy of each game and they came out and scored. It was very big.”

Meyers and Dan Bodson wrapped up Hardison to force a short punt on Central's first possession of the third quarter. Greenwich took over at the Central 40.

Two plays later, Dunster followed three blocks for a back-breaking 33-yard score. Meyers added an 8-yard run to make it 35-0 before Carlos averted the shutout with an 82-yard kickoff return near the end the third quarter.

“It's tough to take because we worked hard, we practiced hard, but we came out and were still defeated,” Wilson said.

“By the good graces of God, we'll get back on the train and we're going to keep going. Hopefully, we can keep going and finish 8-2.”

CENTRAL 0 0 6 0—6
GREENWICH 14 0 21 2—37
G—Jonathan Meyers 2 run (John Morelli kick)
G—Jimmy Dunster 22 run (Morelli kick)
G—Nick Edwards 68 pass Joe Poletsky (Morelli kick)
G—Dunster 33 run (Morelli kick)
G—Meyers 8 run (Morelli kick)
C—Keith Carlos 82 kickoff return (run failed)
G—Safety, Ramon Mignott tackled in end zone by Jeff Devico
Records: Central 4-2, Greenwich 6-0.