As the tide turns from summer to fall and the leaves are starting to change color, a new season is in store for the Guilford Grizzlies football team as they hope to utilize their experience to make a strong postseason push.

Following a 2022 season in which Guilford finished with an overall Class MM record of 6-4 and a 5-1 record within the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC), first-year Head Coach Brian White sees a lot of hope for this fall campaign.

“I know we brought a lot of players back, which is good. A lot of skill guys came back; about two-thirds of our offensive guys returned. It is pretty good in terms of what we have experience-wise there,” said White. “We have a pretty good group of young guys supporting them, so overall, I would say that I am pretty optimistic.”

After being the defensive coordinator for the Grizzlies for the past four seasons, White gained a sense of familiarity with the squad’s core of players, working with former head coach Anthony Salvati.

“I was working with Coach Salvati, who was the previous coach,” White said. “I took over here and I played for Guilford, and I am the head boys’ lacrosse coach.”

As White prepares to step into his new role at the helm, he trusts in the core of veterans he has coming back to help lead the charge this season.

Of those returning players, the Grizzlies have three senior captains, all of whom bring different assets to the table to help establish a winning culture.

“We have three captains, (Tyler) Hilgert, (Buddy) Gambardella, and (Jake) Jahnige. They are all great kids; I think they all bring their individual strengths,” said White. “Tyler is our three-year starting quarterback; Buddy and Jake are both defensive players, but also have offensive roles that are critical to us as well. They are a good group of kids and definitely lead by example.”

In addition to the leadership skills the captains bring to the forefront of the squad, White also sees other players as key contributors this fall, given that football is very much a team sport.

“We have Caden Hillier, who will be of pretty high importance, Joe Tafro, Trevor Ridley, Liam Hastings has done a great job for us,” said White. “Nathaniel Shippy (senior, offensive lineman/defensive lineman) has done a great job for us; Vinny McGill (senior), a first-year kid who has played defensive end, he has some size and strength that we need.”

To open the season, Guilford played its first game on the road against the Lyman Hall Trojans on Sept. 7, blowing the home team out of the water by a score of 41-0.

“First-year Defensive Coordinator and long-time coach Jon Reniecke put together a great game plan that saw huge contributions from a number of GHS players, led by the strong play of seniors Buddy Gambardella (tight end/defensive end), Jake Jahnige (wide receiver/defensive back), and Aiden Connelly (sophomore, running back/linebacker),” said White. “We executed well on both sides of the ball as well as on special teams this past Friday. Our group has a lot of talent and some great coaches who are dedicated to their players’ success. If we can continue to play well and make plays like we did, we will be in for a great season.”

Additional contributors for Guilford in the game included senior captain and quarterback Hilgert, who threw four touchdown passes, recorded over 200 yards in passing, and went 16/22. Hillier (junior, running back) had 130 yards rushing, with one touchdown, and Alex Tafro (sophomore, quarterback/wide receiver/running back) added one rushing touchdown. Tafro (senior, wide receiver), Ridley (senior, defensive back/wide receiver), Brady Hallihan (senior, wide receiver/defensive back), and Jahnige all had receiving touchdowns.

With the Grizzlies coming out of the gates strong and setting the tone on day one, White hopes his athletes can keep that momentum going and their feet on the gas, especially during the more challenging parts of the season.

“We are definitely going to have some challenges. We have a tough end of the schedule, specifically with Amity and Hand. Hand is always a big game day,” said White. “They are always a tough, talented, well-coached team. If we want to be a team like that, we have to do our best to keep improving as we go throughout the season.”

The Guilford Grizzlies 2023 roster is comprised of Jahnige, Hallihan, Tafro, McGill, Jaco Corso (senior, tight end/defensive end), Gambardella, Grady Holabird (senior, wide receiver/defensive back), Hilgert, Ridley, Jake Damato (senior, running back/linebacker), Elijah Brainard (senior, kicker), Shippy, Timothy Hastings (senior, offensive lineman/defensive lineman), Hillier, Rocco Barbera (junior, running back/linebacker) Kevin Smith (junior, running back/linebacker), Ryan Gribbon (junior, wide reciever/linebacker), Jake Hedge (junior, quarterback/wide receiver/defensive back), Gavin Taylor (junior, wide receiver/defensive back), Logan Murphy (junior, offensive lineman/defensive lineman), Luke Piagentini (junior, offensive lineman/defensive lineman), James Oberg (junior, offensive lineman/defensive lineman), Aiden Ruotolo (sophomore, wide receiver/defensive back), Tafro, Sam Martocci (sophomore, wide receiver/defensive back), Alex Uzzo (sophomore, running back/defensive back), Connelly, Wesley Tandler (sophomore, offensive lineman/defensive lineman), Lucio Nastri (sophomore, offensive lineman/defensive lineman), Zisis Vasiliou (sophomore, kicker/offensive lineman/defensive lineman), Dominick Verme (sophomore, offensive lineman/defensive lineman), Ares Vasiliou (sophomore, kicker), Chase Hall (freshman, running back/defensive lineman), and Jayden Gravel (freshman, offensive lineman/defensive lineman).

White is assisted by Reniecke, Eric Berlepsch, Roberto Landino, Alex Lipka, and Jim May.

2023 Guilford Football Regular Season Schedule

Sept. 7: Guilford 41, Lyman Hall 0

Thurs. Sept. 14: vs Foran at 7 p.m.

Fri. Sept. 22: vs RHAM at 7 p.m.

Fri. Oct. 6: vs Hillhouse at 7 p.m.

Fri. Oct. 13: vs Harding at 7 p.m.

Fri. Oct. 20: vs Bassick at 6 p.m.

Fri. Oct. 27: vs East Haven at 7 p.m.

Fri. Nov. 3: vs East Lyme at 7 p.m.

Fri. Nov. 17: vs Amity at 6 p.m.

Wed. Nov. 22: vs Daniel Hand at 7 p.m.