Greenwich didn’t make it through the regular season unbeaten, losing twice by a total of two points.

Once the playoffs began, the Cardinals flexed their muscles and dominated.

Greenwich tore through the Class LL playoffs unlike any of the other five CIAC state champions. It wowed enough voters to finish No. 1 in The Day’s final Top 10 state football coaches’ poll.

The Cardinals (11-2) outscored their three playoff opponents by a combined score of 126-24. They’re the first two-loss team to finish No. 1, yet another example of how the 2022 season season was so wild, unusual and unpredictable.

“You have tests and challenges along the way,” Greenwich head coach Anthony Morello said. “Every season is different but your character and adversity is always going to challenge you. So, it’s how you respond to things and how quickly you can recover, especially late in the season.”

The Cardinals lost on Thanksgiving to Staples, 39-38, which fueled their playoff run.

“They took (on) a mentality when Thanksgiving Day didn’t go their way, and the coaches listened to their players,” Morello said. “The kids exceeded all expectations and went out on top.”

Greenwich received eight of 13 first-place votes to earn the No. 1 ranking.

New Canaan (12-1) earned two first-place votes and finished second. The Rams beat Maloney, 16-13, to win the Class L championship.

Class S champion Ansonia (13-0) received the other three first-place votes and finished sixth. It also finished as the state’s only unbeaten team.

The Cardinals were number one in The Day’s first poll of the season following Week 2.

Greenwich’s No. 1 ranking ended after one week when it gave up a 21-point, first-quarter lead at home to Southington and lost, 29-28. It was a bellwether for what became one of the most unpredictable and chaotic seasons in recent memory — five more teams were ranked No. 1 over the following 10 weeks with each of them losing and falling from that spot.

Example — St. Joseph and Southington were first and second, respectively, prior to the playoffs. Both were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Greenwich, meanwhile, wiped out Hamden (47-7) and Glastonbury (42-0) in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. The Cardinals then scored the first 27 points of Saturday’s Class LL final and cruised to a 37-17 win over Fairfield Prep.

“It was never a question of whether or not we could win a football game,” Morello said. “We weren’t going to be able to put teams away (during the regular season). Our schedule was too challenging and (with) the week-to-week grind, we were absolutely more than fine coming away from every game with a W regardless of the score.

“To be able to convincingly put teams away in the playoffs was pleasantly surprising.”

New Canaan was No. 3 in the poll prior to states and the highest-ranked team to win a state title. The Cardinals were eighth. Both play in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference but didn’t play each other this fall.

Greenwich and the Rams had three common opponents — Darien, Fairfield Prep and St. Joseph.

New Canaan beat Fairfield Prep (14-7, Sept. 23) and Darien (13-10, Nov. 24). It lost at home to St. Joseph (27-14, Oct. 28).

Greenwich beat St. Joseph (36-26, Oct. 14) and Darien (28-20, Oct. 29).

The Cardinals also finished No. 1 in the GameTimeCT.com media poll.

North Haven (11-2) finished third in the poll after beating Killingly in the Class MM final, 51-34, to win its first CIAC state title.

Class L runner-up Maloney (11-2), which was No. 1 for one week in November, was fourth. Class MM champion Notre Dame of West Haven (10-3) was fifth.

Ansonia was sixth despite being the only unbeaten team because some voters didn’t believe that its conference (the Naugatuck Valley League) or Class S were as strong as other leagues and playoff divisions. Regardless, Saturday’s 28-21 win over Bloomfield earned the Chargers a state-record 21st CIAC championship.

Fairfield Prep (9-4) finished seventh. It went unbeaten in the grueling Tier 1 of the Southern Connecticut Conference (which sent five of its seven teams to states) with wins over Notre Dame of West Haven (14-7, Nov. 4) and North Haven (17-13, Nov. 10).

Barlow (11-2) was eighth after winning its first state championship, 61-6, over Valley Regional/Old Lyme in Saturday’s Class SS final.

St. Joseph (9-2) and Southington (9-2) were ninth and 10th, respectively. Southington was No. 1 for four weeks, longer than any other team.

Killingly (11-2) was the lone Eastern Connecticut Conference team that received votes, finishing 11th. Valley/Old Lyme (11-2) was the other area team that received a vote.

n.griffen@theday.com