Rye Football Car Wash Sunday Aims to Raise $1,500

(PHOTO: No word if Rye FD pays a premium on the $10 cash regular car wash price for their over-sized vehicles.)

We need 150 MyRye.com readers who want to drive sparkling wheels to the train station Monday morning.

Rye Football has their car wash at the high school (1 Parsons Street) this Sunday, August 21st between 10am and 2pm and will be selling clean cars at $10/car wash and the 2016 Rye v Harrison t-shirt is $20. We'll tell you more about the new t-shirts Friday.

(PHOTO: This could be your car, lovingly cleaned by a football player.)

Both efforts (car wash and t-shirts) are a major part of the fundraising effort to support the players during and after the football season. The Rye Football Association funds between two and four scholarships for graduating seniors who participated on the team, purchases equipment for the program, supplies game day food and drinks for players and pays for all players, coaches and cheerleaders to attend the year end dinner.

The entire 80 student Varsity and JV squad is expected to take a two hour shift at the car wash and the 2016 Captains, TJ Lavelle, Brett Egan, Miles Giordano, Will Hynson and Mat Bruno will be there all day. It's a big group and they can wash a lot of cars…

(PHOTO: Senior Mat Bruno holds the ring.)

Past fundraisers have paid for the new equipment purchased this year, including a set of Rugby tackling rings (see senior Mat Bruno holding the ring, above). Tackling rings reinforce "heads up" tackling skills and these rings have been embraced by professional football teams as well to lower the number of concussions. In Rugby, players lead with the shoulder, not the head, when they tackle and this piece of equipment helps reinforce leading with the shoulder when tackling a player.

(PHOTO: Your fire engine, cleaned by Rye football.)

The RFA annually purchases a new set of jerseys for the varsity players in order to have one set of jerseys with player's names on the back. This jersey becomes a player keepsake and judging by the number of alumni who wear their jerseys to "The Game," it is a cherished high school keepsake. The tradition is to place the name on the back of the jersey players will wear to the Rye v Harrison game, so this year the famous Garnet black jerseys will have the players' names on the back.