Henry Shoemaker made his fantasy owners proud on Halloween night, scoring four touchdowns in the Rye Football Team’s 44-19 victory over the Brewster Bears in the sectional quarterfinals. With the win, the Garnets push their streak of scoring 40+ points as a team to six straight games, eliminate Brewster from title contention, and advance to the Section 1 Class B semifinals.
“We’re not looking to score forty points, we’re looking to control the tempo of the game and the ball,” Head Coach Dino Garr remarked after the game. “But, of course, we will not complain if we get to forty.”
Shoemaker accounted for all four of Carson Miller’s touchdown passes, cracking the century mark with 106 yards on six catches. He also booted a 42-yard field goal with the game still up for grabs, aided by a skillful hold from Michael Talbott. Miller rushed for a score, as did Max An to close the scoring from 22 yards out. Sebastian Lewis (81 yards receiving) and Charlie Garnett (129 yards rushing) also had standout performances on the offensive side of the ball for Rye.
The defense stepped up at several points of the game as well to help get the ball in the hands of the potent offense. “Our defensive line and three linebackers – Nigel Strazzini, Carsten Steinmann, and Charlie Garnett – did well together to stop their run,” Garr said. “Coach [Joe] King did a great job getting everyone ready.”
Steinmann led the Garnets with both nine tackles and 2 quarterback pressures, followed closely in both regards by Strazzini (7 tackles, 1 pressure). Strazzini and Jack Anderson both recorded one sack apiece as well, proof of their consistent pressure in the Brewster backfield. Garnett ended up with three total tackles, excelling in his usual two-way role.
Rye (9-0, 1-0 postseason) can look forward to one final home game at Nugent Stadium, as they will host Eastchester next weekend in the sectional semifinals, with the exact start time and date still TBD. “They always play us tough,” Garr said of the Eagles, whom Rye defeated in Week 5 of this season by the score of 48-23. Replay the win over Brewster here.
