The Rye Football team capped off their regular season with a confident-looking road win on Saturday, October 23, as they took down Clarkstown North 28-7. The Garnets conclude the standard slate with a 5-3 record and in position to start their New York State title defense on the road next weekend.
“It was a great bounce-back effort,” head coach Dino Garr told MyRye.com after the victory. “It was important for us to get back on track.”
Rye’s defense played likely their best game of the season, as they forced four turnovers. Ryan Hess accounted for two momentum-shifting interceptions and the Garnets also forced and scooped up two fumbles. Tyler Walsh stepped up in a big way with five tackles for loss. The only blemish on their account was a 37-yard rushing touchdown for the Vikings in the third quarter.
Offensively, Rye found much more success through the air than on the ground. Johnny Shoemaker threw for 254 yards on 16-25 passing, adding a career-high four TD passes. Hess caught seven passes for 110 yards and two of those four scores to complete his Shohei Ohtani-like two-way performance. Calvin Timchak played a very strong second fiddle with 80 receiving yards and a score himself.
Seniors Luke Denvir and Benji Kaplan both had strong games, as Garr noted after the contest. The Rye offense could have had another score if they did not fumble themselves on the two-yard line on the opening series. Overall, the offense, defense, and special teams seemed to all put it together, which is a good sign for the Garnets as they head into the postseason.
Rye (5-3) finishes the regular season as the #3 seed in the south league, which sets them up to play the #2 seed in the north league. That opponent is Lakeland, who will host the opening round of the Section 1 Class A playoffs next weekend. The official date and time is not yet confirmed, but rumors suggest kickoff is most likely to be on Friday, October 30.
