We knew the script already; we’d seen this movie before. Trailing 14-0 in the fourth quarter, the Rye football team rallied at home against John Jay-Cross River, cut the lead in half, forced a three-and-out, and eventually drove deep into the Indians’ territory.
By Jim Byrne
We knew the script already; we’d seen this movie before. Trailing 14-0 in the fourth quarter, the Rye football team rallied at home against John Jay-Cross River, cut the lead in half, forced a three-and-out, and eventually drove deep into the Indians’ territory.
What usually comes next in the comeback formula – a Garnets touchdown and successful two-point conversion – is on page 1 of the Rye Football textbook. But, on fourth and 1 from JJ-CR’s four-yard-line, freshman quarterback Andrew Livingston’s pitch to Joe Simolacaj was fumbled, and the Indians recovered and ran out the clock to preserve a 14-7 victory.
“We were going to go for two, that’s for sure,” admitted head coach Dino Garr. “I thought we were going to score there; I felt we turned the corner in the fourth and was excited to see the kids rally. There was a lot of good to take from that final quarter.”
As with their season-opening loss at Somers, turnovers plagued Rye September 16 at dirt-caked Nugent Stadium, which was under water twice in two weeks due to flooding. The late fumble was Rye’s third turnover in the game, and sent them to an 0-2 start for the first time since 2001 and just the tenth time in the program’s illustrious history. They’ll look to right the ship September 23 at 1-1 Ossining, who defeated John Jay-Cross River earlier this year, and then dropped a 44-42 decision to Pelham.
“We’ve opened the season against two good teams, and while our players have some experience, these were the first two varsity games for some of them,” said Garr. “It would have been nice to start against lesser opponents.”
The Garnets came alive in the fourth quarter when senior Teddy Ice recovered a fumble at midfield. Although they gained just one yard on their first three downs, Livingston – in relief of injured starting QB Jake Meyerson – scrambled for a first down on fourth and 9. The 14-year-old looked quite comfortable considering the stage, and completed a 15-yard pass after taking a sack on first down. After Connor Murphy ran ferociously for another first, Livingston hit Tim DeGraw in the flat. DeGraw caught the ball with his fingertips and took it all the way to the Indians’ 12. Simolacaj, a senior captain, did the rest, cashing in on the third of three consecutive rushes.
Rye got the ball back on the Indians’ 43 after a defensive stand that included Ice burying JJ-CR’s runner for a three-yard loss. From there it was the Simolacaj show, with impressive gains of 20 and 11 yards to set up first and 10 at the 13-yard line. He rushed three more times to the four, but then came the decisive fumble. Despite the unfortunate end, Simolacaj, who rushed for 80 yards, showed strength reminiscent of Kyle Ramalho and the burst of Cole McCormack.
