To say that the Garnets are on fire would be an understatement. They’ve won their last 8 games, outscored opponents 293-106 in that stretch, and after beating Port Jervis on Saturday 28-14, they’re one step away from a trip to Syracuse to play in the Class B state championship.
In this recent span, the Garnets have followed a predictable pattern to victory: Score early, often, and take advantage of the opposition’s mistakes. Saturday was no exception, as a six-play drive, capped off with Chris Iuliano’s 20th touchdown run of the season, opened the scoring just three minutes into the game. It kickstarted an offense led by senior captain A.J. Miller, who not only won the game’s offensive MVP, but picked up two touchdown passes for 175 yards on the day.
Port Jervis has been dominant on offense all year, scoring 171 points in their last three games, but even with the team’s recent success, head coach Damian Striharsky emphasized how challenging it was to prepare for the section 1 champ.
“They have some big strong guys up front, a good running back, receivers, obviously a good quarterback, it’s hard to gameplan for a team like that,” he said.
In the win, A.J.’s brother Carson picked up his second rushing touchdown on the season, and senior Charlie Stevens and junior Tucker Hess each picked up a receiving score. While these quick offensive scores have certainly helped the Garnets stave off the opposition, the men in the trenches have been pivotal in keeping Rye’s momentum alive during the last two games.
Many of Rye’s offensive and defensive lineman play on both sides of the ball, such as senior captains Charlie Saurack and Jason Gonzalez. Both were sidelined earlier in the season, but they’re back playing every snap, and have led and anchored the frontline since their return. It certainly helped as the Garnets combined for over 300 rushing yards against Pleasanvtille and Port Jervis, and Saurack and Gonzalez alone combined for over 20 tackles in the last two games.
“Before the game, I told myself, ‘I’m not going to try and do too much, I just want to do my job,’” Saurack said following the win against Port Jervis.
“We’ve continued to get better and better each and every game, that’s what I attribute to our success,” Gonzalez added.
Last week, the Garnets exacted revenge against the Panthers, to whom they lost earlier in the season, largely thanks to that offensive line, which gave A.J. and Carson Miller enough time to throw for one touchdown each, and were supported by a defense that was able to contain Pleasantville’s best offensive weapons, the Picart twins.
The Panthers have established their dominance over opponents in recent history, and coming into the game, hadn’t lost to a section 1 opponent in three years. Even with the 21-12 win over the Garnets in week three however, Pleasantville recognized that things would be quite different this time around.
“We were realistic in understanding that the first time we played Rye, they weren’t at full strength,” Pleasantville coach Tony Becerra said after the game. “Going into the section championship game we would have to play extremely well, limit mistakes, and stay healthy… none of that happened.”
Offensively, the Garnets opened the game up with three quick scores. One came on an eight-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Miller to Jack Acciavatti; another on a double-pass trick play from Miller to his brother Carson Miller, who fired the ball 57 yards to a wide-open Archer Fenton to give the Garnets a two-score lead, and a third on a six-yard rush from Iuliano.
Asked what the secret of his success was, Iuliano was quick to give credit to the men in front of him. “The line’s making holes, and I’m just finding them.”
The Garnets put things away with multiple fourth-down stops in the second half, holding the Panthers to just one score in the final 24 minutes.
“I’m so proud for our players, especially our seniors,” Coach Dino Garr said following the victory. “We have 22 seniors who led us here… we’re not looking ahead besides our next opponent. We’re just going to enjoy this one tonight.”
On November 25, the Garnets travel to Middletown, and will take on Section II champion Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk at 3 p.m. If they win there, they will head to Syracuse for the championship game on December 3.
– Photos by Danielle Strazzini
