Head Coach Dino Garr has a post-game chat with the winners.
Rye High Football
Garnets Roll Over Fox Lane 38-20, Get Somers Rematch
By Mitch Silver
In what was almost certainly their final home game of the year, Rye High’s football team all but paved over Fox Lane Friday night, winning 38-20 even after allowing a couple of last-minute scores. The Foxes, dropping down from large-school Class AA, were no match on defense for the Garnets and their Elite 11 quarterback, Declan Lavelle.
All Lavelle did was throw four touchdown passes and rush for a fifth before taking most of the final period off in favor of sophomore understudy Teddy Berkery (who led a scoring drive of his own in the waning minutes). Rye’s multi-sport QB (Lavelle also plays varsity ice hockey and baseball) completed 11 passes for 208 yards while he was out there, an average of nearly 20 yards a completion.
After the game, Head Coach Dino Garr said, “It was a physical game. They have a big line and that Washington kid is very tough. Good thing we had Declan.”
That “Washington kid” is Michael Washington, who entered the contest with 822 yards gained on the ground, good for fifth-most in the Section. A big back with plenty of speed, Washington helped the Foxes gain 304 yards on the ground, far outpacing Rye’s 184.
He showed what he can do early on. With his team down 6-0, the Fox Lane senior took a handoff, ran over left tackle, and outsprinted the entire Garnet D for a 66-yard scoring gallop that gave the Foxes their only lead. He would bookend the evening with a one-yard rushing touchdown late in the game.
However, Lavelle’s Garnets had already scored three times in the opening quarter. Their lead would have been even greater had they converted any of their three point-after tries. Still, when Rye scored again before halftime—and Freddie Clarke converted the PAT—the home team was up to stay, 25-7. Quinn Kelly grabbed two TD receptions.
There was another bright spot for Coach Garr’s team. Senior co-captain Griffin Meyers returned to play center on offense, his first game action in nearly a month. Meyers paid tribute to classmate Chris Urban, who stepped in at center for him right before the Harrison game, saying, “Chris was fantastic.”
He went on to say, “I was just antsy to get out there tonight, even if it was just offense,” he said. “I’m hoping to play on the D line against Somers Friday night.”
Ah, yes, Somers. You’ll recall what happened in the season’s first month, when the visiting Garnets held a 24-7 lead over the Tuskers late in the third quarter. That’s when Jack Kaiser, their own bruiser of a rushing back, started bulling his way to a game-high 147 yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns. The stunning reversal insured Somers would earn the number-two seed and home field advantage in the Class A semifinal versus the third-seeded Garnets. Game time is 7 p.m. Friday night.
