Garnets Escape Trouble With 35-21 Win Over Yorktown, as Perfect Season Remains Intact

The first 30 seconds of Friday’s night clash between the Garnets and the Yorktown Huskers laid the groundwork for a back-and-forth matchup between two teams fighting for the top playoff spots in Section 1’s Class A. 

Yorktown junior Tyler Galante returned the opening kickoff 95 yards to the house to give the Huskers an early 6-0 lead. But following a blocked extra point by Rye and a subsequent kickoff return to the 25-yard line, quarterback Carson Miller rifled a pass to wide receiver Henry Shoemaker, who promptly put the ball in the end zone for the Garnets to take a 7-6 lead.

Four of Shoemaker’s five touchdown receptions this season have gone for at least 65 yards.

The opening plays of the game set the stage for a near three-hour battle, but in the end the Garnets (7-0) came away with a hard-fought 35-21 win over a Yorktown (4-3) team that despite their record, have held their own against Class A’s best. 

“The first kickoff got away from us, but after that I feel like we wanted it more than them,” said senior captain Jake Kessner. “After that, I think we came out firing on all cylinders and brought a lot of intensity.” 

Following the Shoemaker score, Rye would find the end zone again on an eight-play drive capped off by an Archer Fenton touchdown run to give the Garnets a 14-6 lead halfway through the first quarter.

After several stalled possessions by both offenses, Rye would score again early in the second on a pass from Miller to Kessner to put the Garnets up 21-6.

Yorktown was able to keep pace with a Rye offense that scored on 5 of 9 possessions Friday, scoring late in the second quarter on a pass from quarterback Kaden Gonzalez to Galante to cut the lead to 21-14 following a two-point conversion.

Rye took a seven-point lead into the half after its final two drives ended on an interception and a third-down sack.

The slim lead wouldn’t last long, however, as Gonzalez found Galante again to knot the score at 21-21 in the third quarter. Galante scored all three of the Huskers’ touchdowns.

Despite momentum shifting toward Yorktown, the Garnets turned on the jets in the fourth quarter, with consecutive scoring drives. The game-winning drive was led by senior Ty Ramachandran, who strung together five straight solid runs — the last of which crossed the goal line to secure a 28-21 lead. Ramachandran finished with a career high 118 yards on the day. 

Yorktown’s offense stalled on the following possession. The turnover on downs set the Garnet offense up in prime field position, with Miller then taking a 35-yard run to the end zone to put Rye up 35-21. 

Despite the early struggles, Rye coach Dino Garr’s post-game speech to his players put things in perspective.

“I’m very proud of you guys. That could’ve gotten away from us,” he told his team. “We made some mistakes, we played against a tough team, and as far as I’m concerned, we’re going to play them again.” 

The chase for a perfect season only gets more challenging for the Garnets, as Rye returns home Saturday to play against rival Harrison in the 97th installment of “The Game.” Rye is looking to avenge back-to back losses in the series for the first time since the early 2000s. 

“I don’t have to tell you what’s up ahead of us,” Garr said about the rivalry game. “This is for the league championship, against our archrivals, and we can’t be making any mistakes.”