It’s no longer hyperbole to say the Rye football team has one of the best offenses in the state.
The Garnets (9-0) have scored 42-plus points in six straight games, with a +230 point differential, the best in all of Section 1.
The biggest reason for the offensive success is the dynamic combination of seniors Carson Miller and Henry Shoemaker. The Harvard commits lit up the scoreboard all season, and the first-round playoff matchup against Brewster on Halloween was no different.
In a 44-19 victory over the Bears, Miller threw four touchdown passes to Shoemaker, the most for any Rye QB/WR combination since Owen Kovacs and Liam Lavelle in 2020. Shoemaker accounted for 32 of Rye’s 44 points against Brewster, kicking a field goal and five extra points, in addition to his four receiving scores.
The senior wideout is 84 yards away from breaking the single-season Rye receiving record Tim DeGraw set in 2014, and needs 428 yards to pass former Syracuse receiver Bruce Williams for the state record.
“It felt good after this one,” Shoemaker said after arguably the best performance of his career. “It was honestly just a great team win, we’ll enjoy ourselves tonight, and get ready to move on to next week.”
Next up for Rye is a section semifinal game Nov. 7 or 8 against Eastchester. The Eagles defeated Yorktown 27-19 in the teams’ first-round game Friday. Rye hasn’t lost to Eastchester since 2009, and won 48-16 in the first meeting on Oct. 10, but the Eagles have won three straight since that game.
“You guys did a heck of a job out there,” Rye coach Dino Garr told his team after Friday’s win. “But now, it’s over, and what’s in front of you is just the next step.”
Before throwing four touchdowns against Brewster and surpassing the 2,000-yard mark for passing this season, Miller set the tone with a game-opening 9-yard touchdown run. By the end of the night, he completed 16 of 20 passes for 268 yards. Shoemaker hauled in six catches for 106 yards, and senior Sebastian Lewis added 81 yards on five catches. Senior Charlie Garnett rushed for 129 yards on 17 carries.
After Shoemaker’s first score put Rye ahead 14-0, Brewster senior quarterback Chase Prohasza threw a touchdown pass to make it a one-score game.
The Bears had an opportunity to pull even on their next offensive possession, but senior Jack Anderson recorded his third sack of the season on a monster third-down hit that gave the Garnets the ball back just before the end of the half. Shoemaker’s second touchdown made it 21-6 at halftime.
The second half was more of the same. Shoemaker kicked a season-long 42-yard field goal despite a bad snap that senior holder Michael Talbott had to nearly stand up and grab to put the ball in place.
Junior Max An scored his first varsity touchdown on a 22-yard run to put the game away late.
Senior Nigel Strazzini recorded seven tackles and a sack on defense, then grabbed a 40-plus yard reception in the fourth quarter in which he eviscerated multiple defenders, barreling down the field on a scoring drive.
Other defensive standouts were senior Carsten Steinmann, who had a career-high nine tackles, and seniors Anderson and Jack Levine, who both had four.
