The undefeated and No. 1 seeded Garnets beat Yorktown Huskers at home October 19 in the Section 1 Class A quarterfinal game, 36-20, on the coldest night of the season. 

By Melanie Cane

The undefeated and No. 1 seeded Garnets beat Yorktown Huskers at home October 19 in the Section 1 Class A quarterfinal game, 36-20, on the coldest night of the season. The win against the No. 4 seed was a blockbuster, and there were several exciting subplots in the story.

First, lead rusher and senior captain Conor Murphy was sidelined due to the ankle injury he sustained during the Rye/Harrison game. Junior captain and quarterback Andrew Livingston’s response was: “Murphy is a great player and we miss him, but we had a job to do.”

Second, Livingston tied the Section 1 total touchdown record in a single season, 27, with his second TD pass to Tim DeGraw in the first half.

Lastly, was one of those amazing and rare moments in a high school football game. Livingston threw a perfect spiral, a 90-yard pass play to DeGraw in the 4th quarter. The crowd was transfixed and off their seats. Unfortunately, a flag on the play for an ineligible receiver annulled it.

Down to the nitty-gritty. Through a combination of passing and running by Livingston, Shane O’Malley and DeGraw, — including a 43-yard pass to DeGraw — Chris Santangelo ultimately ran for the touchdown on a pass from Livingston. With the extra point kick, Rye was up 7-0 with 8:45 left in the quarter.

The Huskers scored on their first possession. They missed the extra point, making it a 7-6 game.
Through a combination of passing and running by Livingston, Santangelo, DeGraw and O’Malley, th

e quarter ended with Rye at Yorktown’s 10-yard line. Livingston threw to DeGraw for the touchdown at the beginning of the 2nd quarter, and with the extra point kick Rye had a 14-6 edge.

The next several plays resulted in a series of close calls, defensive highlights, offensive mishaps, and then offensive triumphs for Yorktown, who scored twice, leaving a stunned Rye behind 20-14 at the half

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About the first half, Livingston said, “We missed some opportunities and Yorktown played harder than we did at times. Plus, both teams were getting a feel for one another and Rye was still finding its rhythm after the Harrison game.”

The third quarter started off with possessions seesawing until the turning point of the game, when Rye sacked Yorktown’s quarterback on a third and seven at Rye’s 36-yard line. Rye received a punt on Yorktown’s 42-yard line and after several plays, Livingston passed to DeGraw in the red zone and O’Malley ran it in. Drew Abate kicked the extra point, and Rye had the lead again, this time for good.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Livingston completed a 35-yard pass to DeGraw at the 5-yard line. DeGraw rushed and Santangelo ran the 2-point conversion, giving Rye a 29-20 lead. On the next play, Alex Raynor intercepted a pass and returned it inside the 5-yard line. O’Malley scored and Abate kicked for the extra point.

Livingston passed for 215 yards and two touchdowns and Shane O’Malley rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns. Both Raynor and Abate had interceptions.

The 8-0 Garnets will host Tappan Zee in the Sectional semifinals on November 1.

At press time, Murphy’s playing status was undecided.