Nov. 1, 2019. That’s the last time Somers lost a game against a Section 1 opponent, when the Garnets rallied to beat the Tuskers and go to the section championship for the first time in four years.
Flash forward 2,142 days later. After a 48-minute defensive slugfest between two New York high school powerhouses, Rye again came out on top, snapping a four-game losing streak against Somers in a 17-7 victory Friday at Nugent Stadium.
The rematch of last year’s section championship lived up to its billing. The defense for Rye (2-0) hampered Somers (0-2) from start to finish, and a 3-0 halftime lead turned into a double-digit win after senior Carson Miller threw two second-half touchdown passes.
“It was a great win,” said Rye coach Dino Garr. “They made some mistakes, and we have to cut down on our mistakes … but we did a great job out there.”
The only points in the first 24 minutes came from a field goal by senior Henry Shoemaker on Rye’s opening possession. The drive began near midfield after a key fourth down defensive stop by senior Carsten Steinman.
Both teams made mistakes early, with dropped passes on both sides preventing offensive drives from moving downfield. On one second-quarter Somers drive, the Tuskers picked up a first down after facing a third-and-21 in their own territory, yet still failed to put any points on the board.
Rye also had a golden opportunity to score before halftime, bringing the ball all the way down the field in the final two minutes of the half and getting inside the Somers 5-yard line before coming up short on fourth down.
Garr’s message at the break was simple, especially after Rye let the lead slip away in its most recent clash with Somers, the defending state champions: “To us, it’s 0-0 … win the second half.”
That’s exactly what the Garnets did.
On the opening second-half possession, Rye marched into the red zone and Miller found Shoemaker on a seven-yard pass to put the team up 10-0.
After a few stifled drives from both sides, Somers senior Tristan Iglesias threw a touchdown pass to make it 10-7 entering the fourth quarter. Somers had opportunities to get back in the game, but dropped passes and penalties continued to bring drives to a halt. Rye’s defense kept the Tuskers from entering scoring territory on nearly every second-half drive.
With five minutes left, Miller came up with arguably the play of the game, a 30-yard pass into the left corner of the end zone for senior Sebastian Lewis that pushed the lead to 17-7.
“We completely changed our offensive scheme from last year’s loss,” said Lewis, who’s now recorded three receiving touchdowns in his first two games on offense for Rye. “We passed the ball more, and all those opportunities opened up after Shoe(maker) caught those passes in the first half.”
After blocking a Rye field goal, Somers had one last opportunity to potentially put together a comeback, but those chances were dashed quickly after an interception and long run back from senior Thomas Goldszer.
The win was a statement for Garr and the Garnets, who will likely need to beat the Tuskers again in the postseason to win the section and return to the state tournament for the first time since 2023.
“We have a great chance of seeing them again,” Garr told his team after Friday’s game. “So, we just have to continue to get better and better … but hey, we won the second half.”
Because Somers has largely handled every team in its path over the past five years, the loss to Rye produced a few noteworthy stats: This is the first time since 2019 the Tuskers have lost more than one game in a season, the first time they’ve lost back-to-back games since 2018, and the first time they scored less than double-digits in back-to-back games in over 20 years.
For Rye, the win brings Garr even closer to history. Career win No. 363 puts him one win away from tying Howie Vogts (Bethpage) for the most by a coach in New York state.
His chance to pull even atop the record books will come next Friday, Sept. 19, at Fox Lane, a team that will be playing Rye for the first time since 2022.
