In football, each team is allowed a maximum of 11 players on the field at any given time.
Friday night against Eastchester, the Rye Garnets had 12.
The spirit of Hamish Fenton, who passed away from a rare form of pediatric cancer in June, was that 12th man.
With that type of strength in the locker room, Rye would have been a formidable challenge for any opponent. On this night, Eastchester was the unfortunate team lined up on the other side of the field.
Making matters worse for the Eagles was that the Garnets were coming off their first loss in 22 months. Add all those factors together, and the end result was a 51-0 Rye win in Nugent Stadium.
In a touching pre-game ceremony, members of the Fenton family and community introduced the Hamish’s Difference Foundation to the City of Rye. Many players and fans were decked out in purple in honor of the eighth-grader’s favorite color.
“Hamish was with us tonight 100%. Our entire team felt it,” said Jagger Fenton, Hamish’s older brother and a senior football standout. “Before the game, I gave the boys a speech in the locker room asking them to fight tonight the way my little brother did. They really came through.”
Rye’s offense, defense, and special teams were all firing on all cylinders against Eastchester. While the Eagles played with heart, they were challenged to stop the multi-faceted Rye attack led by quarterback Charlie Brady, running backs Fenton and Max An, tight end Luke Denvir, and wideout Ryan Hess.
Brady threw four first-half touchdown passes, and the Garnets rushed for three more scores to improve to 2-1 with ease.
Brady’s first touchdown throw came three minutes into the game. After his third, Rye appeared to be comfortable entering the locker room with a 28-0 lead. But with 38 seconds left, Eastchester’s quarterback fumbled on his own 30-yard line, Rye recovered, and Brady threw a touchdown pass on the next play.
Rye opened the second half with a touchdown drive of 3:25 to go ahead 42-0, then the Garnets started subbing in reserves.
“We all know we’ve got some tough games ahead on the schedule, but we’ll be ready,” said Jagger Fenton. “I thought a bunch of our back-up players looked really strong tonight, which is always a good sign.”
On offense, the Eagles had a tough time earning first downs. Linebackers Benji Kaplan, Cayden Wing, and Nick Holahan saw to that. Defensive back Calvin Timchak also defended well against Eastchester’s version of a spread or “run & gun” offense.
Eastchester started the fourth quarter with the ball inside their own 5-yard line. A snap went over the Eagles’ quarterback’s head, and he fell on it for a safety.
One final touchdown run with 5:20 remaining was the finishing touch on Rye’s rout.
The game was a mismatch from the opening kickoff. But in high school football you lace ‘em up, snap the ball, and play four 12-minute quarters. Coach Dino Garr knows that better than anyone.
“We needed to bounce back tonight after a tough loss last week,” Garr said. “The only way you can do that is to execute, no matter the opponent. Our goal in practice all week was to cut down on the mistakes, and make tackles like we know we’re capable of.”
The Garnets’ next two games are on the road, Sept. 26 at Mount Vernon, followed by a section championship rematch Oct. 2 at Somers.
“Tonight was a step in the right direction,” Garr said after the Eastchester win. “The schedule doesn’t get any easier from here on out, so lots of work to do. But I’m confident we’ll get there.”
