To describe the Rye football team’s season-opening victory over Middletown as a high-scoring affair would be an understatement. The Garnets’ 63-20 win was the most points they’ve scored in a game in 20 seasons, and the combined 83 points made it the highest-scoring game Rye has played in since 2016.
The team led by as much as 50 points at one point, and carried a 49-7 lead into the half after reaching the end zone seven times in the span of 24 minutes.
Six different players scored for the Garnets, including a career-high three touchdowns for senior running back Charlie Garnett, who also recorded his first career sack in his return to the field for Rye.
Senior quarterback Carson Miller threw for three touchdowns in the game, all in the first half. After finding the end zone on the ground in the first quarter, Miller went to the air later in the half and found senior Sebastian Lewis on a 32-yard pass to give the team a 28-0 lead. On the next possession, Miller hit Lewis again on an 11-yard score, and then followed that by finding fellow senior captain Henry Shoemaker on a 78-yard bomb to push the lead to 42.
Other players with touchdowns included senior Ben Stigliano and junior Jagger Fenton, who each scored on the ground in the second half to further inflate the Garnet lead. Fenton’s day was particularly remarkable in that he rushed for 50 yards, had a booming 50-yard punt later in the game, and recorded five tackles along with a pass breakup.
Defensively, the team did not allow Middletown into their own territory until the second quarter, and compiled 30 tackles along with two sacks over the course of the evening. Fenton’s five tackles led the team, and senior Hunter Gillies recorded a sack along with Garnett.
In the first-ever meeting between these two programs, Dino Garr recorded his 362nd career victory, and is now two wins away from setting the New York State record. However, the immediate concern on his mind is what will be arguably the toughest test for the Garnets this season, a matchup against defending state champion Somers at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 in Nugent Stadium.
“I don’t have to tell you guys what’s next,” Garr said to his players following the victory. “We just have to stay ready and support each other.”
Somers will face Iona Prep on Saturday in what might be one of the most highly anticipated games of New York high school football in recent memory. With the Tuskers coming off a game against arguably the best high school team in New York state, Rye will look to shake off four-straight losses against Somers, dating back to 2021.
