By Mitch Silver
On a breezy, chilly Friday night at Nugent Stadium, Dino Garr’s unbeaten Rye High Football team played host to the 1-2 Nyack Red Hawks (formerly Indians). But they weren’t very polite to the visitors, running roughshod over them in a first half that saw the Garnets score five touchdowns while blanking their guests.
After two weeks spent coming back from deficits at halftime, Rye took command early, with a 55-yard TD pass from junior quarterback A.J. Miller to classmate Shep Griffiths on the game’s fourth play from scrimmage. Griffiths kicked the extra point to make the score 7-0, a score that stood at the end of the quarter.
The roof fell in on the Red Hawks in the second period. The Garnets scored a touchdown from the Nyack 13 on the first play of the period. Then, on Rye’s next possession, another 55-yard pass from their own 30-yard line to the visitors’ 25 set up the home team’s third score, an off-tackle run by senior Tommy Richardson from the Nyack 9. Griffiths nailed his third extra point.
Later in the stanza, junior Rafferty McSweeney caught a 36-yard TD pass. A bobbled snap on the PAT led to a two-point tally. That made the score 29-0. After taking a kickoff at their own 30, Nyack bounced a pass off a receiver that landed in the hands of Rye sophomore Jake Kessner, who took the pigskin to the visitor’s 14. Rye drove it in one more time with 1:40 remaining on the clock before halftime.
The second half saw Coach Garr clear his bench in a scoreless 30 minutes of play. After the game, the coach said, “We got everybody in during the second half. The coaching staff is especially happy with the way our entire defense played tonight, from the line to the linebackers and the defensive backs. And I’m happy to acknowledge the way our offensive line has come together.”
For the game, Miller completed half his 10 passes for 164 yards and two TDs. McSweeney and Griffiths each caught a touchdown pass, and Tommy Richardson ran for 117 yards on 12 carries. He scored twice. Coach Garr noted the outstanding line play of juniors Owen Welburn, Charlie Saurack, Ronan O’Byrne, and Jason Gonzalez, along with seniors Luke Iuliano, Owen Meyers, and Chris Guazzo,
The Garnets head next to Fox Lane September 30 to take on the 1-3 Foxes at 6 p.m.