The Season’s Over, But the Honors Keep Coming

By Mitch Silver

The last game was played more than a month ago. But that hasn’t kept the powers-that-be from handing out plaques and awards to deserving Rye area athletes. So, make yourself comfortable — the list is a long one.

Let’s start with baseball. The Journal News annually selects its All-Star teams long after the dust from that final slide into home has settled. They’ve named the Garnets’ sophomore mound stalwarts, Declan Lavelle and Sean Thompson, to the All-Section second team. Senior Jared Olbrys was Honorable Mention, as were seniors Conor Liguori and Jack Sheldon of Rye Neck, senior Cole Price of Rye Country Day and his teammate Owen Coady, a junior.

Section 1 hands out its own awards, and the trio from Rye was named All-Section from Conference 2. Rye Head Coach Mike Bruno was chosen Coach of the Year. Senior Sean Hale received Honorable Mention. Sheldon and Liguori were Conference 3 All-Section performers. Senior Brian Scott was the Panthers’ Honorable Mention.

Turning to softball, the New York State Sportswriters Association honored the Rye Neck battery by placing catcher Sam Yannuzzi — she drove in 44 runs, second-most in the Section — on the All-State third team and star pitcher Olivia Dunne to the fourth.

Rye High senior Billy Chabot was named to the Journal News Westchester/Putnam lacrosse second team. His brother Peter was cited as Honorable Mention, as were teammate Brendan Lavelle and senior Will Dodge of Rye Country Day. (Dodge was earlier named a private school All-American.)

The Journal News cited a brace of Wildcat golfers, senior Nick Jindal and junior Charles Jolly, as All-Section Honorable Mentions. Garnet sophomores Doug Beney and Domoinic Sculti were Honorable Mention as well. Beney went on to qualify for the U.S. Junior Amateur, played this week at the historic Baltusrol Course in Springfield, New Jersey. Beney shot a very respectable 76 on the famed Lower Course and matched that the next day on the upper one. His 152 total (148 was the cut) tied him for 93^rd in the country.

Finally, the Journal News cited four local athletes for games they haven’t even played yet. Their short list for the 2018 Super-11 football team this fall includes Cameron Coleman, Rye Country Day’s two-way star. Last season he recorded 17 sacks on the way to first-team All-New England honors. Coleman has earned recruiting interest from Brown, Cornell, Columbia, and Dartmouth.

Another two-way star for the Wildcats is also on the list: Allan Houston III “has established himself as one of the Fairchester Athletic Association’s top playmakers.” The running back/defensive back/kick returner has seen recruiting interest from Cornell, Buffalo, Holy Cross, and Harvard.

A couple of Garnets also drew Super-11 notice: 6-foot-3, 240-pound tackle/defensive end Jack Iuliano will be Rye’s anchor up front. He’s garnered Ivy League interest, including picking up his first offer from Penn.

Declan Lavelle, Rye’s first-year QB starter as a sophomore, passed for 1,625 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2017, highlighted by a record-setting 377-yard, turnover-free game against rival Harrison, which the Journal News called “the best passing effort in the storied history of The Game.”

2017 PASSING: Lohud’s passing leaderboard

2017 RUSHING: Lohud’s rushing leaderboard

2017 RECEIVING: Lohud’s receiving leaderboard