There isn’t much that hasn’t gone right for the Rye Garnets this fall. Coming into Saturday’s matchup against arch-rival Harrison, the reigning state champions boasted an untarnished 7-0 record, were destined for a top-seed in the upcoming Class A playoffs, and seemed poised for another deep playoff run and more hardware for the athletic department’s trophy case.
But—at least for a moment—none of that meant anything if they couldn’t re-write the recent history of “The Game.”
On Oct. 26, the Garnets demonstrated just how dangerous a team they are, topping the Huskies 24-0 in the 97th installment of “The Game” and giving the team some well-earned momentum heading into this week’s Class A playoffs.
For senior Chris Iuliano, the game was a watershed moment. Iuliano tallied Rye’s first two touchdowns on the day and said, especially for the team’s veteran players, nothing was left to chance on Saturday.
“They beat us the last two years,” grinned Iuliano after the game. “I owed them one.”
The win was Rye’s 50th in the history of the most storied rivalry in Section 1, and carried with it historic significance for Rye’s active players—especially players like quarterback Carson Miller who had some family scores to settle on Saturday.
“This is absolutely unreal; my father lost twice, my brother AJ lost twice, so it was great to get on the board with a win,” said Miller. “The community has been awesome, we came out and played our hearts out and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Iuliano’s two scores were bolstered by a rushing touchdown from Ty Ramachandran and a field goal from Henry Shoemaker, not to mention a stifling defensive performance that accounted for the third shutout of the year for the Garnets.
“We we were prepared for everything,” said Miller. “Defensively we knew we wanted to attack the quarterback and we knew we wanted to run the ball.”
With the regular season complete, the Garnets will now look towards the playoffs. As the No. 1 seed in Class A, the Garnets’ first test will come this Friday against No. 8 Brewster. No. 4 Harrison will host No. 5 Mahopac on Friday as well.
And while the victory over Harrison was an important one, said Miller, the Garnets can’t afford to rest on their laurels now that every game becomes a must-win.
“We’ll enjoy it tonight, maybe tomorrow because it’s Sunday,” said the junior quarterback. “But then we have to get right back to work.”
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