Rye High School football begins 2021 season with scorching three-game win streak
RYE, N.Y — The Rye Garnets kicked off their 2021 season with a surprising three-game win streak, a stroke of luck for a team that has endured many hardships thus far.
In their first game of the season, the Garnets trampled the Our Lady of Lourdes Warriors with a 27-12 final score. Quarterback Owen Kovacs had a 52% completion percentage with 202 yards and two touchdowns to wide receivers Teddy Berkery and Ryan Surhoff. The Garnets鈥� star running back Caden Whaling rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
The defense also remained stout against the Warriors鈥� run-heavy offense. Jack Garnett made a team-high 11 tackles while Chris Guazzo nabbed the Garnets鈥� first interception of the season.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to think we can mix up the run and the pass equally,鈥� head coach Dino Garr about the Garnets鈥� defense. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 our strength, and we鈥檙e capable of doing both things well.鈥�
In their second game, the Garnets beat the Clarkstown North Rams 28-12, a similar score to their previous outing. Whaling ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns while Kovacs went 6-for-12 with 83 passing yards and an additional 70 yards on the ground. Mason McComb also made a crucial one-handed interception on fourth down in the end zone to null a Rams鈥� drive in the third quarter.
In their most recent game on Sept. 17, the Garnets trampled Tappan Zee Dutchmen 41-12. Whaling had 11 carries for a whopping 238 yards and three touchdowns in this winning effort. Carter Barford led the defense with seven tackles with one tackle for loss and two sacks.
This winning streak is encouraging considering the obstacles the team has endured to begin the season. Nugent Stadium, Rye鈥檚 home turf, was severely flooded by Hurricane Ida in late August, just before the start of the regular season. In the past three weeks, the team has only been able to practice on turf for six days, with two of those being on gamedays.
鈥淲e鈥檙e fortunate to have an extremely supportive community,鈥� Rye athletic director Susan Dullea . 鈥淥ur custodians and administrative team have been working around the clock to get our students back in school. Holy Child and Rye Country Day have been extremely supportive in offering space for us to practice. Many local schools have also offered support.鈥�
The Garnets play their fourth game on Friday, Sept. 24 against the Sleepy Hollow Horsemen, who are currently 0-2 to start the season.
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