Sports
Harrison Football Snaps Nine-Game Losing Streak To Rival Rye
Harrison beat Rye for the first time in nine years on Saturday, 21-0
A few minutes into the third quarter of the game between Harrison and Rye, the Harrison student section started a “this is our year” chant.
So far this season, it’s a claim that’s hard to argue. The Huskies improved to 7-0 on the year Saturday thanks to a dominating 21-0 victory at Rye. The Garnets (4-3) had won the previous nine games in the series.
“It’s a great win for the school, for the program and for the community,” said Harrison Head Coach Art Troilo Jr. “I’d like to say it was the coaching, but a lot of the kids on the team that won today beat them in JV and modified already.”
The Harrison offense started early, scoring on its first drive. Quarterback Vinnie Nicita connected with Kevin Nathanson and the senior running back out ran all defenders down the left sideline into the endzone. The touchdown was called back for holding, but on that same drive, Michael Amicucci blasted through the line and ran one in from 35 yards out. The extra point was blocked.
On the first play of the second quarter, Harrison’s Ryan Knox sacked Rye quarterback Andrew Livingstone, causing Livingstone to fumble. Harrison’s Charlie Credendino jumped on the loose ball. On the next play, Nathanson got his touchdown as he scored on a 33-yard run. Nicita passed to Robert Waldman for a two-point conversion to put Harrison up 14-0. In the third quarter, Amicucci ran in his second score of the game to put the Huskies up by three scores.
Defensively, the Huskies picked off two passes. Christian Santa Maria intercepted a pass on the first play after Amicucci’s second touchdown run and Cory Calcagni sealed the win with an interception in the fourth on Harrison’s 1-yard line.
“They prepared a good defensive game,” said Rye Head Coach Dino Garr. “When you make mistakes, it’s obviously a lot harder to win, but you have to give them credit for how they played. There’s a reason they’re 7-0.”
In addition to the turnovers, freshman Brendan Pyne recorded four sacks and chipped in another few tackles for loss or no gain at the line of scrimmage.
For the Huskies, they started to feel like they could turn around the Rye losing steak not on Saturday, but during the days leading to the game.
“The whole week we felt confident,” Nicita said. “We had a very loose atmosphere heading into the game and felt like if we played our game, we knew we could win.”
