Rye Wins Cliff Clinton Classic Basketball Tournament

After beating Pleasantville 63-31 on Friday night and then Blind Brook 56-45 on Saturday afternoon, Rye has once again won their opening tournament.

Sleepy Hollow managed to beat Pleasantville in the consolation game on Saturday by 10 points. Senior F Dan Williams (who’s averaging 25 points per game through Sleepy Hollow’s first five games this year) was named to the all tournament team.

Junior Guards Quinn Kelly and Matthew Tepedino (Rye) were also named to the all tournament team as well as Chris Bucci from Blind Brook. Kelly made three after three in both games, leading Rye in scoring. Tepedino scored around 12 in each game. But even when they were missing, Rye managed to hold it together. At the start of the game vs Blind Brook, Senior Guard Thomas Flaherty scored 11 of the team’s first 12 points to keep the game tied despite Kelly and Tepedino being shut out to start the game.

Led by Senior F Oziah Deloatch, Tappan Zee made the Section Finals last year before getting beat by a Julian McGarvey full court shot (photo via lohud.com)

Next week, Rye plays two of the three best teams in Class A — Tappan Zee and Horace Greeley. Tappan Zee beat Greeley last week 49-46 on three last second free throws from Senior Guard Aidan Cunney. Rye’s been good for a couple of years now, and these two games will be the first tests of the long season. Rye’s playing the hardest schedule in Class A this year, so it’s pretty unlikely that they can get that number one seed for the second year in a row, but once the playoffs come, watch out.

Rye Basketball Kicks Off the Season This Friday

Rye will start the season with the annual Cliff Clinton Tournament this Friday at 7:00 PM. Last year, Rye beat Pleasantville 72-27 in the opening round and then beat Blind Brook 58-44 in the championship game. Rye once again will face Pleasantville in the opening round. Then, if they beat Pleasantville, they will play the winner of Sleepy Hollow vs Blind Brook on Saturday at 3:00 PM.

Sleepy Hollow lost a close game to Blind Brook last year, but they are the favorites this year. Senior Dan Williams on Sleepy Hollow is averaging 27 points per game through two games this season, and with the graduation of Blind Brook’s star guard Jake DiGiansanti, Sleepy Hollow will be the favorite to win.

Assistant Coach Andrew Spinelli (pictured middle) will no longer be on the bench with Rye after a career change (photo via Patch)

Barring injury or sickness, Rye will start the game against Pleasantville with G Troy Egan, G Matthew Tepedino, G Quinn Kelly, F Thomas Flaherty, and F Sam Poole. Sam Poole will be starting until Ryan Lopp comes back from a broken jaw that he suffered in the Section semifinal football game against Clarkstown South. Rye killed Pleasantville last year, but they should have a tougher challenge this Friday.

Come to The Cube to support the basketball team this Friday!

Rye-Harrison Part II

MUCH closer than last time. Rye beat Harrison 34-28 despite holding a 20 point lead earlier in the game. They were up 27-7 at halftime. OL Jack Iuliano simply said, “Harrison played that second half like their lives depended on it… If we play Clarkstown South with that kind of energy, we’ll blow them out.”

Declan ran for FOUR touchdowns. (photo via LoHud.com)

Harrison was an onside kick away from having a chance to upset the heavily favored Garnets. Declan Lavelle managed to have just as good as game as he did last week, and he was voted a nominee for Lohud player of the week. Declan threw for 238 yards and a touchdown, but managed to add 125 more yards and 4 (!) touchdowns on the ground. The last one ended up being vital to Rye’s win. Basketball star Matthew Tepedino had 138 yards and a touchdown receiving.

4 seeded Rye will play 5 seed Nyack at home on Friday, October 19.

Rye Romps Harrison 41-14

Rye – 44, Harrison – 42. Rye beat rival Harrison for the ninth time in the past ten years last weekend and now have an all time series record of 44-42-3.

Rye’s only loss this season came to the top-seeded Clarkstown South Vikings, who Rye could potentially (and probably will) face in the playoffs (photo via Tania Saviyan/ The Journal News)

Before the game, OL Jack Iuliano won the Chris Mello scholarship. He will play football in college, he’s deciding between Princeton and Penn.

Rye, the heavy favorites, started out quick, jumping to a 21-0 lead. On the second play from scrimmage, junior Quinn Kelly caught a thirty yard touchdown. Kelly then intercepted a pass from Harrison quarterback Frank Nannarielo. Rye marched back down the field and junior quarterback Declan Lavelle completed a 33 yard touchdown pass to senior Chad Antico. After that, the game was pretty much over. Antico caught another touchdown pass in the corner of the endzone. Brendan Lavelle ran for two touchdowns and suddenly, Rye was up 41-14.

Declan Lavelle played his best game of the season, he completed 17 of 25 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 92 yards on the ground. Coincidentally, Rye will face Harrison again this weekend at home in the playoffs.

Rye Hockey Season Update

The Rye Varsity Hockey team currently holds a 7-11 record, and has faced plenty of ups and downs this year, but hopes to continue its recent stretch of team-oriented play and overall success. The team’s co-managers, Andrés Buenahora and John Goldszer film games throughout the season to identify specific strengths and weaknesses that can contribute to the team’s success as a whole. Last year’s Garnets finished the season with a 10-12 record, ultimately losing in the second round of the playoffs to Pelham. This season’s roster includes notable players such as Captain and defensive star, Seamus Carol, sophomore goalie Peter Patouhas, senior Cameron DiEdwards, and Juniors Alex Noga and Connor O’Brien. 

Rye’s Alex Noga (left) battling for the puck with Pelham’s Drew Montanarella (right)

Others such as Max Khale, Johnny Finnegan, and Chris Meyers are secondary options and very skilled players that the team has looked to for significant contributions throughout the season. Unfortunately, this year’s team has dealt with an abundance of injuries from Connor O’Brien to Jack Lynch to Jason Luci. The Garnets are comprised of a less experienced core than in past years but have a ton of potential and young talent to build upon, such as Sophomores Declan Lavelle and Sasha Vasyuta. Coach Peter Thomas noted that “we are a younger team than we have been in a long time but we are confident in our players’ ability to step into important roles for our team to be successful.” The team’s biggest win this year was a matchup against John Jay at home; the Garnets ultimately won 6-3, which signified the optimism and excitement that many Rye Hockey fans share for the future of the Garnet’s hockey program. For example, Claire Dailey remarks “I love going to the Rye Hockey games and seeing Chris Meyers play!” The team’s consistent improvement throughout the season exemplifies the level of perseverance and talent that the Garnets play with. As Johnny Cronin puts it “The Hockey team has great depth and every kid on the team can step up in big moments.” As the team heads into their last stretch of games and prepares for the playoffs, Junior Alex Noga explained “I think we struggled early in the season but it’s good to get that out of the way early rather than later in the season, so I definitely like where we are as a team right now and I really like our chances going into the playoffs.” As the season progresses, Rye’s Varsity Hockey team will hope to continue their strong play and make a deep run in the playoffs. 

Declan Lavelle celebrating after a made goal

Rye Wins Mamaroneck’s Tiger Tournament

After beating Mamaroneck 53-34 in the first round of the Tigers’ home tournament, Rye beat Hamilton 43-33 to improve to 12-0 on the season. After graduating 4 senior starters last year, including Charlie Nagle, Rye was not supposed to be this good. In fact, Mamaroneck chose to play Rye in the opening round of the Tiger Tournament over Hamilton and Port Chester because they were under the impression that Rye was going to be terrible this year. That was a mistake. Mamaroneck did end up beating Port Chester 81-19 in the consolation game, but anything except for a title in your home tournament is a loss.

Junior Jack Neave throws up a half-court shot just before halftime. (photo via Lohud)

Against Mamaroneck, Rye started out very slow offensively, managing just four points in the first quarter. At the half, the two teams were locked in a 14-14 defensive game. In the third quarter, however, Rye began to develop a lead after senior AJ Thompson and sophomore Matthew Tepedino had huge second half’s. The press that Mamaroneck began to run was broken easily, leading to three or four wide open layups for the sophomore, and Thompson knocked down a couple of threes to increase the lead. Tepedino finished with 16 points and Thompson with 12. On a night where Rye’s leading scorer sophomore Quinn Kelly didn’t score much — only 4 points — the rest of the team managed to pick it up and win by 19 points to a very good Mamaroneck team.

The next day, Rye beat Hamilton by 10 in another defensive battle. Tepedino added another 12 points and senior Max Samberg grabbed 11 rebounds. The game was relatively close throughout, but Rye dictated the tempo of the game and Hamilton wasn’t able to get any offense working. Rye missed a lot of open shots from three and in the paint, but their defense held Hamilton to only 33 points, half of their season average.

Senior Will Tepedino added a huge defensive boost to the undefeated Garnets. (photo via Lohud)

Matthew Tepedino was named MVP of the tournament and AJ Thompson was named to the all-tournament team. Rye plays Byram Hills and senior Skylar Sinon on Wednesday at Byram Hills in their toughest game of the year so far. Their 12-0 record will be tested, but Rye has the defense and three point shooting ability to beat any team in the state.

Rye Girls Basketball Preview

The High School Basketball Season is upon us and the Garnets Girls Basketball Team has a competitive but exciting schedule ahead.

Coached by fifth season Head Coach Dennis Hurlie and Assistant Coach Joe Carlucci, the Garnets have experienced great success in the past- including reigning as the Section 1A  Champions in the 2015-2016 seasons.

Last year’s team, despite experiencing several key injuries, went 12-10 and fell just one game short of reaching the County Center semifinals.

After losing four seniors from last years team, the Garnets are a very young team with four new players and eight returning players.

The team has three veteran senior captains, Margaret Mitchell, Ellie Dailey and Hannah Mullaly, who are excited to lead during their final high school season.  

The new members to the varsity squad are Junior Ashley Palermo, Junior Maddie Frielich, Freshman Ava Greto and Freshman Amanda Latkany. The six returning teammates are Juniors Niamh Carty, Claire Dailey, Bela Krslovic, Julia Bateman, and Sophomores Teaghan Flaherty and Allie Depauw.

The team has been working hard, practicing and scrimmaging since November 6, preparing for the season and the chance to win the coveted Section I Gold Ball.

The Garnets are currently 3-1 at the start of their season, with one loss to John Jay Cross River and 3 wins against Early College, East Ramapo High School and Greenwich High School. They won the Rye Rotary Tournament on Monday night.

The Rye Girls Varsity Team will face off against some very talented teams and players, several whom are Division 1 scholarship commits.  

The Garnets welcome the competitive and challenging schedule ahead and remain focused on playing hard and working together as a team to return the Section 1A Gold Ball back where it belongs – in the halls of Rye High School.

Come support the team! They play Nyack High school away at 6:1 P.M. on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 and Fox Lane at home on Friday, December 22, 2017 at 5:00 P.M.