Good morning. 🏒🏀 It’s Friday, Jan. 9. Unlike college football, whose playoff now extends months after the regular season ends, high school sports don’t pit regional champions against each other to see how they fare at the national level.

For many reasons, when Rye’s football and girls soccer teams emerged undefeated against all challengers in New York’s Class A, the postseason ended there, with the ultimate achievement of being crowned state champions.

However, in recent weeks, some of the Garnets’ winning programs have ventured beyond the competition against similar-sized schools in New York’s Section 1 to see how they stack up against schools that are both larger and farther away.

Rich Savage, head coach of the state champion girls soccer team, has already been named coach of the year for the entire region (which includes all New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania high schools). He’s in the running for national coach of the year honors next week.

Meanwhile, girls basketball, another undefeated Garnet squad, won a tournament in Florida that included opponents from seven different states. Hockey is bound for the Canadian border for the second time this weekend after winning a pre-holiday tournament up north. And boys basketball punched above its weight class, beating a Class AAA opponent that triples Rye High School’s enrollment.

Let’s go “Between the Lines” to see what challenges the Garnets will take on next.

“Between the Lines” is curated by sports editor Chris Marshall.

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A Class of Their Own

For the second year in a row, Rye girls basketball is off to an 11-0 start. In winning the section championship last March, the Garnets staked their claim as the region’s best in Class AA.

They’re making an early case again this year, beating Westlake 57-38 on Saturday at Westchester County Center — the same arena where they claimed the 2025 section title — then adding a stifling 45-16 victory Wednesday at Ardsley.

Before flipping the calendar to 2026, the defending league and section champions added one more tournament title to their resume. Rye beat Keyser (W.V.) 45-40 on New Year’s Eve in the championship of the KSA Events Holiday Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla.

With three wins in three days, the Garnets won a bracket that also included teams from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Florida. Senior Phoebe Greto was named tournament MVP with 55 points in the three games, including 18 in the championship.

Upon returning to New York, Greto scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Westlake, surpassing the 1,000-point mark for her four-year career.

After picking up 10 of their 11 wins away from home this season, the Garnets’ next four games are at Rye High School. The chance to finally play at home again won’t make the stretch easy, as the first three opponents are all well above .500.

Rye plays Clarkstown South (6-3) on Monday and Mahopac (7-2) on Wednesday before what may be the toughest test of the season, hosting defending Class AAA state champion Albertus Magnus (7-2) next Saturday.

Weather Report: Check out the weekend weather forecast for Rye here.

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Performer of the Week: Carson Miller 💪

🏀 Congrats to Carson Miller — winner of the Sportech Performer of the Week.

With an enrollment of just over 3,000 students, New Rochelle High School is a Class AAA school. Rye High School, with a 2025-26 enrollment of approximately 900, is a Class AA school.

While the higher classification doesn’t always mean better, when Rye (4-2) beats a team with the Westchester County hoops pedigree of New Rochelle (7-3), it’s a big deal.

Back in action after a lengthy holiday break, the Garnets took down the Huguenots 50-41 on Tuesday at home, thanks to a fiery defensive effort and a breakout, 21-point game by Miller. The three-sport, senior star put on a basketball clinic with inspired pressing defense, great fast-break passing, and a couple of spectacular finishes at the rim.

This was the beginning of the meat-and-potatoes portion of Rye’s season, with 15 games scheduled in the next six weeks. Next up is a home game at 7 tonight against Byram Hills.

— By Steven Kearney

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Game of the Week: Heated Rivalry 🥵

🏒 Even overtime couldn’t resolve the latest installment of the long-standing rivalry between Rye and Pelham. The teams skated to a 2-2 tie Wednesday night at Playland. 

“Pelham’s first goal early in that first period was a bit of a slap in the face for us,” said Rye coach Peter Thomas. “I know this one didn’t turn out exactly how we planned, but I was pretty happy with the way our boys responded the rest of the way.”

Rye sophomore Colin Nigro scored the equalizer with just over six minutes to play in the first period. Early in the third period, captain Ryan Draddy put Rye ahead 2-1, thanks to assists from fellow seniors Jamie Morris and Trevor Dolan. But 10 minutes later, with 4:18 left in the third, Pelham tied the game at 2-2. 

For the second time in a month, Rye (5-1-1) is busing nearly six hours north for a two-game road trip, playing tonight at Massena and Saturday at Canton.

— By Steven Kearney

This Week’s Rye Record: 3-0-1

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