Good morning on a special Black Friday. 🏈 It’s Nov. 27 and you won’t find many deals better than this one: After beating the Section 9 champions handily last week, Rye faces the Section 9 runner-up in tonight’s state semifinals.

With yesterday’s Thanksgiving turkey fully digested, the Garnets kick off against Cornwall Central at 6 p.m. in Middletown. Rye — four-time Class B state champions — is two wins away from its first Class A title.

Let’s go “Between the Lines” for a look at tonight’s state semifinal showdown.

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

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Gridiron Preview: Garnet & Black Friday

After dismantling previously unbeaten Minisink Valley, Rye (12-0) is the only undefeated team left standing in Class A. The three teams joining the Garnets in the state semifinals each have two losses, including tonight’s opponent, Cornwall Central (9-2).

There’s typically not much familiarity at this point, as the four remaining teams are spread far and wide across the state. But that’s not the case tonight. Rye has played Cornwall Central twice in the past six seasons, a 41-22 win in 2022 and a 45-34 loss in the 2019 Class A state semifinals.

Perhaps a better indicator of how tonight’s game will unfold, Cornwall Central lost to Minisink Valley 24-21 in the section championship just two weeks ago. The Dragons earned a spot in the Class A tournament with an at-large bid and advanced to the semifinals with a thrilling, 34-28 win against Niskayuna last Friday.

Rye’s path to the semifinals was less suspenseful. The Garnets scored the game’s first six touchdowns for a 42-14 blowout win — their 10th straight outing with 35-plus points.

Rye senior Henry Shoemaker has the most receiving yards in New York state (1,548) and ranks fourth all time. He needs just 64 more yards to break the single-season section record.

Meanwhile, senior Carson Miller leads all quarterbacks in the state with 2,962 passing yards, just 67 yards short of the Section 1 record.

Powered by the offensive duo — plus standouts like senior Charlie Garnett and junior Luke Denvir, who each scored two touchdowns last Friday — Rye has racked up more than 500 points this season and is one win away from tying the school-best 13-0 record set by the 2008 state championship squad.

“We’re just taking things one game at a time,” Denvir said. “We’re obviously thinking about the dome, but we need to keep winning.”

With a victory tonight, Rye will advance to the state championship next Friday in Syracuse’s JMA Wireless Dome, against either Section 5 champion Brighton (10-2) or Section 4 champion Union-Endicott (9-2).

Weather Report: The Weather Channel forecast for kickoff tonight in Middletown is 36 degrees with cloudy skies. ☁️

Check out the weekend weather forecast for Rye here.

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Performer of the Week: Charlie Garnett

🏈 Congrats to Charlie Garnett — winner of the Sportech Performer of the Week.

When Rye hands the ball to its senior running back, the play often ends with him handing the ball to the ref.

In last Friday’s rout of Minisink Valley, Garnett scored two first-half touchdowns from 5 and 30 yards out to give Rye a 21-0 lead.

For the season, Garnett has scored 23 times, ranking 15th in the state (fourth-most in Class A and second-most in Section 1).

He also had 88 rushing yards against the Warriors, pushing him past the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Garnett will look to add to those totals with two potential games remaining at Rye, before playing football next season for the University of Chicago.

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