Good morning, subscribers. 🏈 It’s Friday, Sept. 12 and its Game Day in Rye — that means it’s time to go “Between the Lines.“

The 2025 Rye football campaign kicked off with a bit of a soft opening last week, a historic 63-20 drubbing of Middletown in “Week 0.” Tonight, the season begins in earnest.

Somers-Rye has become one of Westchester’s top high school football rivalries. The teams square off once again tonight in Nugent Stadium. For a mid-September matchup, there’s a lot at stake.

Will the Garnets start a new streak today? Let’s kick off another edition of The Record’s new sports newsletter, “Between the Lines.”

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

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Preview: September Showdown

After winning 21 of their past 22 games, the Garnets don’t have many losing streaks to speak of. The series against Somers is the lone exception.

Rye has lost four straight to the Tuskers, the latest a 2024 section title game defeat that abruptly ended the Garnets’ bid to repeat as state champions. The two teams meet again tonight at 7 p.m.

From a scheduling perspective, Rye didn’t have to wait long for a shot at revenge. The Garnets have played only one game since that loss — a 63-20 beatdown of Middletown last Friday — but the returning members of last year’s section runner-ups have had a bad taste in their mouths for nearly 10 months.

“I don’t have to tell you guys what’s next,” coach Dino Garr told his players shortly following last week’s win at Middletown. “We just have to stay ready and support each other.”

A day after Rye racked up its highest single-game point total in 20 years, Somers lost 37-7 to Catholic school powerhouse Iona Prep. That score likely says more about the Gaels’ strengths than the Tuskers’ shortcomings. Somers has won three straight Class A state titles and hasn’t lost to Rye since 2021.

The season is still young, but we’ll learn a lot about where Rye and Somers stack up as state title contenders tonight.

Weather Report: The Weather Channel forecast for Friday night in Rye is 70 degrees at kickoff with partly cloudy skies. 🌤️

Check out the forecast for the rest of the weekend’s games here.

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Performer of the Week: Beau Whaling 🏅

🏑 Congrats to Beau Whaling — winner of the Sportech Performer of the Week.

Rye field hockey won its first two games of the season by a combined score of 15-0, and Beau Whaling helped drive the offense.

The senior captain had a goal and three assists in an 8-0 season-opening win at Pelham, then scored a hat trick with another assist in a 7-0 defeat of Ursuline in Saturday’s home opener.

“Beau Whaling had a great game,” first-year coach Valerie Perkins said after her debut against Pelham. “The energy and preparation going into this game really showed … It was a great team win.”

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Game of the Week 🏆

🏐 After Rye’s volleyball team won the first two sets of its season opener Tuesday, Blind Brook showed why it won the Class B state title a season ago, roaring back to take set three.

But then, Rye made the proper adjustments — especially on defense — to close out the match in four sets, winning 25-19, 25-21, 16-25, 25-13.

“We’ve been saying for years that defense wins championships, and our defense performed beautifully today,” Jones said. “Our offense was good, but the defense won the game for us today, easily.”

Senior libero Emma Lunstead led Rye with 23 digs and five aces. Junior setter Amelie Modesto had 30 assists, five digs and three kills.

“I know that we have one of the best liberos in the section in Emma Lunstead. She was just outstanding,” Jones said. And Modesto: “Every coach comes up to me and says, ‘Wow, your setter is really good’ … We have a lot of talent.”

Other key contributors included junior setter Lexi Kessner (7 kills, 8 digs, 2 blocks, 3 aces), and senior middles Phoebe Greto (9 kills, 2 blocks) and Olivia Lewis (7 kills, 3 blocks, 1 ace, 1 dig).

-by Ariana Ottrando

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