Good morning, subscribers. 🏈 It’s Friday, Oct. 24. The postseason path is set for Rye’s fall sports teams — except for football. One regular-season game remains on the schedule for the unbeaten Garnets. And it’s the biggest of the year.

The Rye-Harrison border war is simply called “The Game” for a reason. On Saturday afternoon, the undefeated Garnets (7-0) travel to Harrison (5-2) for the 98th installment of the storied rivalry.

Let’s go “Between the Lines” for a special “Game” edition.

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

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Preview: Time to Play ‘The Game’

One game stands between Rye and a perfect regular season. But it’s not just a game — it’s The Game.

The Rye-Harrison rivalry dates back to 1929, with 97 matchups that have had their share of intense moments. So much so that Rye athletic director Susan Reid Dullea wrote a letter this week reminding fans to practice good sportsmanship.

“We ask for your assistance and cooperation to help uphold and maintain the great tradition of competition and sportsmanship that is a hallmark of this storied rivalry,” the letter said.

The 98th installment kicks off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Harrison’s McGillicuddy Stadium. For Rye, a win would cap an unblemished regular season and send the Garnets into the playoffs with a 0 in the loss column.

Meanwhile, Harrison gets the chance to play spoiler. And in this rivalry, that’s as strong a motivator as any.

Ian Colalucci, our sportswriter and resident Rye football historian, dug deep into the record books to illustrate what’s on the line Saturday.

First, a look at some recent Rye-Harrison history:

Rye has owned the rivalry of late. The Garnets went 12-1 vs. Harrison in the 2010s and 3-2 thus far in the 2020s. That 15-year surge swung the overall series in Rye’s favor.

The Garnets now hold a 50-44-3 all-time advantage.

The points have piled up over the decades. Altogether, Rye has scored a total of 1,458 points to Harrison’s 1,270. Yet, more than one-third of the 97 meetings have been shutouts. Harrison has blanked Rye 18 times, and last season, the Garnets shut Harrison out for the 17th time, 24-0.

If Rye is able to hold Harrison scoreless again Saturday, it would be the first instance of back-to-back Garnet shutouts since 1954. While that would be icing on the cake, the Garnets would likely be satisfied by simply winning.

A victory would be Rye’s 51st all-time against Harrison, one short of the school’s most against any opponent. (Rye has beaten Eastchester 52 times.) It would also mark the Garnets’ first back-to-back wins in the rivalry since 2021.

The postseason kicks off next week, and the stakes will ramp up from there.

Until then, let’s enjoy a matchup that has community bragging rights, and so much more, on the line.

Weather Report: The Weather Channel forecast for Saturday afternoon in Harrison is 56 degrees at kickoff with partly cloudy skies. 🌤️

Check out the weekend weather forecast for Rye here.

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Performer of the Week: Phoebe Greto

🏐 Congrats to Phoebe Greto — winner of the Sportech Performer of the Week.

Greto, one of seven Garnets honored on senior night, added a season-best 18 kills to her team-high total against Eastchester.

As a result of work being done on the Rye High School gym floor, Rye played just six home matches this season. The team won all six, dropping just one set in the match against Eastchester.

After the Eagles evened the score at one set apiece, Greto helped the Garnets quickly reclaim control for a 25-22, 23-25, 25-18, 25-13 victory in one of her final appearances on Rye’s home court.

There will be more to come, as Rye enters next week’s section playoffs as one of the favorites.

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Game of the Week: Head of the Pack☝️

⚽ With a 1-1 tie on senior night against Pleasantville, the Rye boys soccer team clinched the league championship over the Panthers, who finished second. Eddy Kehoe, one of eight Garnet seniors playing his final regular-season home game, scored his first varsity goal, and it was a huge one.

Pleasantville took a 1-0 lead after a scoreless first half. Then, on a cross from senior Lex Cox, a Kehoe header tied the game.

“We needed that goal to clinch the league title,” said Rye coach Jared Small. “In the balance of the second half, we felt that we were inches away on several occasions from adding that second goal. Ultimately, the draw was a fair result on the night and with it, we earned a league championship.”

Rye (12-1-3) then beat Keio Academy 2-1 in the regular-season finale Saturday to push its unbeaten streak to 11 and enter the Section 1 Class A playoffs as the No. 1 overall seed. The Garnets open the postseason tonight against 16th-seeded Pelham.

This Week’s Rye Record: 9-0-1

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