[POLL] Rye-Harrison Preview: Will This Be The Year?

Eight years of heartache ride on the backs of the Harrison football team entering Saturday's game against Rye. The Huskies haven’t beaten the Rye Garnets since 2002, so the number one question I have been hearing from both towns is: “Will this be the year?”

Unfortunately for Husky fans, the answer isn’t that simple.

Harrison is 3-2 and coming off of their most impressive victory of the season at Ossining. Rye is 2-3 after cruising to an easy victory last week over Roosevelt. But when it comes to “The Game” you can throw the records out the door. Regardless of wins and losses, whoever comes out on top in this game will consider their season a very successful one.

Conner Eck drove the Garnets down the field to setup a last-second touchdown pass to Brian Pickup during last year's game, then Eck scrambled into the end zone for two points to over Harrison. Eck and Pickup are both in college now, as is the majority of the Husky defense that took Harrison to the state championship game last year. But don’t worry—both teams remember exactly what happened during last season's game.

“There is nothing to say,” Harrison tackle Charlie Credendino said. “We all know who it is, and we’re coming. That’s all I’m going to say."

Without Eck and Pickup this season Rye got off to their first 0-3 start in recent memory. The Garnets couldn’t keep starting quarterback and team captain Jake Meyerson on the field and struggled to keep the opposition out of the end zone. But the last two weeks Rye has been much improved. With Meyerson now playing running back and freshman Andrew Livingston under center, the Garnets have won their last two games by a combined score of 60-7.

Harrison’s season has been more of a roller-coaster ride, as the Huskies have alternated wins and loses throughout the first five games of the year. Looking at this weekend, the games that should be taken into account are the last two Harrison played, against John Jay and at Ossining.

Both John Jay and Ossining feature pass-happy offenses similar to Rye’s, and the Huskies have historically struggled in the secondary. In the John Jay game, the Harrison defense looked dismal against the Indians in the second half and it cost them the game, conversely the Huskies dominated the Ossining game and kept Bucknell-bound quarterback Brian Connolly in check.

The difference?

Pressure. Against John Jay, Harrison failed to penetrate the offensive line and it allowed the Indian passing attack plenty of time to develop. On the other hand, the Ossining defense used multiple offensive linemen to try and control Credendino, which allowed Alex Beckett and Kevin Doyle to get into the backfield virtually untouched. The Husky secondary played its best game of the year against Ossining, as the hard-hitting tandem of Bobby Scatenato and Robert Waldman broke up several passes and got to receivers before they could make a move. Both Waldman and Scatenato will need to come up big if Harrison wants to stop Livingston’s passing game.

For Rye, Meyerson joining fellow captain Joe Simolacaj in the backfield has caused opposing defenses to cheat up a little more and defend against the run, something that has benefited Livingston so far. The Rye quarterback has solid receivers, a big tight end and plenty of options in the backfield to play with. If Harrison doesn’t get pressure on the freshman early, it could be a long day for the Huskies.

Part of the reason for Harrison's recent struggles in this game has been Rye's ability to defend the triple-option. Will Hilliard has run rampant on opposing defenses since being activated to play this season, but Hilliard’s style of running is based on speed and elusiveness, so if the senior takes a few early hits Harrison could find themselves leaning heavily on a pair of sophomore running backs.

“We always work hard in practice, we are going to work just as hard as we always do,” Hilliard said. “We are just going to play our hearts out.”

For the first time in a long time Harrison is without a bruising runner in the backfield. Many of the short yardage runs have been going to quarterback Vinnie Nicita Jr. If the Huskies can push the Garnets off the line of scrimmage, Harrison’s triple-option will be a success. If Rye can get to Nicita, watch for fumbles in the backfield on pitches and handoffs.

A huge advantage for the Huskies lies in senior kicker Roberto Bruno. Bruno missed a long field goal that would have won this game for Harrison as time expired last season. This year he has been a big weapon for Harrison, as he often pins the opposition back in their own territory on kicks and punts. Bruno has only missed a 45-yard attempt this year on a windy cold night, but has been consistent throughout the year.

As always, turnovers will critical this weekend. Harrison turned the ball over on the three-yard line last week, but Ossining couldn’t capitalize. Rye had issues keeping the ball early in the year, but has pulled things together during the last two weeks.

My predication is that this game will be like any other between these two rivals. It will be hard-hitting, exciting and go down to the final minutes of the game. Harrison wins 20-17. Now the only question is: Who is jumping in the duck pond with me?

I will be tweeting live from the sideline during the game so follow me @MCharlesRinaldi.