Rye quarterback Charlie Brady rushed for more than 230 yards and five touchdowns in his first career start, leading the Garnets (1-0) to a 39-21 win over Cornwall (0-1) on Friday night in a rematch of last year’s state semifinal.

Junior Sage Caesar, also making his first career start at quarterback, kept the Dragons competitive in the first half with two passing touchdowns.

“The feeling is amazing. I know we didn’t have the execution we wanted, but the feeling was great,” Caesar said. “I think we had a lot of great plays, but we have a lot of stuff to work on, and we’ll come back stronger.”
Junior defensive end and tight end Quadir Truluck set the tone early with a physical block that knocked a Rye defender off his feet on Cornwall’s first offensive play.

Rye struck first, marching 88 yards for a rushing touchdown from Jagger Fenton. Junior defensive tackle Justen Dume shed a blocker to deflect the extra-point attempt, keeping the score at 6-0.

Cornwall answered by leaning on its run game. Senior Zaire Owens and junior Michael Cooper each moved the chains on the ground, and Caesar escaped pressure to convert a key third down, scrambling to Rye’s 25-yard line. Cooper capped the drive with a touchdown on a screen pass to open the second quarter, giving Cornwall its only lead of the game.

Brady answered right back, breaking off his longest touchdown run of the night. Rye’s two-point conversion attempt failed. Brady added a second rushing touchdown before halftime, surpassing 100 yards rushing in the opening two quarters alone.

Cornwall’s defense settled in during the second quarter. Junior Lekeaka Fonkem nearly intercepted a deep pass, and Truluck forced a fumble that gave the Dragons a chance to score before the break. Senior captain Matthew Breheny, a 6-foot-4 receiver, hauled in a contested catch in the back of the end zone for a touchdown, cutting Rye’s lead to 19-14 at halftime.

“It’s also my first touch of my career, so it actually feels great to have it,” Breheny said. “We couldn’t finish, but that moment was big for me, coming back right before halftime and getting the momentum back for that time. It was amazing.”

Rye took control in the second half. Brady scored his third rushing touchdown on a third-and-long conversion, and the Garnets added two more touchdowns — one coming off a Caesar strip-sack turnover — to pull away. Cornwall’s lone second-half score came in the final minute, setting the final margin at 39-21.

Truluck recorded a fourth-quarter sack, and Owens and freshman Aidan Russo each contributed solid runs behind Cooper.

“He’s a heck of an athlete, and he got loose quite a bit. We did not wrap up or finish. Definitely something we’ve got to work on in the future,” Cornwall head coach Kevin Arduino said. “We had some communication issues on both sides of the ball. That’s something we have to work on and have better execution.”

“I showed up a lot on defense, and our offense played pretty well,” Breheny said. “We just got to finish our plays and honestly just push through this.”

Cornwall opens its home schedule against Middletown on Sept. 10.