Somers football gets serious with homecoming win over Rye

SOMERS, N.Y. - On Friday, Oct. 2, Somers burst onto the scoreboard when Dean Monachelli returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Not done, the sophomore made it 14-0 on Tristan Iglesias’ 15-yard touchdown pass.

With 90 seconds left in the second quarter, however, the game wasn’t quite halfway over. Rye scored 43 seconds later, and the receiving touchdown gave Coach Anthony DeMatteo some uncomfortable déjà vu.

“I was getting PTSD from last year,” he said.

With the potential for a similar comeback looming, DeMatteo got the elixir he needed.

The Tuskers quickly got down the field, and Danny Hershfield nailed a 32-yard field goal at the buzzer.

“That was massive,” said DeMatteo, and stealing back the momentum propelled the Tuskers to a 31-13 victory.

Back to the beginning, Monachelli went left, cut through the pile and set the tone.

“The return got the energy up,” said Cam Violante.

With the extra point, Somers led 7-0 after only 12 seconds, and the defense didn’t mind getting on the field a lot sooner than expected. After Rye managed a first down, the Garnets’ aerial attack fell flat. Two incomplete passes and a Hudson Ruby sack gave the ball back to the home team.

The return this time went to Luke Balancia, who bumped outside and set his team up at midfield. A keeper by Iglesias and two runs by Balancia had Somers with a first down at the 15, and an onslaught seemed in order.

Instead, Rye shut down the Somers attack, and the Garnets got the ball back on downs. Not for long. Three incompletions surrendered the ball again, but Somers was almost as fast in giving it back.

Getting just past midfield, the drive stalled, and Rye hoped the second quarter would be better. A couple of Johnny Shoemaker completions made for a first down at the Somers 32, and a game it could be.

That is, until pressure from Chris Fink had Shoemaker throwing the ball away on second down and then fumbling when Ryan Kieran knocked the quarterback to the ground.

Facing fourth-and-25, Rye punted, and Somers took over at the 28. With 4:59 left in the half, Iglesias rolled right to start the sequence and hit Bekim Sinanaj on the sideline for a 15-yard gain.

At the 43, Iglesias put in the legwork next. The quarterback kept the ball and gave his team a first down at the Rye 43. A 3-yard loss by Balancia on the next play put another drive in doubt, but the back more than redeemed himself on the next handoff.

He rumbled to the 15, and a play later, Monachelli took the tough call to go over the middle with his usual aplomb.

“I don’t care,” he assured, and Iglesias’ perfect strike in the end zone reiterated the point.

With only 90 seconds left in the half, the Somers juggernaut seemed unrelenting. Not so fast. Rye’s passing game suddenly came to life. Like last year, Shoemaker hit Shay Tuckman and Luke Denvir with precision strikes, and then Tuckman ran past the Somers defense for his quarterback’s loft into the end zone.

With the game at 14-7 and 47 seconds left, Somers didn’t let time cheat them. On the first play, Jayden Abruzese got to the sideline and wasn’t pulled down until going 33 yards to the Rye 35.

Iglesias followed with a keeper to the 19, and with 11 seconds left, the quarterback got his kicker in range with a run to the 15. The kicking team lined up with four seconds to go and sent Somers into the locker room with a 10-point lead.

Rye’s previous momentum definitely missed a beat, and Cole Kennedy’s first-down sack made sure of it.

“It’s great getting there. All your teammates are there, there’s no better feeling,” said the sophomore.

Carmello Gioffre’s sideline tackle brought out the punt team, and Somers took over 42 yards away. Initially, Balancia was set back 2 yards, but then bounced outside for 12.

Iglesias did most of the rest. He kept it twice, and this time Violante went over the middle for the touchdown. No fear for this Somers receiver, either. He chalked it up to preparation.

“We know what to do off the defense, and our coaches call the right plays,” said the Tusker.

At 6:34, Ryan McAuley’s sack on second down doomed another Rye drive, but Somers didn’t put it away. On came Hershfield, and he gave his team the next best thing. The kicker’s punt left Rye at the 7.

Three plays later, Kennedy’s sack made it fourth down at the 1. Rye’s punt wasn’t nearly as effective and traveled only 11 yards.

On the next play, Violante went over the middle, and the touchdown reception had the other receiver gushing over their quarterback.

“He can do it all — runner, passer, he’s a stud,” said Monachelli.

A late touchdown for Rye didn’t take any of the shine off the victory, and the win was no doubt extra special after what happened a year ago.

“We took them very serious — especially after what they did to us last year,” concluded Violante.