Rye's defending state champion football team looks to rebound from its first loss in two years when it hosts Eastchester at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, at Nugent Stadium. The game streams live on SportsEngine Play.

The Garnets enter at 1-1 after a 35-28 road loss to Clarkstown South on Sept. 10 snapped a 15-game winning streak. That defeat was Rye's first regular-season setback since Sept. 22, 2023, according to the Rye Record.

Friday's game is the 68th renewal of a series that dates to the 1920s. Rye leads the all-time matchup 53-12-2, according to Steve Feeney, the longtime voice of Garnet football who publishes a preview column on MyRye.com. The two programs played each other every year without interruption from 1938 to 1987. Eastchester has beaten Rye only twice since 1984.

The Garnets dominated Eastchester in 2025, winning by 25 points in the regular season and 14 in the playoffs. But Rye's defense, which held opponents to 16.6 points per game last season, allowed 35 to Clarkstown South.

Head coach Dino Garr, in his 51st season with a state-record 375 career coaching wins, told MyRye.com on Sept. 11, after the Clarkstown South loss, that the team needed to clean up its play. "We made too many mistakes with missed tackles and penalties," Garr said. "We have to regroup and tie up all our loose ends on offense, defense, penalties, and tackling."

Senior quarterback Charlie Brady showed he can carry the offense in both games so far. He rushed for five touchdowns in a 39-21 season-opening win over Cornwall on Sept. 4 and threw four touchdown passes against Clarkstown South, including a 28-yard strike to senior captain Luke Denvir that tied the game in the fourth quarter.

Brady, Denvir, Jagger Fenton and Benji Kaplan are the four senior captains. All four started on last year's 14-0 squad that beat Brighton 28-14 for the program's fifth state title.

After Eastchester, Rye travels to Mount Vernon on Sept. 25, hosts Somers on Oct. 2 and welcomes archrival Harrison to Nugent Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 17.