It has been a rough 10 years for the Huskies, but that is now over. Over the past decade, the Harrison football team has not had much success. Before this season it had been 10 years since the Huskies beat Rye, and 10 years since they won a home playoff game. The drought finally ended this year when the Huskies beat Rye on their home field and they beat Mahopac in the first round of the playoffs at home. The Huskies were also able to finish at the top of their league, but had a tough loss in the semi-finals against a strong Somers team. This loss does not take away from the incredible season the Huskies had and one to be proud of.

Beating Rye is one of the main goals the Huskies have every season. This rivalry started back in 1929 and has been a fairly even rivalry up until the 21st century. Both teams have gone on streaks against each other, Rye had the 80’s winning 6 out of 7 from 1983 to 1990. Harrison had a streak during the 90’s as Rye only won one game then. Once the 2000s hit and on it has been all Rye. Before this season Rye has won 21 of their last 22 matchups and had a 10 game winning streak. That record snapped this year when Harrison beat them 22-7 which is one of the many accomplishments Harrison had this season.

I talked with Coach Rinello and he said he is more than happy about the season but he wasn’t surprised with all the work they put in. Coach has been coaching for 30 years, 18 at Harrison, he’s been a part of state championship teams and teams with lots of talent. Even with all the teams he’s coached he still thinks this team is a top 10 team he’s coached in terms of love for each other and the bond this team has. He said they’ve been with each other for so long, they are always hanging out and it’s like a family. I asked coach what he thinks about next season with all the seniors being gone and he said “skies the limit”. He feels that this year “paved the road for the hard work and dedication” For the coming years. He thinks that this year will have a ripple effect on years to come, now the juniors and sophomores see what will happen when you put in the hard work.

Sophomore running back and cornerback Joe Crupi thinks even with the seniors being gone next year they will still be a very good team. He has some worries with the offensive linemen with all the seniors leaving saying “the offensive and defensive line will need some help.” Despite this, he still has tons of confidence in the skilled positions and thinks they will improve even more from already being a top group in the league. 

When talking to some seniors, one of them being outside linebacker Aaron Malen, he was very happy with how the season went and it’s one he won’t forget. Malen talked about their accomplishments with beating Rye, winning a playoff game and he said they left it all on the field against Somers. He thinks there is a “Bright future for this program.” Malen talked about the impact this team has had on him, he said it taught him lessons and he made friendships he’ll have forever. I also talked with senior captain Peter Rinello, he said the season didn’t end how they wanted with the loss to Somers but he is satisfied with how the team worked and played together. He’s happy with all they accomplished. When he talked about the impact the team has had on him he said it’s an “interesting experience” and a “new type of family”,  a brotherhood he’ll have for life.

After talking with some players and coach Rinello, they make it convincing that this year wasn’t a fluke and how they expect next season to be nothing less than this one. They are losing some big impact players with the Seniors graduating but they still have lots of talent and are looking like they can have another very successful season.