Pearl River Football to Host Rye In Playoff Opener

Pearl River's season-opening six-game winning streak earned the Pirates the No. 2 seed on the Section 1 Class A football playoffs.

The Pirates (6-1) will open at home Thursday, Oct. 27 against the Rye Garnets (4-3), who roll into the playoffs on a four-game winning streak after losing their first three contests of the season. The game time will be determined Monday morning. Pearl River does not have lights and the Pirates have not started a home game later than 3:30 p.m. this season.

"They are very well coached," Michael said. "They picked a perfect time to get hot. They are riding a wave of momentum into the playoffs. After an 0-3 start, they could have hung their heads, but instead they kept finding ways to win."

Pearl River will try to regain its momentum after suffering its first loss of the season Saturday, a 37-6 defeat at Bronxville, the defending State Class C champions.

"I used them to show that that's how a state championship-caliber footbal team is and how they play and how they hit," Michael said. "And how they handled themselves when things got tough. Just to see a team like that was an eye-opener. If we expect to move on to the later rounds of the playoffs, we have to elevate our game quickly.

"We can't afford to make mistakes or come out flat like we did last night."