The New Rochelle football team didn’t get to run a ton of plays in the first quarter of their March 26 game against Yonkers, but as it turns out they didn’t really need to. Taking the field for the second time this season on Friday night, it took the Huguenots just four plays from scrimmage to pile on 23 unanswered points, as they earned a decisive 44-7 win against the Force.
Collin Jennings led the way for the Huguenots, ripping off three first-half touchdown runs, but first year head coach Ray Rhett—who guided the Huguenots to a state title last year after taking over following the dismissal of longtime coach Lou DiRienzo–said that the explosiveness of his skilled players would be useless if not for the push generated up front by the New Rochelle offensive line.
“I say it all the time to these guys, line play is the most important thing and we are going to go as far as the line goes,” Rhett said. “If they’re executing and they’re following their assignments, we have the backs who can make things happen.”
Defensively, the Huguenots continued their strong play, keeping the Force out of the endzone until Yonkers was able to drive for a score against the Huguenots’ reserves in the second half. Through the first two games of the season, New Rochelle has outscored its opponents 62-7.
“We played well, but there were still some mistakes,” Rhett said. “We can get a lot better, we can improve on our play so far.”
One area where Rhett said he doesn’t need to see improvement, however, is the mental toughness of his team, which has carried the group through the beginning of a challenging season. That was especially apparent during a tough practice week that saw the head coach lose his uncle to complications from Covid-19.
“These kids literally carried me through the week,” Rhett said. “It’s a phenomenal group of seniors and I’m just so happy that they have been able to get these games in.”
The Huguenots will look to extend their winning streak—which stretches back to 2018—on April 3 when they travel to Mamaroneck to square off against the Tigers. Mamaroneck earned an impressive week one win over White Plains before falling to the Newburgh Free Academy 35-24 on March 28.
“We take each day, each practice as a blessing because any time you can get people to the field and have a celebration for anything good, it’s a blessing,” Rhett said. “We all know that there’s always the chance that you’ll get that call, learn you’ll have to quarantine for two weeks, and it can all just be taken away like that.”
Contact: sports@hometwn.com
