High School Football

The playoffs are here and football is the hot topic on Newsday.com today.

In the Nassau Insider, Adam Ronis analyzes this Saturday's playoff matchups in each conference. Ronis also makes his picks. Click here to read it.

In the Suffolk Insider, Mitch Abramson writes about Deer Park senior fullback Mike Gimeli, who was born almost completely deaf. Read why Gimeli is the 'heart and soul' of the Deer Park team.

You can also read about the players of the week, and learn what the key numbers in high school football are from the past week.

And don't forget to vote in this week's poll. The question asks, who is the best lineman on Long Island? Click here to cast your vote.

LARGE SCHOOLS

Team (No. 1 votes) Rec Pts

1. Floyd (6) 7-0 60
2. Lawrence 7-0 48
3. St. Anthony’s 7-1 45
4. East Islip 7-0 44
5. Farmingdale 7-0 43
6. Longwood 6-1 27
7. Freeport 6-1 26
8. Garden City 6-1 15
9. Brentwood 5-2 11
10. Riverhead 5-2 9

Others receiving votes: Hewlett 2.

SMALL SCHOOLS

Team (No. 1 votes) Rec Pts

1. Islip (4) 7-0 58
2. Wantagh (2) 7-0 56
3. Seaford 7-0 46
4. Bethpage 6-1 40
5. Babylon 6-1 34
6. Rocky Point 5-2 25
7. Plainedge 5-2 16
8. Malverne 6-1 15
9. Hills West 5-2 14
10. Sayville 4-2 11

Others receiving votes: Mt. Sinai 6, Locust Valley 5, Westhampton 4.

Note: The committee of voters consists of Gregg Sarra, Andy Slawson, Jeff Gold, Jack White, Pete Blieberg and Kevin Hanifan.

BY JEFF GOLD

Exactly what are East Islip and Newfield supposed to do next week? The teams meet in an essentially meaningless game in the regular season final a week before they will meet again in the first round in the Suffolk Division II playoffs.

OK, I know the old clichés, “If they’re keeping score, it isn’t meaningless.” And East Islip certainly has its undefeated season to protect. But that being said, neither team can possibly use any play beyond the most basic ones it has in its playbook. Why risk giving your opponent an easy look at something you like to do? If anything, I would do the opposite, just to try to give the opponent a false scouting report.

I’ll be curious to find out if this game is played with the intensity of a regular-season game or if it will take on the feel of a glorified scrimmage with both teams refusing to do anything representative of their normal approach.

BY GREGG SARRA

Just got back from the Islip -- Hills West football game. Terrific game if you like power football and playing in the elements. Now I know why Islip is 7-0 and destined to finish the regular season with an 8-0 record. They have a great line!!

Islip dictated field position and moved the ball on methodical time-consuming drives. The Bucs are disciplined and play well together. This kid Malcolm Brown is an excellent running back and he had the key run in the game, a 30-yard cutback run to the Hills West 1 yard line setting up what proved to be the winning touchdown in the third quarter.

Now I have a better idea of why Islip has won five or six of their games by less than seven points. They play tight defense, rarely make mistakes on offense and they play together. There's nothing flashy, but who needs flashy, when you win. Brown is exceptional and pounded his way for over 100 yards tonight in severely adverse weather.

I had Hills West winning a close game in my picks. Islip was the better team. Impressive win for the Bucs.

Newsday high school football experts Gregg Sarra and Andy Slawson discuss this weekend's games. Click here to listen.

Gregg Sarra has made his picks for this week. Click here to read. And be sure to comment. Do you agree or disagree with Sarra?

BY GREGG SARRA

I've been asked repeatedly over the years to comment on the MaxPreps rankings. Are they legit? Are they accurate? Do you pay any attention to them?

The answers are simple, NO, NO and NO.

MaxPreps rankings are a complete joke. I know and understand that people are going to disagree with any ranking of any kind. It's based on opinion for the most part -- and we all have differing opinions on things. But don't publish a ranking that is completely embarassing. The credibility of the source is in question and now everyone can see that is what it is -- bogus.

Seriously, who from MaxPreps goes out and watches these teams? Who goes out and gathers the information to form some kind of logical order?

I don't read because I don't need MaxPreps. But John Moriello, the president of the New York State Sportswriters Association, recognized that in the MaxPreps rankings, 45 of the worst 46 high school football teams are from Long Island. LOL!!!

I've always steered clear of the rankings debate but after seeing MaxPreps, I'm left with little choice but to defend the quality of football on Long Island. First of all, did you ever watch an upstate football game? Rarely, and I mean rarely, can the upstate boys hang with Long Island. Of course, there are some strong teams upstate and inevitably there'd be some great games. But overall, it would be ugly. Comparably, Long Island to upstate is like Florida to Long Island in football talent -- and that's across the board. We are predominantly Large schools in the Long Island area.

Oh, and out of curiousity I've attended the state championships in the Carrier Dome and found that the Long Island championships draw thousands more people to the games. And it's not close as far as the interest factor. That's why Hans Wiederkehr and Pat Pizzarelli and the rest of the guys in charge on Long Island will never opt for the state championship format.

Would I like to see it? Sure, it'd be interesting, but not at the expense of the Long Island football championships.

Yeah, we have bad teams on Long Island, but not the bottom feeders in the state. And there's not a team in the state that can hang with Floyd in 2007 -- no way!!!

BY DARREN SANDS

Because of precautions related to a Sachem East football player who has a staph infection, the Sachem East football team participated in just a film session and did not take the field today, according to coach Brian Harvey.

"The school district has taken every precaution to ensure the safety of all of our athletes," Harvey said.

A memo from Sachem East principal John Aleksak said that the physical education and athletics area, including the weight and cardio room, wrestling mats, bathrooms and locker rooms would be disinfected beginning today through Thursday.

Sachem East is 2-4 in Suffolk Division I and is scheduled to play Bay Shore on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 2 p.m.

News side will have more on this story in tomorrow's paper, and presumably throughout the week.

There's plenty to read on Newsday.com today.

In Adam Ronis' Nassau Insider, Hempstead is winning again and the fans are coming back in droves. Click here to read that story.

In the Suffolk Insider, Islip takes a business-like approach to playing football. Mitch Abramson has that story. Click here to read it.

Power rankings, Newsday's top 10 polls, this weekend's schedule of games, and a question asking you to pick the best running back on Long Island are also available.

LARGE SCHOOLS

Team (No. 1 votes) Rec Pts

1. Floyd (6) 6-0 60
2. Lawrence 6-0 47
3. St. Anthony’s 6-1 46
4. Farmingdale 6-0 45
5. East Islip 6-0 40
6. Longwood 5-1 27
7. Freeport 5-1 29
8. Garden City 5-1 14
9. Brentwood 4-2 11
10. Riverhead 4-2 7
Others receiving votes: Hewlett 4.

SMALL SCHOOLS

Team (No. 1 votes) RecPts

1. Wantagh (4) 6-0 58
2. Islip (2) 6-0 56
3. Seaford 6-0 46
4. Bethpage 5-1 37
5. Hills West 5-1 32
6. Amityville 5-1 22
7. Mt. Sinai 5-1 21
7. Babylon 5-1 16
9. Malverne 5-1 6
10. Sayville 4-2 5
Others receiving votes: Plainedge 5, Locust Valley 3, Westhampton 1.

Note: The committee of voters consists of Gregg Sarra, Andy Slawson, Jeff Gold, Jack White, Pete Blieberg and Kevin Hanifan.

NASSAU

CONFERENCE I

Team W L PWR

Farmingdale 6-0 133.33
Freeport 5-1 125.00
Baldwin 4-2 110.20
Massapequa 3-3 110.00
Hempstead 5-1 106.87
East Meadow 3-3 105.00
Port Washington 4-2 101.87
Uniondale 3-3 98.53
Plainview JFK 4-2 98.53
Syosset 2-4 98.33
Oceanside 1-5 86.67
Hicksville 1-5 78.33
Valley Stream Central 0-6 75.20
Long Beach 1-5 73.53

CONFERENCE II

Team W L PWR

Lawrence 6-0 130.00
Garden City 5-1 120.00
Hewlett 5-1 115.20
Elmont 4-2 113.33
Calhoun 4-2 108.53
Carey 4-2 108.53
Mepham 3-3 101.67
MacArthur 2-4 98.33
Bellmore JFK 2-4 95.00
Jericho< 3-3 93.53
South Side 1-5 86.67
Division 2-4 81.87
Herricks 1-5 76.87
Great Neck South 0-6 71.87

CONFERENCE III

Team W L PWR

Bethpage 5-1 126.67
Wantagh 6-0 125.00
Clarke 4-2 118.33
Sewanhaka 4-2 116.67
Plainedge 4-2 111.67
New Hyde Park 4-2 101.67
Floral Park 4-2 100.20
Lynbrook 2-4 100.00
Glen Cove 3-3 95.20
Roslyn 2-4 90.20
West Hempstead 2-4 88.53
Island Trees< 1-5 83.53
Great Neck North 1-5 81.87
Westbury 0-6 61.87

CONFERENCE IV

Team W L PWR

Seaford 6-0 128.33
Malverne 5-1 121.67
East Rockaway 4-2 113.33
Locust Valley 5-1 111.87
Roosevelt 3-3 108.33
Valley Stream South 2-4 106.67
Oyster Bay 4-2 103.53
Manhasset 4-2 101.67
Cold Spring Harbor 2-4 93.33
Valley Stream North 3-3 91.87
Friends Academy 1-5 >86.87
North Shore 2-4 85.20
Mineola 1-5 81.87
Carle Place >0-6 66.87

SUFFOLK

DIVISION I

Team W L PWR

Floyd 6-0 146.67
Longwood 4-1 133.33
Brentwood 4-2 123.33
Whitman 4-2 113.53
Sachem North 3-3 113.33
Patchogue-Medford 3-3 111.67
Lindenhurst 3-3 108.33
Connetquot 3-3 106.67
Ward Melville 3-3 96.87
Northport 2-4 90.20
Sachem East 2-4 88.53
Bay Shore 2-4 88.53
Commack 2-4 85.20
Central Islip 0-6 65.20

DIVISION II

Team W L PWR

East Islip 6-0 140.00
Riverhead 4-2 123.30
West Islip 4-2 121.70
Newfield 4-2 115.00
West Babylon 3-3 111.70
North Babylon 3-3 110.00
Copiague 3-3 103.30
Smithtown West 2-4 96.70
Deer Park 3-3 93.30
Smithtown East 2-4 85.00
Centereach 1-5 81.70
Half Hollow Hills East 1-5 78.30

DIVISION III

Team W L PWR

Islip 5-0 133.30
Half Hollow Hills West 5-1 130.00
Sayville 4-2 123.50
Rocky Point 4-2 120.00
Huntington 3-2 113.50
Kings Park 3-3 103.30
Bellport 3-3 103.30
E Hampton/BH/Pier 2-3 98.50
Harborfields 2-4 98.50
Comsewogue 2-3 93.50
Hauppauge 0-6 76.90
Eastport-South Manor 1-5 66.90

DIVISION IV

Team W L PWR

Mount Sinai 5-1 135.00
Amityville 5-1 133.33
Babylon 131.67
Westhampton 4-2 123.33
Shoreham-W.River 3-3 111.67
Glenn 3-3 105.20
Southampton 3-3 105.00
Miller Place 3-3 103.53
Greenport/Southold 3-3 100.20
Hampton Bays 2-4 95.00
Mercy 3-3 93.53
Bayport-Blue Point 1-4 93.53
Port Jefferson 1-5 75.20
Center Moriches 0-5 65.20

CHSFL

AAA

St. Anthony’s 5-1 6-1
Mount St. Michael 3-2 3-3
St. Joseph by the Sea 4-2 5-2
Holy Trinity 3-3 3-4
Iona Prep 3-3 4-3
Farrell 2-3 3-3
Chaminade 2-3 3-3
Xaverian 0-5 0-6

AA
Fordham Prep 5-0 6-0
St. Francis Prep 4-1 5-1
Stepinac 4-1 4-2
Holy Cross 4-1 4-2
St. Peters 2-3 2-4
Christ the King 0-5 0-6
Cardinal Hayes 1-4 1-5
Kellenberg 1-4 2-4

A

St. John the Baptist 4-1 4-2
Xavier 4-1 5-1
Bishop Ford 3-2 3-3
Spellman 2-3 3-3
Moore Catholic 1-4 1-5
Narareth 0-5 0-6

INDEPENDENT

Long Island Lutheran 6-0 6-0

BY JEFF GOLD

Some tidbits from an interesting week in Class III...

Scorching: Has anyone seen what Plainedge has done the last four weeks? Rob Shaver’s crew has won four straight and here are the scores: 34-14 over Glen Cove, 35-0 over Floral Park, 42-7 over Island Trees, and 35-0 over Lynbrook. Are you serious?

Bethpage and Wantagh right now are the class of Conference III, but no team on Long Island is hotter than Plainedge. Class III is absolutely wide open and Plainedge has to be regarded as a serious contender.

Turning point: Did Bellport have a major breakthrough in a 26-17 win over Sayville? Bellport is extremely young this year and a transition year was expected, but everyone knows this is a program always in the mix. It isn’t making the playoffs this season, but this could be a sign of things to come. Beating Sayville, winners of two of the last four Class III LI championships, is a great win. Back in 2004, Bellport had a very young team that went 6-4 and lost in the first round in the playoffs. The next two years, it won a Long Island championship and a county championship with that same core group of players.

Season-saver: Gregg Sarra predicted Rocky Point would beat Hills West and took some heat. Great pick and great win for Rocky Point, which saved its playoff hopes. The desperate team came through and maybe Rocky Point is ready to start playing like its preseason top-seed billing.

Riverhead at East Islip, 2 p.m.: East Islip

Brentwood at Floyd, 7 p.m.: Floyd

Baldwin at Farmingdale, 6:30 p.m.: Farmingdale

Wantagh at Bethpage, 3 p.m.: Bethpage

Shoreham-Wading River at Mt Sinai, 2 p.m.: Mt. Sinai

Seaford at Roosevelt, 2 p.m.: Roosevelt

Half Hollow Hills West art Rocky Point, 7 p.m.: Rocky Point

Massapequa at Freeport, 2 p.m.: Freeport

Mepham at Carey, 2 p.m.: Carey

Division at Elmont, 2 p.m.: Elmont

MacArthur at Garden City, 2 p.m.: Garden City

Calhoun at Great Neck South, 2 p.m.: Calhoun

Bellmore JFK at Lawrence, 2 p.m.: Lawrence

Jericho at South Side, 2 p.m.: Jericho

West Hempstead at Clarke, 2 p.m.: Clarke

Great Neck North at Floral Park, 2 p.m.: Floral Park

New Hyde Park at Island Trees, 2 p.m.: New Hyde Park

Plainedge at Lynbrook, 2 p.m.: Plainedge

Glen Cove at Sewanhaka, 2 p.m.: Sewanhaka

Roslyn at Westbury, 2 p.m.: Roslyn

Hicksville at East Meadow, 2 p.m.: East Meadow

Valley.Stream Central at Hempstead, 2 p.m.: Hempstead

Herricks at Hewlett, 7:30 p.m.: Hewlett

Plainview JFK at Syosset, 2 p.m.: Plainview JFK

Uniondale at Long Beach, 7 p.m.: Uniondale

Port Washington at Oceanside, 7 p.m.: Oceanside

Friends Academy at East Rockaway, 2 p.m.: East Rockaway

Mineola at Cold Spring Harbor, 7:30 p.m.: Cold Spring Harbor

Carle Place at Locust Valley, 2 p.m.: Locust Valley

North Shore at Manhasset, 7 p.m.: Manhasset

Malverne at Oyster Bay, 6 p.m.: Malverne

Valley Stream North at Valley Stream South, 2 p.m.: Valley Stream North

Patchogue-Medford at Longwood, 6 p.m.: Longwood

Northport at Sachem North, 7:30 p.m.: Sachem North

Ward Melville at Central Islip, 6 p.m.: Ward Melville

Sachem East at Connetquot, 2 p.m.: Connetquot

Whitman at Bay Shore, 2 p.m.: Whitman

Lindenhurst at Commack, 2 p.m.: Lindenhurst

St. Joseph Sea (SI) at St. Anthony’s, 7 p.m.: St. Anthony's

Iona Prep at Holy Trinity, 1:30 p.m.: Iona Prep

Holy Cross at Kellenberg, 1:30 p.m.: Holy Cross

Chaminade at Mt. St. Michael, 1:30 p.m.: Mt. St. Michael

West Babylon at Deer Park, 2 p.m.: West Babylon

Copiague at Centereach, 4 p.m.: Copiague

Half Hollow Hills East at Smithtown East, 2 p.m.: Smithtown East

Newfield at West Islip, 2 p.m.: West Islip

Smithtown West at North Babylon, 2 p.m.: North Babylon

Eastport/South Manor at Hauppauge, 5 p.m.: Hauppauge

Kings Park at Harborfields, 2 p.m.: Kings Park

Huntington at Comsewogue, 6 p.m.: Huntington

Sayville at Bellport, 2 p.m.: Sayville

Islip at East Hampton, 7:30 p.m.: Islip

Bayport-Blue Point at Center Moriches, 7 p.m.: Bayport

Glenn at Babylon, 2 p.m.: Babylon

Amityville at Greenport/Southold, 7 p.m.: Amityville

Hampton Bays at Westhampton, 7 p.m.: Westhampton

Southampton at Miller Place, 2 p.m.: Miller Place

Port Jefferson at Mercy, 2 p.m.: Mercy

Check out two 'Insiders' today on Newsday.com.

In the Suffolk Insider, Gregg Sarra writes about East Islip being wary of Riverhead going into this Saturday's big game. Click here to read that story.

In the Nassau Insider, Adam Ronis writes about Wantagh and how it has exceeded preseason expectations. Click here to read that story.

As always, you can also get players of the week, notes, and key numbers from the past week in each 'Insider.'

This week's football question asks which quarterback is the best on Long Island. Click here to vote.

LARGE SCHOOLS

Team (No. 1 votes) Rec Pts

1.Floyd (6) 5-0 60

2.Lawrence 5-0 48

3.St. Anthony’s 5-1 45

4.Farmingdale 5-0 44

5.East Islip 5-0 43

6.Longwood 4-1 25

7.Freeport 4-1 24

8.Brentwood 4-1 16

9.Riverhead 4-1 12

10.Garden City 4-1 7

Others receiving votes: Newfield 3, Baldwin 2, Hewlett 1.

SMALL SCHOOLS

Team (No. 1 votes) Rec Pts

1. Bethpage (4) 5-0 57

2. Hills West (2) 5-0 56

3. Islip 5-0 49

4. Wantagh 5-0 40

5. Sayville 4-1 36

6. Seaford 5-0 32

7. Mount Sinai 4-1 17

8. Amityville 4-1 16

9. Babylon 4-1 15

10.Malverne 4-1 5

Others receiving votes: Westhampton 4, Locust Valley 2, Plainedge 1.

Note: The committee of voters consists of Gregg Sarra, Andy Slawson, Jeff Gold, Jack White, Pete Blieberg and Kevin Hanifan.

BY JEFF GOLD

My previous post looked at some of the public school teams that could likely go undefeated. Let’s take a quick look now at who the best teams are on Long Island to have already lost a game.

There’s a clear top four right now among the Class I and II public schools on Long Island. If anyone thinks that Floyd, East Islip, Farmingdale and Lawrence aren’t easily the best four teams in some order, I’d like to hear the argument.

But who’s next? What public school team that has already lost a game is the best?

Here are some teams that deserve consideration for the “best of the rest:”

Freeport, Baldwin, Garden City, Hewlett, Brentwood, Longwood, Riverhead, Newfield.

I'll pick Freeport for now. It has impressive wins over Baldwin and East Meadow, two solid teams, and its only loss is to Farmingdale.

What does everyone else think? Which team with a loss is the best?

BY JEFF GOLD

There is nothing better than undefeated teams meeting for a championship.

I know the regular season is just a little bit more than half over, but I really think we might have something special on Long Island at Hofstra and Stony Brook for the Long Island championships.

It isn’t a stretch to say that the Class I, II, and III championships could be matchups of 10-0 teams.

This weekend’s games lead me to believe this, two in particular in Nassau.

Farmingdale crushed Freeport 41-7 and Lawrence rolled over Garden City 27-7. Both games were matchups between the top two teams in Nassau Conference I and II respectively. There seems to be an enormous gap between the top two teams. So, if those games really were indicators that Farmingdale and Lawrence are considerably better than Freeport and Garden City, the winners are likely to make it to the Class I and II LIC at 10-0.

Bethpage and Wantagh – surprise! – seem to be miles ahead of the rest of the teams in Conference III. Both are 5-0 and have won almost every game comfortably. So assuming the winner of the regular season matchup (this Saturday at Bethpage at 2 p.m.) beats the loser again in the Nassau final, that team will likely make it to the Class III LIC at 10-0.

So, Farmingdale, Lawrence and Bethpage/Wantagh all have a good chance to be 10-0.

As for Suffolk, we all know that Floyd is going to be 10-0 going into the LIC. Let’s not waste any time dissecting that one. The games are a joke. The starters only play for a half and the scores are still lopsided.

In Division II, East Islip (5-0) is very good, and the rest of the division just isn’t that strong, so I don’t really see the team that could get in East Islip’s way. Perhaps Riverhead.

As for Division III, Hills West and Islip are both 5-0, so one of the two has an excellent shot at making it to the LIC at 10-0.

Just imagine it: Three Long Island championship games pitting undefeated teams against each other.

St. Anthony's at Holy Trinity, 1:30 p.m.: St. Anthony's

Garden City at Lawrence, 2 p.m.: Lawrence

Commack at Sachem East, 3 p.m.: Sachem East

East Meadow at Baldwin, 2 p.m.: East Meadow

Floyd at Lindenhurst, 7 p.m.: Floyd

Port Jefferson at Center Moriches, 2:30 p.m.: Port Jefferson

Freeport at Farmingdale, 6:30 p.m.: Freeport

Jericho at Calhoun, 2 p.m.: Calhoun

MacArthur at Carey, 2 p.m.: MacArthur

Hewlett at Elmont, 2 p.m.: Hewlett

Mepham at Herricks, 2 p.m.: Mepham

South Side at Bellmore JFK, 2 p.m.: Bellmore JFK

Great Neck South at Division, 2 p.m.: Division

Clarke at Wantagh, 7 p.m.: Wantagh

Lynbrook at Bethpage, 2 p.m.: Bethpage

Westbury at Glen Cove, 2 p.m.: Glen Cove

New Hyde Park at Great Neck North, 2 p.m.: New Hyde Park

Plainedge at Island Trees, 2 p.m.: Plainedge

West Hempstead at Roslyn, 2 p.m.: Roslyn

Floral Park at Sewanhaka, 2 p.m: Sewanhaka

Long Beach at Plainview JFK, 2 p.m.: Plainview JFK

Hempstead at Syosset, 2 p.m.: Hempstead

Hicksville at Uniondale, 2 p.m.: Uniondale

Port Washington at Valley.Stream Central, 2 p.m.: Port Washington

Massapequa at Oceanside, 5 p.m.: Massapequa

Valley.Stream North at Friends Academy, 2 p.m.: Valley Stream North

East Rockaway at Locust Valley, 2 p.m.: Locust Valley

Mineola at Malverne, 2 p.m.: Malverne

Manhasset at Roosevelt, 2 p.m.: Manhasset

Cold Spring Harbor at Seaford, 2 p.m.: Seaford

North Shore at Valley.Stream South, 2 p.m.: North Shore

Oyster Bay at Carle Place, 7 p.m.: Oyster Bay

Fordham Prep at St. John the Baptist, 1:30 p.m.: Fordham Prep

Longwood at Sachem North, 2 p.m.: Longwood

Mount Sinai at Amityville, 1:30 p.m.: Mount Sinai

Ward Melville at Bay Shore, 1:30 p.m.: Ward Melville

Brentwood at Connetquot, 2 p.m.: Brentwood

Central Islip at Northport, 1:30 p.m.: Northport

Patchogue-Medford at Whitman, 7 p.m.: Patchogue-Medford

East Hampton at Half Hollow Hills West, 1:30 p.m.: Hills West

Eastport/South Manor at Harborfields, 1:30 p.m.: Harborfields

Sayville at Huntington, 1:30 p.m.: Sayville

Rocky Point at Comsewogue, 2 p.m.: Rocky Point

Kings Park at Islip, 7 p.m.: Kings Park

Bellport at Hauppauge, 7 p.m.: Bellport

East Islip at Deer Park, 1:30 p.m.: East Islip

Centereach at Riverhead, 1:30 p.m.: Riverhead

West Islip at Smithtown East, 1:30 p.m.: West Islip

Newfield at West Babylon, 2 p.m.: Newfield

Smithtown West at Copiague, 1:30 p.m.: Copiague

Half Hollow Hills East at North Babylon, 1:30 p.m.: North Babylon

Mercy at Hampton Bays, 1:30 p.m.: Hampton Bays

Port Jefferson at Center Moriches, 2:30 p.m.: Port Jefferson

Glenn at Bayport-Blue Point, 1:30 p.m.: Glenn

Shoreham-Wading River at Miller Place, 1:30 p.m.: Shoreham-Wading River

Greenport/Southold at Southampton, 7 p.m.: Greenport

Babylon at Westhampton, 7 p.m.: Westhampton

BY JEFF GOLD

Finally…finally, the absurdity of the Leif Shay situation seems to have ended.

For those of you who didn’t follow it, here’s a quick recap. Shay, Riverhead’s football coach, who is also a physical education teacher, covered security cameras in the gymnasium because he thought the cameras violated the school’s policy that cameras would not be put in a classroom. The district put him on reassignment stemming from his actions.

On Tuesday, he returned to practice after reaching a settlement with the district, but neither Shay nor the district would speak to the details of the settlement.

Here’s what we do know: Shay issued a public apology for his actions with the cameras, so a reasonable hypothesis is that the apology was in some way connected to the settlement. That’s just my thinking.

Here is the text of Shay's public apology, posted on Riverhead’s public schools Web site:

To Riverhead Central School District and its Community,

I would like to take this opportunity to issue a sincere apology for my actions
regarding the security cameras in the High School. I should have let the grievance
procedure take its course. This is not the direction I would want my students or my own
children to follow. I am certainly brave enough to admit when I have made a mistake, and
it is my hope that we can all learn from this and move forward in the development of our
youth.

I look forward to continuing our tradition of excellence here in the Riverhead Central School District. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Sincerely,

Leif Shay

I went to the Riverhead school board meeting a few weeks ago just days into Shay’s reassignment and Riverhead officials refused to be interviewed, either on the record for public information or off the record to help me frame a story. I wanted to ask Riverhead officials about a bunch of topics regarding Shay’s reassignment, and one thing that was specifically on my agenda to ask was their timeframe for a resolution to this situation. Instead, they offered a bunch of “no comments.”

At least it seems to have a happy ending…for now.

Give a ton of credit to the Riverhead players. They have been through a very tough situation and are off to a 3-1 start. Impressive.

BY GREGG SARRA

There was little change in the Large Schools poll. Floyd deservedly grabbed all six first place votes. The Colonials are the unanimous choice as the No. 1 team on Long Island through four games. I don't see why the pollsters are convinced that St. Anthony's is No. 2. The Friars' winning streak ended and so did the belief that they were unbeatable. They are a physically beat up club at this point. The Friars are hobbling on both sides of the ball and may be ripe for an upset at Holy Trinity this week. But every time I say that the Titans can beat St. Anthony's, they choke. Anthony Brunetti is a big-time talent and quarterback Mike Lagalante is exciting. Remember Lagalante's junior season which started with so much promise ended on the sidelines at St. Anthony's when he suffered a brutal knee injury.

St. Anthony's is not the second best team on Long Island. They're somewhere around five or six. We'll know more after they play Holy Trinity. Freeport and Farmingdale are more like two and three for my vote. And Lawrence and East Islip are in the four, five area. I know the CHSFL thinks it always has better football than the publics. In some years that may be true and in others it's clearly not true. This is one of those years. The parity in the CHSFL speaks volumes for mediocrity in 2007.

Rounding out the top 10 are newcomers Newfield, Hewlett and Longwood. Newfield is still hot after a big win over highly-regarded Riverhead. Longwood crashed the party after upsetting Brentwood in a close game this week. Obviously, Longwood just played a bad game against Floyd earlier this season and the Lions are much better than that performance. Brentwood never got the offense going after losing its starting quarterback in the first half against Longwood and now they've dropped out of the top 10.

Oh, and stop with the Chaminade campaign. The Flyers didn't belong in our top 10 and St. Joseph by the Sea solidified that statement with a solid beatdown last week. Holy Trinity has a better shot at my vote -- if they beat St. Anthony's.

In the Small Schools poll, undefeated Bethpage holds a one-point lead over unbeaten Half Hollow Hills West. The Golden Eagles grabbed four first-place votes and Hills West just one. I like Bethpage at No. 1 and Mt. Sinai at No. 2. The Mustangs have beaten the best Suffolk Division IV has to offer thus far and the Nassau Conference IV picture is muddled with Roosevelt, the top seed, going down two weeks in a row. That cost Roosevelt a spot in the top 10. It's a little weird not seeing perennial playoff contenders Babylon and Roosevelt in the top 10. I thought Babylon should have been somewhere around eight but the other pollsters did not see it that way. What do you think?

BY NEWSDAY

Large Schools

Team (No. 1 votes) Rec Pts

1. Floyd (6) 4-0 60

2. St. Anthony's 4-1 46

3. Lawrence 4-0 44

4. East Islip 4-0 43

5. Farmingdale 4-0 40

6. Freeport 4-0 36

7. Garden City 4-0 23

8. Newfield 4-0 17

9. Hewlett 4-0 9

10.Longwood 3-1 7

Others receiving votes: Brentwood 5, Chaminade 2.

Small Schools

Team (No. 1 votes) Rec Pts

1. Bethpage (4) 4-0 56

2. Hills West (1) 4-0 55

3. Mount Sinai (1) 4-0 48

4. Islip 4-0 44

5. Wantagh 4-0 35

6. Sayville 3-128

7. Seaford 4-0 25

8. Westhampton 3-1 12

9. Kings Park 3-1 8

10. Clarke 3-1 7

Others receiving votes: Babylon 6, Manhasset 3, Floral Park 2, Amityville 1.

Note: The committee of voters consists of Gregg Sarra, Andy Slawson, Jeff Gold, Jack White, Pete Blieberg and Kevin Hanifan.

BY GREGG SARRA

So what happened with the common courtesy to report the opposing player's touchdowns in Suffolk high school football games? Don't all high school coaches have the opposing teams rosters? Aren't there official scorers at these games? What is happening to the integrity of the Suffolk County Football Coaches Association?

The players look forward to reading the newspaper or the web site to find their names and they're being cheated by a few coaches who find it unnecessary to do their job. Public relations is a part of a high school coach's job. Joe Cipp Jr. and Paul Longo should teach a course on how to promote a program and get the word out. For years, those guys have done a wonderful job in letting the media and colleges know about their programs.

There is a terrible trend that has started here over the past few years.

I find that coaches who are burned one year find it amusing to get revenge in another year. It's already happened twice this season. And both coaches were confronted and admittedly said, "He never calls in the right scorers when he wins, so neither do we."

That attitude and practice absolutely puts the credibility of the coaches in question. It also diminishes our ability to give our readers a complete package of highlights. No one wants to read that No. 12 threw a touchdown pass to No. 45. That's ridiculous. Be professional and treat the opposing team with the same respect you want your players treated. There's no excuse to cheat an opposing player of a highlight that he's worked so hard to achieve. How would a coach like it done to his own son, and a perfectly exciting opportunity was wasted because someone was just plain lazy?

Hopefully we can improve from this point on. We'll see if they care enough.

BY NEWSDAY

Division I

Team Record Points

Floyd 4-0 135

Longwood 3-1 122.5

Brentwood 3-1 117.5

Whitman 3-1 115.2

Sachem North 2-2 112.5

Lindenhurst 2-2 107.5

Patchogue-Medford 2-2 107.5

Connetquot 2-2 105

Bay Shore 2-2 97.7

Sachem East 2-2 96.86

Ward Melville 1-3 92.5

Northport 1-3 90

Commack 1-3 87.7

Central Islip 0-4 80.2

Division II

Team Record Points

East Islip 4-0 125

Newfield 4-0 125

Riverhead 3-1 120

West Islip 2-2 110

Smithtown West 2-2 107.5

North Babylon 1-3 105

West Babylon 2-2 100

Deer Park 2-2 97.5

Copiague 1-3 95

Half Hollow Hills East 1-3 95

Centereach 1-3 92.5

Smithtown East 1-3 87.5

Division III

Team Record Points

Half Hollow Hills West 4-0 127.7

Islip 4-0 122.7

Huntington 3-1 112.9

Sayville 3-1 112.9

Kings Park 3-1 110.2

Rocky Point 2-2 105.2

Bellport 1-3 105

Comsewogue 2-2 102.9

East Hampton 2-2 100.4

Harborfields 0-4 90.2

Hauppauge 0-4 87.7

Eastport-South Manor 0-4 85.2

Division IV

Team Record Points

Mount Sinai 4-0 132.5

Westhampton 3-1 122.5

Babylon 3-1 122.5

Amityville 3-1 120

Greenport/Southold 3-1 107.7

Glenn 2-2 107.7

Shoreham-Wading River 2-2 105.2

Hampton Bays 2-2 105.2

Miller Place 2-2 100.4

Southampton 2-2 100.2

Bayport-Blue Point 1-3 100

Mercy 1-3 87.7

Center Moriches 0-4 80.2

Port Jefferson 0-4 80.2

BY NEWSDAY

Conference 1

Team Record Points

Farmingdale 4-0 116.67

Freeport 3-0 115

Massapequa 2-2 109.17

East Meadow 2-1 107.5

Baldwin 3-1 107.5

Hempstead 3-1 102.5

Port Jefferson 2-2 100

Oceanside 1-3 97.5

Uniondale 1-3 97.5

Plainview JFK 2-2 95

Syosset 1-3 94.17

Vallet Stream Central 1-3 87.5

Hicksville 1-3 85

Long Beach 1-3 85

Conference 2

Team Record Points

Lawrence 4-0 115.2

Hewlett 4-0 115.2

Garden City 4-0 112.7

Calhoun 2-2 105

Mepham 2-2 105

MacArthur 2-2 102.7

Cary 2-2 102.7

Elmont 2-2 102.7

Jericho 3-1 102.7

Bellmore JFK 1-3 92.5

South Side 0-4 90.2

Division 1-3 90

Great Neck South 0-4 85.2

Herricks 1-3 80.2

Conference 3

Team Record Points

Bethpage 4-0 120

Clarke 3-1 115

Wantagh 4-0 112.5

Plainedge 2-2 108.33

Floral Park 3-1 107.5

Sewanhaka 2-2 105.83

Westbury 3-1 105.83

Lynbrook 2-2 105

Island Trees 1-3 100

Roslyn 1-3 100

West Hempstead 1-2 97.5

New Hyde Park 2-2 96.67

Great Neck North 1-3 93.33

Glen Cove 1-2 92.5

Conference 4

Team Record Points

Seaford 4-0 115.83

Malverne 3-1 115

East Rockaway 3-1 112.5

Locust Valley 3-1 103.53

Roosevelt 2-2 103.33

Oyster Bay 3-1 102.7

Valley Stream South 1-3 98.33

Manhasset 1-2 97.5

Cold Spring Harbor 1-2 97.5

North Shore 2-2 96.03

Friends Academy 1-3 95.2

Valley Stream North 2-2 91.23

Mineola 0-3 90.2

Carle Place 0-3 82.7

BY JEFF GOLD

The chain law can lead to faulty analysis in sports, but sometimes it can be so glaring that it’s worth mentioning.

Anyway, football blog readers know about the chain law, right? Simply put, if Team A beats Team B, and Team B beats team C, then Team A will beat team C.

There was an interesting result in Division I on this past weekend with Longwood beating Brentwood 14-8. All along, I think everyone – myself included – thought Brentwood would be the one team in Division I that could possibly hang with Floyd. Now I’m not so sure. Considering Floyd absolutely destroyed Longwood 42-7, I’m wondering what is going to happen with Floyd and Brentwood meet on Oct. 19.

If Longwood is indeed the second best team in Division I, Floyd might not play anything resembling a competitive game until the Long Island championship. Boring.

Simple question: Is Floyd unbeatable?

BY GREGG SARRA

There are 21-3 blowouts and then there is the Newfield 21-3 win over Centereach in Suffolk Division II. If you didn't see the game you would think that Newfield had its way with crosstown rival Centereach. You might think it was an easy win. That couldn't be further from the truth.

Centereach gave Newfield all it could handle on Saturday afternoon. The Cougars are young and make mistakes that you would expect from an inexperienced squad. But I came away from the game with the feeling that Centereach is an up and coming program and the better athletes are the underclassmen. Newfield is a very good football team -- but I'd bet that wasn't their best effort this week. They were beaten at the point of attack for the most part as Centereach controlled the clock.

Newfield made big plays when Centereach found its way into the red zone, forcing fumbles and costly mistakes. I thought Centereach pounded the middle well and when they ran away from linebacker Jimmy Cuiffo were able to accumulate some big yardage. Cuiffo was forced to scrape and make tackles across the field or work his way through traffic to get to the ball carrier downfield. Centereach sophomore Billy Garzon is a halfback we must watch -- the kid is talented. Centereach offensive tackle Anthony Dima is a very strong, raw player to watch. Sure Newfield won, as expected. But Centereach played an inspired game and there is a future on the other side of that district.

As for Newfield, they continue to ride the emotional tidal wave that comes with the loss of a popular teammate. There is no doubt they'd be in the mix against East Islip with Ray Cuiffo in the lineup. He was a great player. And his spirit and a great work ethic has carried this team to the greatest start in school history. But there is no way they can play with the Redmen if they don't sure up the belly of the defense and be more efficient in the passing game. East Islip is experienced and physical and will not make the mistakes that Centereach made. And the road gets more difficult at West Babylon and West Islip.

And I was very impressed with Newfield's senior linebacker/halfback Eugene Horan. He's a horse and the key to the Newfield offense. And his defensive ability is overlooked because he scores so many touchdowns. But Horan is one of those special players that just makes plays everywhere on the field.

BY JEFF GOLD

If anyone thinks East Islip is Rob Calabrese and not much else, Saturday’s 34-0 rout of West Islip proved that couldn’t be further from the case.

Calabrese hobbled around with a bad left ankle for three-plus quarters and East Islip was able to show that it had a more than capable rushing attack to complement the rocket-armed passer.

After the game, EI coach Sal J. Ciapmi was pleased that some of his guys, namely the offensive line, and his assortment or running backs, who are often overlooked, would finally begin to get some recognition.

But even more significant, Ciampi was looking ahead to November – and you know EI expects to be playing in late November, namely the day after Thanksgiving – when the weather at Hofstra will be totally unpredictable.

“If we’re going to have success on Long Island late in the year, we have to be able to run the ball,” he said. “With the weather up here, you never know.”

And here is what made EI’s rushing attack so impressive yesterday: It was rushing the ball with success when the pass wasn’t even an option. There were no gadget plays, barely any misdirection at all. Instead, East Islip simply lined up and imposed itself. When you can run the ball when everyone knows you’re running, that makes a pretty strong statement.

Another thought, EI is 4-0. Newfield is 4-0. Is it too early to start thinking about an undefeated s