High School Football

BY BOB HERZOG

The awards dinners in Nassau and Suffolk are both on Monday night. I already know who won the Hansen and Thorp Awards so I won't discuss those here. But here's my take on the team awards, for which I have no inside information.

Obviously, Riverhead will be awarded the Rutgers Trophy as the best team in Suffolk. That's a no-brainer considering the Blue Waves were the only undefeated team in the county. I'll be interested to see who finishes second -- once-beaten Sayville or once-beaten Babylon. Both are L.I. Champions and both had sensational seasons. Sayville would get my No. 2 vote because we all know they really should have had an undefeated season but were denied it on a controversial officials' decision. It would have been interesting to see who would have won the Rutgers Trophy if Sayville and Riverhead were both undefeated.

The real suspense on Monday night will surround the Rutgers Cup winner. No Nassau team won an LIC for the second year in a row. So who gets the nod -- once-beaten Seaford, twice-beaten Bethpage or twice-beaten Freeport? My vote would go to Seaford, because it won 11 straight and was competitive in losing to Babylon in the L.I. title game. I've heard some rumblings that Bethpage, which lost an OT heartbreaker to Sayville in the LIC, might be a sentimental choice because there are rumors that this was venerable coach Howie Vogts' final season.

I'm as sentimental as the next guy and have great respect for Mr. Vogts and his assistant, Erwin Dill. But Seaford was the more dominat team all season. And though the Rutgers Cup is not a cumulative award, the Vikings also went undefeated until the LIC in 2007. They deserve a reward.

Newsday will have full coverage of both Rutgers winners plus profiles on the Hansen and Thorp Award winners in Tuesday's print and on-line editions.