Nassau Conference IV football: Everything you need to know
Marcus Houghtaling of Locust Valley, center, reacts after breaking up a North Shore pass during a Nassau Conference IV football game on Sept. 14, 2024, in Locust Valley. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Of Long Island’s eight public school football conferences, only one of them lacks a defending champion: Nassau IV.
The defending Nassau IV champion, Wantagh, no longer resides there. Now, with no official team to beat, the conference is wide open.
“I’d definitely say it’s open,” Locust Valley coach Michael Gilbert said. “We haven’t had an undefeated team in our conference in a while. Everyone beats each other. Everyone has the ability to beat everybody.”
The top two seeds, Plainedge and Seaford, have a championship history.
Seaford has won Nassau IV 10 times over the last 30 years, tying it with Roosevelt — now a Nassau II team — for most over that span.
Plainedge is a respected program that has won six county titles, but all of them came in Nassau III, as it is entering just its second year in Nassau IV.
However, preseason seeding doesn’t always tell the whole story. Seaford was the No. 1 team last preseason, as well, and it was eliminated by Plainedge in the conference semifinals.
Plainedge and Seaford return an enviable cast on both sides of the ball, but both also have to contend with conference newcomer Lynbrook’s stingy defense, Locust Valley’s deep returning core and the consistently competitive Cold Spring Harbor.
Lynbrook brings back experienced players who had successful 2024 campaigns to all three levels of its defense, with many of them also playing on an offense that is led by a very physically imposing quarterback in Chase Samelson. That, plus its experience playing loaded teams such as Garden City, Elmont and Floral Park last year, give it a great chance to take this conference — especially if one of the top two seeds knock each other out like last year.
“It certainly is exciting,” Lynbrook coach David Yaker said. “Is it a better opportunity? That remains to be seen. It’s certainly exciting that we’re in the conversation in the preseason. We know what we’re going to have to do on a week-in, week-out basis, and that’s continue to improve every week. The depth from Conference III should serve us well.”
Locust Valley returns eight offensive starters and nine defensive, including Marcus Houghtaling, one of the best linebackers on the Island. Then there’s Nick Ardeljan and Liam Roberts, who form one of the best run-stuffing duos and double as a strong offensive tackle duo.
Kyle Demosthene’s ability out wide adds another dimension to the offense that will prevent defenses from stacking the box against their two solid running backs.
Said Gilbert, “This is the year we’ve really been excited for.”
INSIDE THE CONFERENCE
Coaching spotlight
Jon Mendreski, Cold Spring Harbor
No matter how small Cold Spring Harbor’s enrollment gets, Mendreski always has a plan. Entering his 10th year with one of Long Island’s smallest schools, he owns a 62-27 record and won the Class IV Long Island title in 2018.
Mendreski, a Sachem High School graduate in 1994, has always had a love for coaching, no matter what he did for a living. Now a math and computer science teacher at Cold Spring Harbor, Mendreski got his bachelor’s in finance from Vermont in 1998. He started his adult life dealing with stock certificates in a custody department, first working in Hoboken, N.J. before moving to Boston.
Even during that first year of his working life, Mendreski spent the 1998-99 school year coaching crew at Vermont. In 2003, he decided finance was not what he wanted to do, so he returned to Long Island and became the crew coach at Cold Spring Harbor. After earning a teaching certification, the school hired him full-time in 2005. In 2008, current boys lacrosse coach and then head football coach Dennis Bonn asked him to be an assistant on his staff.
Eight years later, Mendreski took over Bonn’s spot and has since become one of the most respected coaches on the Island.
Games to watch
Lynbrook at Locust Valley, Sept. 13, 2 p.m.: After dropping from Nassau III, Lynbrook will look to make good on its preseason selection as the third seed in the fourth seed’s home opener.
Oyster Bay at Lawrence, Oct. 11, 2 p.m.: The first of two meetings, Oyster Bay will look to control the clock with its deep rushing attack, while Lawrence will rely on several guys who do not leave the field in an attempt to grind out a win.
West Hempstead at North Shore, Oct. 25, 2 p.m.: The preseason eighth seed at the ninth seed in the penultimate week of the regular season. A power team at a spread team. Two different styles of play, both of whom will likely have to win this game to make the playoffs.
Seaford at Plainedge, Oct. 31, 6:30 p.m.: The conference’s two top preseason seeds will rematch from last year’s conference semifinal game where Plainedge won, 33-27, on a Hail Mary pass.
Cold Spring Harbor at Malverne, Nov. 1, 2 p.m.: A middle-of-the-pack seed hosts a top-five seed in the season finale. Malverne’s speedy offense will look to run past Cold Spring Harbor’s stingy defense in a game with potential playoff implications.
Five-year trend
Spring 2021: Wantagh
Fall 2021: North Shore
2022: North Shore
2023: Seaford
2024: Wantagh
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
