Football training camp on Long Island: St. Anthony's, Massapequa and more

Friars' front line ready to show what they can do

The hype around St. Anthony’s running back Xavier Bala has built tremendously over the last few years, and this season the Boston College commit will have an experienced group paving the way in front of him.

The Friars return four starters on the offensive line, with Bala and returning dual-threat quarterback Anthony Diieso expected to make plays behind them.

“They’re gonna set the tone for us, without a doubt,” St. Anthony’s coach Joe Minucci said. “We have to be able to run the football. … I don’t think we’re fooling anybody by saying that’s not going to be our bread and butter.”

One of those key blockers is junior Justin Joseph, a 6-4, 315-pound offensive lineman. He thrived this offseason, collecting offers from Nebraska, Virginia Tech and others.

“I think the main thing was focusing on the details and getting better mentally,” Joseph said. “The physical is gonna come with the mental. I think that’s the biggest thing in the offseason, just focusing on preparation.”

Senior Nathan Furnell leads the experienced group, and Franklin & Marshall commit Jack Ortiz returns after missing his junior season due to injury.

But the talk wasn’t about the offensive line last season, and Furnell wants that to change.

“Us being overlooked for a couple of years, it’s really been bothering me,” Furnell said. “I think that this year is our time to come out and show what we got.”

St. Anthony's plans ceremony for home opener in Sept. 11

St. Anthony’s home opener will be under the lights against one of the tri-state area’s toughest opponents, but the significance of the date will make that Friday night about much more than football.

The Friars host St. Peter’s Prep of New Jersey on Sept. 11, the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. St. Anthony’s planned a pregame ceremony featuring an honor guard and honorary captains who are retired FDNY and NYPD members or veterans with ties to the St. Anthony’s community.

“Obviously, 9/11 is a momentous day in our country, especially in this region,” St. Anthony’s coach Joe Minucci said. “Being the 25th anniversary, it makes it that much more special to make sure that we honor and recognize all the lives that were lost and everybody that served.”

After the ceremony, St. Anthony’s will face arguably its biggest test of the season.

St. Peter’s Prep enters the season ranked No. 99 in the MaxPreps preseason National Top 100. Its defense features four-star defensive backs Adrian and Amir Woodward. Offensively they have New Jersey’s top prospect in 6-7, 295-pound lineman Oluwasemilore Olubobola, who is committed to Notre Dame.

Friars junior wide receiver Rory McDermott, who recently received his first Division I offer from Colgate, is looking forward to the challenge alongside returning quarterback Anthony Diieso.

“It’s more challenging against top prospects,” McDermott said. “It gives an opportunity to show how good we are as a team. I’m definitely excited.”

“Those are the games we want,” Diieso said. “High competition, high-level players. We’ll see what we’re about.”

But the meaning of the night will extend beyond the matchup.

“It’s very important to me,” senior offensive lineman Nathan Furnell said. “It’s really an honor to be a part of something like this.”

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Luke Garguilo at full strength for Massapequa

The last time Luke Garguilo took the field, he couldn’t be his normal dynamic self.

Garguilo was hampered by a sprained ankle in Massapequa’s 14-12 win over Ward Melville in the Long Island Class I championship game.

The senior looked explosive in Monday’s practice. He ran option plays, designed runs to the outside and uncorked downfield passes on the run.

“It’s so much better when you can actually run, cut and jump,” Garguilo said. “It makes the job a lot easier. Hopefully, I can stay healthy this year. I felt like I left some personal goals on the table last year, but I don’t care too much about that stuff as long as we win.”

Garguilo won the Don Snyder Award as Nassau’s top quarterback last season. He completed 66 of 94 passes for 1,121 yards and 17 touchdowns and ran for 738 yards and eight scores.

“It’s awesome to see him at full strength,” senior offensive lineman Nolan Wieczorek said. “I think he’s probably the best player on Long Island, so it’s great to have him behind you. I would give my all for him and he’d give his all for us.”

The Hudson Philbrick-Joe Karpowicz connection

Ward Melville might have the most entertaining passing attack on Long Island this fall, and seniors Hudson Philbrick and Joe Karpowicz are at the center of it.

Philbrick, a Stony Brook commit at quarterback, and Karpowicz, a receiver who is committed to St. John’s for baseball, have been connecting with each other in the end zone since their sophomore seasons. At this point, finding each other is almost instinctive.

“It’s been a special connection,” Karpowicz said. “We’ve always been growing, you know, after practice every day or before practice. Anything to get that connection flowing.”

Ward Melville coach Chris Boltrek hasn’t had a starting quarterback for multiple years until Philbrick, and he knows this duo is special.

“You’re talking about two Division I athletes,” Boltrek said. “They’re great athletes who have played together for a really long time, and it’s second nature to them now. So everything’s easy.”

Philbrick is committed to Stony Brook for football, and Karopwicz to St. John's for baseball.

Last year, Philbrick completed 112 of 162 passes for 2,000 yards and 24 touchdowns and rushed 88 times for 495 yards and seven touchdowns. Karpowicz had 37 receptions for 763 yards and nine touchdowns.

In last year’s 31-28 county final win over Floyd, Philbrick threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns. Karpowicz had six catches for 141 yards and a touchdown.

If Ward Melville’s offense is going to be as dangerous as advertised, the Philbrick-Karpowicz connection will be a big reason why.

“I feel like chemistry carries us a long way,” Philbrick said. “Expectations are higher than ever. The pressure’s on, but that’s what makes us better.”

Ward Melville starts as No. 1 and wants to finish that way

Expectations have never been higher for Ward Melville football.

The Patriots enter the season as the No. 1 seed in Suffolk Division I for the first time in program history, one year after falling to Massapequa, 14-12, in the Long Island Class I championship game. They believe this could be the year they break through and win their first LIC.

“It’s just a really experienced group,” coach Chris Boltrek said. “You have a lot of kids who have been three-year starters on varsity. It helps when you have a quarterback who’s a Division I scholarship athlete and a lot of really good players around him in their own rights.”

Stony Brook-bound quarterback Hudson Philbrick and wide receiver Joe Karpowicz headline a veteran offense. Four starting offensive linemen return, including Quinn Kurtz, one of the Island’s top two-way linemen.

“All four of us have been here since sophomore year,” Kurtz said. “We’re looking to prove ourselves that we’re the best line on the Island.”

The excitement was evident during Monday’s first official practice, even with rain pouring as players flipped tires and worked through intense circuits.

“A lot of times, you would come out to a football practice like this in the rain, coming out and flipping tires right away, and kids shrink,” Boltrek said. “But these guys want to do it. They want to do anything that is going to make them better.”

The chase is officially on for Ward Melville.

“To win it here would be everything for us. Linebacker Austin Sicoli said. "And I think we can take it home.

Flipping tires at Ward Melville

It starts up front for Massapequa

Great programs are built in the trenches. Whether it’s the first day of practice or the Long Island championship game, Massapequa coach Kevin Shippos expects intensity from his linemen.

And just because Monday morning was the first of two practices on day one of the 2026 football season, Shippos demanded the attention to detail of a reigning three-time Long Island champion.

Between reps, Shippos corrected his linemen’s pad levels, hand positioning, pulling techniques, movement to the second and third levels and of course, physicality.

“The kids are very curious as to what they did right or what they did wrong,” Shippos said. “We tell the kids that we’re going to tell them either way. When you do something right, we’re going to coach you up. When you do something wrong, we’re going to coach you up. We don’t win any games without our linemen, so they understand that I put a big exaggeration on them so they don’t feel like they’re being overshadowed by the skill guys.”

With rock music blaring, Shippos was animated after just about every rep, whether he was pleased or displeased.

“It’s good to be back,” Shippos said.

Massapequa’s quest for a fourth straight Long Island Class I title will begin in the trenches.

“Coach Shippos really pushes you to your full potential and makes sure he’s getting every single bit of energy that you have out of you,” senior offensive lineman Nolan Wieczorek said. “It’s awesome. We really embrace that culture and that tough, disciplined mentality.”