High school football Week 3 blog: Updates, scores and more from the third week of games

Connetquot honors memory of late football star Scott Coppola

Al Coppola clutched the Most Valuable Player Award from 1994 in his right hand. His wife Joanne stood by his side holding a bouquet of flowers in her right hand with the rest of the family to her left. The parents of Scott Coppola were at midfield during a pregame ceremony honoring their son as one of Connetquot High School’s greatest three-sport athletes of all time.

Coppola, who died unexpectedly in August at the age of 49, was a football, basketball and baseball standout for the T-Birds. The Connetquot School District honored his athletic achievements, including a Long Island Class I football title, and his impact on the community before the Ward Melville – Connetquot, Suffolk Division I football game Friday night.

“This was a collective decision by our coaches and administration to honor a guy who did everything the right way,” Connetquot football coach Mike Konsevitch said. “The mention of his name only brings good memories. He was the epitome of a T-Bird. He was a leader and a captain of three sports and represented our school and community with pride.”

The family was presented a red and grey game jersey by Connetquot captains 50 and 53. Coppola, a 1995 graduate, was a fierce competitor and exceptional athlete. He led the football program to Suffolk Division I crowns in 1992 and 1994, including a Long Island Class I championship in 1992 with a 27-7 win over Farmingdale.

For more on Coppola and Friday night's game, check out Gregg Sarra's story. You can also check out more Suffolk football results from Week 3.

QB Nick Toto lifts Farmingdale football to close victory over Long Beach

The weather was getting worse. The wind and rain picked up at Farmingdale High School. The momentum had shifted toward Long Beach.

The Dalers trailed by six after several big plays from the Marines. But despite the conditions, Farmingdale junior quarterback Nick Toto launched a deep pass that soared through the wind to Patrick Videau for a 37-yard touchdown. After Ryan LaRacco's PAT, Farmingdale took a one-point lead with just under nine and a half minutes remaining in the game.

The clock kept ticking as the rain kept pouring. This time, the Dalers never gave the momentum back. Farmingdale held on to defeat Long Beach, 20-19, in a Nassau I/II crossover game Friday night.

For more details on this matchup, check out Jared Valluzzi's game story. You can also check out more Nassau football Week 3 results.

Eagle Academy II knocks of Erasmus Hall in matchup of PSAL football powerhouses

The most anticipated game of the PSAL regular season was living up to expectations. The defenses were dominant, and it was a one-score game in the fourth quarter between Eagle Academy II (Brooklyn) and Erasmus Hall.

Then 5-3 Zy’eare Schulters burst through a hole and sliced through the Erasmus Hall defense for a 60-yard touchdown. That was the dagger.

“We got the best closer in the city, and in the state,” Eagle Academy II coach Kyron Jones said. “He might be the smallest player, but he’s got the biggest heart. He wanted the ball, and he wanted to close the game. And when you have a player that says, ‘Give me the ball, coach,’ you have to give him the rock.”

The biggest regular-season game in Eagle Academy II history ended with a 22-7 victory over Erasmus Hall, the dynasty that has won six of the last seven city championships in the PSAL’s highest classification.

For more on this PSAL matchup, check out Jared Valluzzi's game story.

South Side football holds off Seaford after wind knocks down Vikings' go-ahead FG attempt

The crossover game between South Side, the preseason No. 1 seed in Conference III, and Seaford, Conference IV’s top seed, lived up to they hype.

South Side held a two-point lead late, but Enzo Casha blocked a punt to set Seaford up on the Cyclones’ 18 yard-line with 2:13 left. Two plays later, the Vikings had a fresh set of downs at the 8-yard line.

It was up to South Side’s defense to either create a turnover or force a field-goal try into wind gusts of more than 30 mph.

“We just had to dig deep and do whatever it takes to stop them,” D’Andre Mullings-Newberry said.

The senior defensive end batted a pass at the line of scrimmage on first down, Leonard Berry made a tackle for a loss of 2 on second down and pressure by Mullings-Newberry forced an incompletion on third down.

The 26-yard field goal try went up . . . and was completely knocked down in the end zone by the heavy wind, allowing South Side to kneel out a 14-12 win over host Seaford in a Nassau III/IV crossover game on Friday night.

For more details on this crossover game, check out Matt Lindsay's game story.

Friday's high school football scores

Nassau Conference I/II Crossovers:

Valley Stream Central 34, Herricks/Wheatley/Roslyn 16

Hempstead 41, New Hyde Park 11

Port Washington 7, Mepham 6

Hicksville 35, Jericho 8

Farmingdale 20, Long Beach 19

Syosset 7, Calhoun 6

Nassau Conference III/IV Crossovers:

Locust Valley 7, Manhasset 6

Plainedge 37, Lynbrook 7

South Side 14, Seaford 12

Division 16, Valley Stream South 15

Bethpage 22, Cold Spring Harbor 8

Suffolk Division I:

Longwood 42, Patchogue-Medford 10

Sachem North 27, Whitman 13

Ward Melville 35, Connetquot 25

Suffolk Division II:

Huntington 40, Smithtown East 7

Half Hollow Hills East 37, Newfield 0

Suffolk Division III:

Westhampton 48, Comsewogue 0

West Islip 41, Smithtown West 7

Eastport-South Manor 19, West Babylon 8

East Islip 33, Islip 12

Hauppauge 27, Rocky Point 20

Suffolk Division IV:

Mt. Sinai 12, Shoreham-Wading River 0

Tuckahoe 9, Kings Park 7 (non-league)

CHSFL:

Fordham Prep 13, St. John the Baptist 6

Chaminade 25, St. Francis Prep 18

St. Dominic 8, Christ the King 7

St. Anthony’s 35, Xavier 27

Jackson Marro stops Mepham two-point conversion, seals win for Port Washington football

Port Washington needed someone to make a stop with 0:00 on the clock.

Adam Erlichman had just fired an 18-yard TD pass as he was being taken down, finding Ryan McCabe in the left side of the end zone with time having expired in the fourth. Mepham was now down one on the Vikings’ home turf Friday night.

Go for the point-after kick and OT? Or go for two and the win?

“I felt like we had the momentum,” Pirates coach Tom Mazeika said.

Paulie Genovese carried left, but senior defensive lineman Jackson Marro got there quickly for Port Washington to make the tackle.

The Nassau I Vikings escaped with a 7-6 win over the Nassau II Pirates in this crossover game.

For more details on this crossover matchup, check out Brian Heyman's game story.

The Vikings hang on to lead entering fourth quarter

Eynon to Fox and Port Wash is on the board

Nassau, Suffolk postpone all Saturday HS sports

With a nor’easter expected to bring heavy winds and rain this weekend, all high school sports events on Saturday have been postponed.

The Massapequa-Garden City showdown of football unbeatens has been rescheduled for Monday at 5 p.m. at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium. Garden City has the longest win streak in the country at 68 games. And Massapequa has won 25 games in a row.

“We follow the recommendation of the county office,” said Pat Pizzarelli, the executive director for Section VIII, which governs all interscholastic schools. “Our main priority and responsibility are the safety of our athletes.”

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine called an early afternoon news conference and recommended no travel for Saturday and Sunday.

“We are shutting down all athletic contests countywide,” said Tom Combs, the executive director for Section XI. “We are following the advice of our superintendents, executive board of directors and the emergency notifications from Suffolk County. It’s clear that this can turn into a very dangerous situation. This decision keeps our bus drivers and all people driving to games off potentially hazardous roads and safe. It also places the safety of our coaches and student-athletes as our top priority.”

There are no school sports scheduled for Sunday.

“Sunday is not an option for makeup games,” Combs said. “There are 13 varsity football games postponed on Saturday. They will be played on Monday.”

Read more about the postponements here.

Monday's high school football schedule

Monday's updated football schedule, per Section VIII/XI websites.

Note: Carey at Oceanside and Valley Stream North at Sewanhaka have yet to be rescheduled

Monday, Sept. 28

Nassau
Conference I/II Crossovers
Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK at Bellmore JFK, 3:30 p.m.
Westbury at Baldwin, 4:30 p.m.
Garden City vs. Massapequa, at Hofstra, 5 p.m.
East Meadow at MacArthur, 7 p.m.

Conference III/IV Crossovers
Wantagh at Floral Park, 3:30 p.m.
Malverne at Clarke, 4 p.m.
Elmont at East Rockaway/West Hempstead, 4:30 p.m.
Island Trees at Mineola, 6 p.m.
Carle Place at Hewlett, 6 p.m.
North Shore at Glen Cove, 7 p.m.

Conference IV
Lawrence at Oyster Bay/Friends Academy, 4:30 p.m.

Suffolk
Division I
Brentwood at Floyd, 3:30 p.m.
Bay Shore at Riverhead, 3:30 p.m.
Sachem East at Central Islip, 4 p.m.

Division II
Lindenhurst at Northport, 3:30 p.m.
North Babylon at Bellport, 4 p.m.
Copiague at Centereach, 6 p.m.
Deer Park at Commack, 7 p.m.

Division III
Half Hollow Hills West at East Hampton/Pierson, 3:45 p.m.

Division IV
Wyandanch at Glenn, 4 p.m.
Babylon at Bayport-Blue Point, 5:30 p.m.
Greenport/Southold/Mattituck at Center Moriches, 6 p.m.
Miller Place at Sayville, 6 p.m.
Hampton Bays at Harborfields, 7 p.m.

For many players, Massapequa-Garden City is a full-circle moment

Long before Massapequa and Garden City finally meet in this historic football matchup, many of the players competing Monday played against each other growing up.

The town's youth teams — the Massapequa Mustangs and Garden City Thunder — have met for years.

According to Massapequa Mustangs president Greg Dietrich, approximately 40 players on Massapequa’s current varsity roster played for the Mustangs at some point.

“These kids have been playing against each other since they were six years old, so they know each other,” Massapequa coach Kevin Shippos said. “They also play each other on the lacrosse field, on the baseball field, on the wrestling mat. So they’re no stranger to these kids, and vice versa.”

The matchups bring back plenty of memories for Massapequa’s players. Junior lineman Jack Mulligan remembers the feeling of losing to Garden City when he was 10.

“We always said, ‘What if we can get another chance going back at them?’” Mulligan said. “Early in the year, seeing this on the schedule definitely brought some hype to us.”

Senior linebacker Nolan Wieczorek has continued facing Garden City in lacrosse after growing up playing against Trojans in both sports.

“It was always great competition, always two great, disciplined teams and great coaches on both sides,” Wieczorek said. “Every matchup, whether it’s at the youth or high school level, it’s going to be a great game.”

Now, it’s a full-circle moment. A youth rivalry hits the big stage at Hofstra in one of Long Island’s most anticipated high school football games in history. It's the first meeting ever between the two schools in varsity football.

Garden City holds the nation’s longest active winning streak at 68 games, and it’s on the line.

Garden City declined to have players and coaches speak to Newsday and has closed practices throughout the week.

Week 3 football schedule

Note: This post will be updated with any weather-related changes.

Thursday, Sept. 24

NASSAU

Conference I/II crossover

Freeport 7, Roosevelt 0

Friday, Sept. 25

NASSAU

Conference I/II Crossovers

Mepham at Port Washington, 5:30 p.m.

Hicksville at Jericho, 6 p.m.

New Hyde Park at Hempstead, 6 p.m.

Long Beach at Farmingdale, 6:30 p.m.

Calhoun at Syosset, 6:30 p.m.

Herricks/Wheatley/Roslyn at Valley Stream Central, 6 p.m.

Conference III/IV Crossovers

Manhasset at Locust Valley, 6 p.m.

Plainedge at Lynbrook, 6 p.m.

South Side at Seaford, 6:30 p.m.

Valley Stream South at Division, 7 p.m.

Bethpage at Cold Spring Harbor, 7 p.m.

SUFFOLK

Division I

Longwood at Patchogue-Medford, 5:30 p.m.

Sachem North at Whitman, 6 p.m.

Ward Melville at Connetquot, 6 p.m.

Division II

Huntington at Smithtown East, 6 p.m.

Half Hollow Hills East at Newfield, 6 p.m.

Division III

Comsewogue at Westhampton, 6 p.m.

West Islip at Smithtown West, 6 p.m.

Eastport-South Manor at West Babylon, 6 p.m.

East Islip at Islip, 6 p.m.

Hauppauge at Rocky Point, 6 p.m

Division IV

Shoreham-Wading River at Mount Sinai, 6:45 p.m.

Non-League

Tuckahoe at Kings Park, 7 p.m.

CHSFL

St. Dominic at Christ the King, 4:30 p.m.

Fordham Prep at St. John the Baptist, 6 p.m.

Xavier at St. Anthony's, 7 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 28

NASSAU

Conference I/II Crossovers

Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK at Bellmore JFK, 3:30 p.m.

Westbury at Baldwin, 4:30 p.m.

Garden City at Massapequa, at Hofstra, 5 p.m.

East Meadow at MacArthur, 7 p.m.

Conference III/IV Crossovers

Wantagh at Floral Park, 3:30 p.m.

Malverne at Clarke, 4 p.m.

Elmont at East Rockaway/West Hempstead, 4:30 p.m.

Carle Place at Hewlett, 6 p.m.

North Shore at Glen Cove, 7 p.m.

Conference IV

Lawrence at Oyster Bay/Friends Academy, 4:30 p.m.

SUFFOLK

Division I

Brentwood at Floyd, 3:30 p.m.

Bay Shore at Riverhead, 3:30 p.m.

Sachem East at Central Islip, 4 p.m.

Division II

Lindenhurst at Northport, 3:30 p.m.

North Babylon at Bellport, 4 p.m.

Copiague at Centereach, 6 p.m.

Deer Park at Commack, 7 p.m.

Division III

Half Hollow Hills West at East Hampton/Pierson, 3:45 p.m.

Division IV

Wyandanch at Glenn, 4 p.m.

Babylon at Bayport-Blue Point, 5:30 p.m.

Greenport/Southold/Mattituck at Center Moriches, 6 p.m.

Miller Place at Sayville, 6 p.m.

Hampton Bays at Harborfields, 7 p.m.

Date and time still TBD

Carey at Oceanside

Island Trees at Mineola

Valley Stream North at Sewanhaka

 

McCravey leads Freeport in Thursday's lone game

Christian McCravey returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown with 5:37 left in Freeport's 7-0 win over host Roosevelt in a Nassau I/II crossover game. McCravey added a sack on Roosevelt's ensuing drive and Daniel Rimpell's sack forced a turnover on downs with 1:31 left. McCravey's 9-yard run on third-and-3 allowed Freeport () to run out the clock. TJ Silas had an interception for Roosevelt (1-2).

Massapequa ready for any bad weather in marquee showdown

Rain, wind and a potential nor’easter could add a massive wrinkle to an already highly-anticipated matchup between Massapequa and Garden City on Saturday night at Hofstra.

Practice on Thursday was held in dry conditions, but Massapequa is not fazed by whatever may come Saturday night.

“Football is an outdoor sport meant to be played in the bad weather,” Massapequa coach Kevin Shippos said. “Obviously, if it’s a dangerous situation, we don’t want to be in it, but those are things that are out of our control. All we can do is prepare the best we can, and then we’ll adapt to the conditions, whatever they are.”

As of Thursday, the game is still on, but it could potentially be moved to Sunday or Monday at Hofstra.

Quarterback Luke Garguilo is embracing the possibility of playing in the rain.

“I think it makes the game more fun playing in the rain,” Garguilo said. “It brings you back to your younger football memories.”

Those memories are especially fitting for junior lineman Jack Mulligan. He remembers playing Garden City in similar conditions during his youth days.

“One of the times we played them growing up, it was actually kind of like how it was supposed to be this weekend — cold, windy and rainy,” Mulligan said. “It’s great, definitely some flashbacks from when we were younger.”

The Trojans, on the other hand, are holding their cards as close as possible to their chest when it comes to anything surrounding the game.

Garden City declined to have players and coaches speak with Newsday and has closed practices all week.

Game on at Hofstra . . . for now

While the weather forecast for Saturday's highly anticipated Massapequa-Garden City football showdown at Hofstra is not great, the game is still on as of Thursday afternoon, according to Pat Pizzarelli, the executive director of Nassau County scholastic sports.

The two teams are scheduled to play at 5 p.m. at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium. Garden City has the longest win streak in the country at 68 games, while Massapequa has won 25 in a row.

Pizzarelli said he is keeping a close eye on the weather and contingency plans are being discussed, including moving the game to Sunday or Monday.

Read more about how this weekend's potential nor'easter could affect the high school sports schedule here.

Get your popcorn ready: GC, Massapequa set for an epic clash

The stage is set.

One of the most anticipated high school football games in Long Island history is scheduled for Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium Saturday at 5 p.m.

Garden City and Massapequa carry the longest current win streaks in New York State as they collide in this dream game.

As expected, both teams cruised through the first two weeks of the season schedule unscathed. Garden City extended its nation's-best winning streak to 68 games with wins over Calhoun and MacArthur. Massapequa beat Port Washington and Syosset and has 25 wins in a row. The non-conference matchup of unbeatens guarantees that one streak will end.

“If you can’t get excited for this, you don’t have a heartbeat,” said Pat Pizzarelli, the executive director of Section VIII, which governs Nassau’s interscholastic sports. “I’m a football fan. When we voted to have crossover games, the concept was to bring programs together that were struggling and help them play more competitive games. Then I looked at the matchups of the upper echelon teams and thought – this is even better than I expected.”

Read more about this weekend's marquee matchup here. 

How Newsday's HS fantasy football league stands entering Week 3

Standings

Jared Valluzzi, 449

Matt Lindsay, 436

Jonathan Ruban, 389

Tess Ferguson, 381

Gregg Sarra, 380

Michael Sicoli, 330

Lenny Genova, 323

Mike Anderson, 315

JP Cheslowitz, 314

Chris Matias, 293

Top performers

QB: Evan Nelson, Valley Stream Central

He put up 58 points for Team Lindsay. Nelson rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns in Central's 32-28 win over New Hyde Park. He also completed 11 of 17 passes for 102 yards and a TD.

RB: Luke Martini, Wantagh

He had 44 points for Team Ferguson. Martini ran for 201 yards and four touchdowns on 11 carries to lead Wantagh over Sewanhaka, 49-12.

WR: Jonas Mendez, Connetquot; Jason Thompson, Whitman

Scoring 33 points for Team Sarra, Mendez caught eight passes for 136 yards and two TDs in Connetquot's 49-7 win over Central Islip. Thompson scored 33 points for Team Valluzzi with 238 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns to lead Whitman over Riverhead, 40-6.

DEF: Massapequa, East Islip, Half Hollow Hills East, Sayville

All four collected 15 points each for Team Anderson (Massapequa), Team Lenny (East Islip), Team Ruban (Half Hollow Hills East) and Team Lindsay (Sayville).

Waiver pickups

Team Ferguson: Khalil Brassell, QB, Lawrence

Team Lindsay: Lucas Bouchard, WR, Sachem North; Tony Keahey, RB, Half Hollow Hills East

Team Ruban: Finn Curry, QB, Seaford

Team Valluzzi: Adebayo Kayode, RB, Valley Stream North (edited)

QB Nelson has been getting things done for VSC

Valley Stream Central quarterback Evan Nelson has been difficult to contain through the first two weeks of the season. He already has the looks of one of Nassau’s most entertaining quarterbacks.

He’s done the majority of his damage with his legs. Nelson rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns in a 32-28 win over New Hyde Park in Week 2, helping the Eagles improve to 2-0. He rushed for 143 yards and two scores in a season-opening 35-6 victory over Baldwin.

“Evan is just playing inspired football,” Valley Stream Central coach Tom Schiavo said. “This is a culmination of all the work that he’s been putting in over the last few years with his teammates.”

Nelson may be leading the way, but Valley Stream Central has plenty of options around him. Nickoli Friday had 76 rushing yards last game. Matthew Feaster had four receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown against New Hyde Park.

"We have a multitude of people who we can give the ball to,” Schiavo said. “Even though Evan is the guy right now, it could be someone else any day. There are a lot of good guys, and that makes him even better.”

And when Valley Stream Central needed one final play from Nelson against New Hyde Park, it went back to its quarterback. Nelson ran and converted a fourth down with two minutes left to seal the victory.