High School Fantasy Football: Playoff Season!
Newsday's 2025 high school fantasy football league.
With the end of the inaugural Newsday Fantasy Football season, there is good news.
Fantasy football will continue — playoff style.
“We had so much fun, we’re having a playoff fantasy season,” Gregg Sarra said. “To win the playoff title, you have to identify the players who can contribute offensively for as many games as possible. You want consistent contributors that lead their respective teams to the LIC. Having a great player for one week that gets eliminated is not a good selection.”
The draft has taken place, and there will be 11 fantasy teams participating.
Here were the first-round results:
Team Lindsay: Patrick Coan, Sayville, QB
Team Katzen: Ja’Quan Thomas, Floyd, RB
Team Hank: Brayden Robertiello, Garden City, QB
Team Ruban: Jack Rao, Islip, QB
Team Matias: Aidan Winter, Babylon, RB
Team Ferguson: Luke Garguilo, Massapequa, QB
Team Sicoli: Brian Falk, Seaford, RB
Team Slawson: Jake Simmons, East Islip, RB
Team Sarra: Luke Martini, Wantagh, RB
Team Valluzzi: Shane Kiernan, Miller Place, QB
Team Cheslowitz: Simon Blissett, Northport, QB
Teams select two quarterbacks, two running backs, two receivers and one defensive player. Seven total players can score for each team until they are eliminated from the playoffs or crowned champions.
New additions have joined the fantasy playoff league: staff member Jared Valluzzi and JP Cheslowitz, a local Long Island high school football expert who works for Section VIII.
The draft order started from the bottom of the regular-season standings to the top. The new members picked 10th and 11th. Team Lindsay, which finished last, had the first overall pick in the Newsday High School Fantasy Playoff Draft.
“I think it’s brought our staff closer together,” Matt Lindsay said. “I’ve had a few players tell me they love the whole idea of it.”
“I’m excited for the new playoff league. It’s a different animal because you want to pick players who are going to go deep into the playoffs and play three or four games. The good part about coming in last in the regular season is getting the first pick for the postseason.”
It is a cumulative scoring system throughout each week of the playoffs leading up to the Long Island Championships.
Many fantasy coaches in the draft were looking for players they thought had the best chance of playing for championships and still being on the field in late November. Some players who were picked in the first round of the draft in September couldn’t be selected this time because they either did not qualify for the playoffs or were injured. There also were breakout players who went earlier in the playoff draft.
