Team Sicoli moves into first place in Newsday Fantasy Playoff League

The Newsday Fantasy High School Football Playoff League is in full swing.

After quarterfinal action, Team Sicoli (192 points) has found itself in first place. Sicoli’s team is filled with athletes who excel in both football and lacrosse, which has become the team’s defining trait.

“It’s fun to try out this new league,” Sicoli said. “It’s been fun and competitive, and a few weeks ago I said it feels right to be in first place and I don’t take that for granted. Shoutout to Harry Eynon — he’s a terrific player and a terrific lacrosse player, which is the identity of the team.”

Eynon of Port Washington registered 69 fantasy points, the most in the league this week for Team Sicoli. He led a comeback, totaling six touchdowns, before his team fell one point short to Syosset in the quarterfinals.

The second-leading scorer for Sicoli was Northport’s Greyson Cabrera. The do-it-all senior registered 43 fantasy points in a quarterfinal win over Bellport.

In second place was Team Valluzzi (176 points), and sitting in third was regular-season champion Team Sarra (174 points).

Anchoring Team Valluzzi was first-round pick Shane Kiernan, who totaled 51 points in Miller Place’s loss to Bayport-Blue Point in a regular-season finale.

Fourth-round pick Jayden Bryan was Valluzzi’s next leading scorer. The sophomore from Hills East eclipsed 200 yards rushing and collected 39 fantasy points.

“He runs very aggressively,” Hills East coach Alex Marcelin said. “He takes every carry like it’s his last. He’s only a sophomore, and being mentored by Daniel White last year helped him a lot. He saw how to get things done and how to approach practices and the offseason.”

Team Sarra had some familiar faces helping his squad in the first round. Ward Melville’s Hudson Philbrick and Wantagh’s Luke Martini, who were on Sarra’s regular-season team, combined for 86 points in their quarterfinal games.

Plainedge’s Dylan Fella collected 47 fantasy points for Team Matias. Since returning from injury, Fella has helped the Red Devils remain undefeated.

“Since he’s come back he has made a major difference for our team,” Plainedge coach Rob Shaver said. “Each week he just keeps getting better. He had a monster game against Seaford and he’s been a huge piece on defense, where he has been dominating from (outside linebacker).”

With the continuous scoring system, almost every team has lost at least one player because of playoff elimination except Team Slawson and Team Lindsay. Now the league enters a big week with a lot of top teams facing each other in semifinal action.

“The new system is fun,” Sicoli said. “It was fun to do another draft, especially with what we know now about these amazing players around the Island. And it was fun to get some of the same players that I had originally, and I’m glad they’ll be on the ride to winning a title.”