Long Island high school football crossover games to watch and picks

Crossover week in football is upon us and there are some delicious matchups on the schedule. For starters we have Seaford at South Side, Long Beach at Farmingdale, Carey at Oceanside, Mepham at Port Washington and Wantagh at Floral Park. These are all fantastic matchups.

And this crossover concept also created an historic matchup this week with Garden City, the top seed in Nassau Conference II, pitted against Massapequa, the top seed in Conference I – two proud programs riding the longest current win streaks in the state.

Garden City extended the longest winning streak in the country to 68 games with wins over Calhoun and MacArthur. And Massapequa beat Port Washington and Syosset, and has 25 wins in a row.

How did it come about? Well, in a bold move, and to heighten the interest in high school football and to create more competitive games, the Nassau County Football Coaches Association, which voted to play a crossover game between Conferences I and II, and Conferences III and IV, is here. The schedule matches teams by preseason seed as voted by the coaches.

There are mixed reviews and all sorts of speculation on what might happen. If it happens at all.

The weather forecast is not good. A nor’easter is bearing down on the east coast, specifically the south shore of Long Island, and that could bring postponements.

According to Pat Pizzarelli, the executive director for Section VIII which governs all interscholastic schools, if Nassau County Emergency Management puts out a travel advisory for the weekend, then all high school sports would be postponed.

Now, there is no decision made, but plenty of concern.

One of the most anticipated high school football games in Long Island history between Massapequa and Garden City is scheduled for Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium Saturday at 5 p.m. – right in the predicted thick of the storm. We’ll see.

NASSAU I AND II

Long Beach at Farmingdale, Friday, 6:30 p.m.: The Marines and the offensive unit of quarterback Brody Juan and halfback Brody Riedel might be too much for a Dalers defense that has yielded 57 points through two games. Farmingdale is tough at home and quarterback Nick Toto has been dangerous in the air and on the run.

NASSAU III/IV

South Side at Seaford, Friday, 6:30 p.m.: South Side is the top seed in Conference III and is off to a 2-0 start. Seaford, the top seed in Conference IV, took it on the chin against Lynbrook in the season opener. Expect the backfield tandem of AJ Magaraci and Ethan Johnson along with the emergence of Reagan Cutrone to prevail in what could be a day dictated by windy weather. Seaford quarterback Finn Curry will try and counter with a high-scoring passing attack.

NASSAU III/IV

Valley Stream South at Division, Friday, 7 p.m.: These two played in a 68-64 slugfest in 2025 won by VSS. Division has not shown its capable of playing defense. Expect the playmakers of VSS to run amok.

SUFFOLK I

Ward Melville at Connetquot, Friday, 6 p.m.: Ward Melville erased a 10-0 deficit and found a way to win against a fierce Longwood squad. The Patriots roll with quarterback Hudson Philbrick and gritty halfback Chris Retzlaff. It is Scott Coppola night in Bohemia, as a tribute to the school’s greatest three-sport athlete of all time is planned. He died unexpectedly in August at the age of 49.

CHSFL

Xavier at St. Anthony's, Friday, 7 p.m.: The Friars are coming off a big win over Stepinac last week and ride the arm of Anthony Diieso, who completed 24 of 26 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns. Xavier is undefeated at 3-0 and is the defending CHSFL AA-1 champion.

NASSAU I AND II

Carey at Oceanside, Saturday, 1:30 p.m.: Showdown of two of Long Island’s best halfbacks. Oceanside’s Chace Morris and Carey’s Justin DePietro have been unstoppable.

Mepham at Port Washington, Saturday, 2 p.m.: Mepham lost a double overtime heartbreaker to Calhoun. The Pirates need to rebound against high-scoring Port Washington and the strong arm of quarterback Harry Eynon.

SUFFOLK I

Bay Shore at Riverhead, Saturday, 1:30 p.m.: Bay Shore hasn’t started 3-0 since 1986. That is a real possibility this week. The Marauders came back for an 8-7 win last week over Patchogue-Medford. Riverhead is 0-2.

SUFFOLK II

Copiague at Centereach, Saturday, 2 p.m.: Copiague lost by two in the season opener to Commack and then upset Lindenhurst, 28-7. Halfback Asante Daniels has 343 yards and a score in two games. Centereach won its opener and then dropped a 6-0 decision to intradistrict rival Newfield last week.

By Gregg Sarra

gregg.sarra@newsday.com@Gregg_Sarra

Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.