Long Island high school football games to watch and picks this week

After a nine-year hiatus, the football teams at East Islip and West Islip renew an old rivalry.

East Islip, the defending Long Island Class III champion, moved back into Suffolk Division II this fall . That move re-ignites what was once considered Suffolk’s hottest rivalry.

“The alumni and the historians know the significance of this rivalry,” East Islip coach Sal J. Ciampi said. “None of the current players have any real concept of what this rivalry means to the communities. But that’ll change as we get closer to the game. They’re starting to understand the importance of this game. Remember, we’ve been in different divisions for nine years.”

While East Islip was winning three divisional crowns and reaching the final five times in the past nine years, West Islip was doing West Islip things – like meeting traditional values with six championship appearances and one title.

“We traditionally reload with younger players that have been around a winning atmosphere,” West Islip coach Steve Mileti said. “There are expectations when you play in a winning culture. And we have that here in West Islip.”

The teams meet Friday at 6 p.m. in Islip Terrace in a season opener for both programs. The winner takes home the Islip Cup and keeps it until the next meeting. For West Islip to come away with a road win they’ll need to stop East Islip quarterback Thomas Costarelli and halfback Ryan Parker. Leading the way on defense for the Lions will be linebacker Stephen McDermott.

NASSAU CONFERENCE I

Freeport at Massapequa, Friday, 6:30 p.m.: Freeport head coach Jimmy Jones makes his debut against the defending conference champions. He takes over for the legendary Russ Cellan, who led the Red Devils to nine Nassau titles and seven Long Island Class I crowns in 38 years from 1986-2023. He gets a Massapequa team reeling from a 42-39 season-opening loss to Oceanside.

SUFFOLK DIVISION I

Ward Melville at Sachem North, Friday, 6 p.m.: The teams split two meetings last season, with Ward Melville winning in the regular season and Sachem North taking the Division I semifinal, 27-21. It's an early matchup where No. 4 Ward Melville heads to No. 2 Sachem North in what has turned into an excellent division rivalry. Ward Melville has won four of the past five meetings.

SUFFOLK DIVISION IV

Bayport-Blue Point at Miller Place, Friday, 6 p.m.: BBP has a 23-game winning streak. The Phantoms have been undefeated the last two seasons and have claimed the Long Island Class IV championship. BBP has defeated Miller Place in five straight games. The last time Miller Place defeated BBP was in 2017. The two teams did not play in 2018 or 2019.

NASSAU CONFERENCE II

MacArthur at Mepham, Saturday, 3 p.m.: MacArthur took a 24-19 win a year ago and the preseason two seed looks for a season-opening win on the road against No. 5 Mepham, led by new coach Tom Mazeika. The Pirates were 2-7 a year ago, prompting the coaching change.

NASSAU CONFERENCE III

Floral Park at Garden City, Saturday, 3 p.m.: Garden City is attempting to tie the Long Island record for the longest consecutive unbeaten streak at 44 games. South Side was 37-0-7 from 1944-1950. Halfback Michael Berkery, the 2023 Newsday Thorp Award winner  - given to Nassau’s most outstanding football player -  scored twice in a 42-0 season-opening win over Bethpage.

SUFFOLK DIVISION I

Longwood at Floyd, Saturday, 1 p.m.: This series is dubbed the Parkway Bowl, as only six miles of the William Floyd Parkway separate the two schools. Top-seeded Floyd has won 11 games in a row over the Lions and leads the all-time series, 40-19-2. Floyd coach Paul Longo is 27-9 against Longwood. The Lions are the third seed and should compete for the title... but the last time Longwood won a game in this series was 2015 – that’s a long losing streak.

SUFFOLK DIVISION II

Half Hollow Hills East at North Babylon, Saturday, 1 p.m.: North Babylon is the defending Division II playoff champion. Bulldogs senior halfback Jawara Keahey led Long Island in rushing and scoring last season with 2,614 yards and 37 touchdowns. Hills East has never reached a Suffolkfinal since it began varsity football in 1957 – but they’ve have been oh so close. The Red Hawks have won two of the last three meetings and averaged 36 points against the Bulldogs.

With Andy Slawson

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.