Long Island high school football games to watch for Week 7, plus picks

Carey has cruised through the first six games of the high school football season. The defending Long Island Class II champions have done it with stingy defense and ball control offense.

Carey’s 18-game win streak and the top seed for the playoffs hang in the balance when the Seahawks host Wantagh (4-2) at 11 a.m. Saturday in a Nassau Conference III game. It’ll be a battle of Long Island championship teams. Wantagh captured the Class IV title a year ago.

“We’re defined by our defense and that defense starts with Justin DePietro,” Carey coach Mike Stanley said. “We get good pressure on the quarterback and stop the run.”

Carey has the least scored upon defense on Long Island. The Seahawks have allowed only 39 points through the 6-0 start. They are led by DePietro, a junior linebacker who won the Flatley Award last year as Nassau’s best defensive player.

Wantagh has been hard to figure out. They lost to South Side and Clarke then pounded previously unbeaten Bethpage, 35-12. But Stanley believes the real Wantagh showed up last week in a big win over Bethpage.

“Wantagh is very well coached,” Stanley said. “And they have three kids that make you hold your breath because they’re tremendous playmakers.”

Wantagh relies on the backfield tandem of Luke Martini and Joe Nicholson. But it’s the defense that needs to play at a high level if they have any chance of winning.

“We have to stop them from running the ball,” Wantagh coach Keith Sachs said. “These games come down to the team that plays better defense. We must get off the field on defense. And that’ll help us get our rhythm on offense.”

NASSAU I

Hempstead (3-3) at Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK (4-2), Friday, 6:30 p.m.: A win here guarantees either team a playoff spot. POB JFK hasn’t qualified for the playoffs in six years. Quarterback Seth Montgomery leads Hempstead with 533 rushing yards and six TDs. He’s also thrown for six scores.

SUFFOLK III

Hauppauge (3-3) at Westhampton (2-4), Friday, 6 p.m.: On the night where they inducted former Philadelphia Phillies pitching farmhand Nick Fanti into the Hauppauge Hall of Fame, halfback Liam O’Connor lit up the Harborfields defense for four rushing TDs to even the Eagles record last Saturday. Westhampton is better than its 2-4 record might suggest, and the Hurricanes have won 10 straight against Hauppauge. Hurricanes halfback Nic Simone can also light it up, rushing for 750 yards and 11 TD thus far. Catch the chill on a Friday night in the Pine Barrens with two entertaining offensive units.

NASSAU II

Long Beach (4-2) at MacArthur (2-4), Friday, 7 p.m.: A win by Long Beach clinches a first-round home playoff game for the Marines. A MacArthur win qualifies the Generals for the playoffs. Long Beach has a powerful one-two punch with halfback Brody Riedel, who’s rushed for 535 yards and eight TDs and quarterback Charlie Conway, who’s passed for 886 yards and nine scores. MacArthur senior linebacker Caden Cullen will lead the defense as MacArthur looks for the upset.

SUFFOLK III

Rocky Point (3-3) at Eastport-South Manor (4-2), Friday, 6 p.m.: Two middle-of-the-road programs battling for a playoff spot. A win for Rocky Point earns a playoff berth. A win for ESM allows the Sharks to play for a home playoff game next week. ESM QB Matt Beardsley has thrown for 776 yards and 11 TDs.

SUFFOLK IV

Mount Sinai (4-2) at Bayport-Blue Point (5-1), Friday, 6 p.m.: BBP suffered its first loss to a Suffolk opponent in five years when Babylon came to town for the 27-6 smackdown on Friday night. The loss snapped the Phantom’s 37-game Suffolk winning streak. The last team to beat Bayport in the regular season — you guessed it — Mt. Sinai, 27-26 in the 2021 fall season. Bayport kicker Tommy Steyert leads Suffolk in kicking points with 42.

NASSAU IV

Lynbrook (4-2) at Cold Spring Harbor (4-2), Saturday, 2 p.m.: These teams have never met. Lynbrook first played football in 1919. And CSH fielded its first team in 1963. Lynbrook QB Chase Samelson has thrown for 1,361 yards and 13 scores. If the Seahawks can figure out how to shut down the Lynbrook air attack — they can win.

NASSAU III

Clarke (4-2) at Floral Park (4-2), Saturday, 11 a.m.:  Clarke will need to bounce back from a 27-0 drubbing to first-place Carey. The Rams were flying high through five games with QB Matt Kurz, who threw for 813 yards and nine TDs. Floral Park QB Justin Mallon has also found success in the passing game with 875 yards and eight scores.

SUFFOLK I

Sachem North (4-2) at Longwood (3-3), Saturday, 1 p.m.: These teams have developed an intense rivalry since they first played 40 years ago in 1985. Sachem North leads the all-time series, 20-19. Longwood won last season’s contest, 28-0. Both teams lost to first-place Floyd by one score. Sachem QB Luke LaRocca has thrown for 718 yards and seven scores and will need to go up top to beat the Longwood defense.

SUFFOLK II

Bellport (4-2) at Huntington (4-2), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.: Two teams that are very much in the hunt for the Division II title. Both play smashmouth football in a grueling division. Huntington suffered a 16-14 loss to first-place Northport last week. QB Jacob Guzik and halfback Yasir Jones lead the Blue Devils. Bellport QB Braydon Cipp comes off his best performance of the season.

Andy Slawson contributed to this story

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.