Who will win? East Islip (3-0) or host Smithtown West (3-0)?
Smithtown West quarterback Matthew K. Heldberg Jr. looks to pass against Newfield in a Suffolk Division II football game. (Sept. 20, 2013) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The high school football schedule doesn't get any better than this. Six of the top 10 teams in Newsday's Large Schools poll will meet this weekend. This is what they call separation Saturday as the top-ranked teams in Nassau I, II and III all play each other.
But before we get to an exciting slate of weekend showdowns, Suffolk II has a treat in store Friday night as No. 5 Smithtown West hosts top-seeded East Islip at 6 p.m..
The Redmen (3-0) use a bullish offensive line led by center Bobby Heyward and guard Connor McDaniel to push opponents around and dictate field position. The East Islip offense averages 44 points per game.
Smithtown West (3-0) has averaged 50 points per game with the return of dynamic quarterback Matt Heldberg, who threw for three and ran for three scores last week. He has big playmakers in Andrew Lapreziosa and Logan Greco. These teams split last year. Smithtown West won the regular season meeting, 13-10, and East Islip avenged that loss with a 23-0 win in the first round of the playoffs.
