Long Island high school football games to watch and picks for Week 2

The core of the success in the Farmingdale football program starts with the commitment in the Hawks youth program and continues through the high school level of play.

The heart of the program belongs to the varsity coach Buddy Krumenacker.

And he is on the cusp of something very special Friday night when the Dalers host Port Washington in a battle of unbeatens at Don Snyder Field in Farmingdale at 6:30 p.m.

With a win, Krumenacker would become only the second football coach in Long Island history to win 300 games. In his 43rd season, Krumenacker has compiled a 299-101-11 record, which includes his 77 wins over 11 years at Hempstead from 1978-88. He’s earned 14 Conference I crowns, six Rutgers Cups, presented to Nassau’s most outstanding team, and two Long Island Class I titles. Five of those conference crowns and four Rutgers Cups came at Hempstead.

“What I’m most proud of is there’s only 101 on the other side of that record,” Krumenacker said. “We just keep everything going in the right direction and reload year after year. That all starts with a fantastic youth program with our Hawks. We have a wonderful football tradition in this town. It goes all the way down to the youth program which is close to 60 years old. We teach football.”

Krumenacker believes the key to success lies in the consistency on every level of football in Farmingdale.

“Our kids learn how to block and tackle from an early age,” he said. “We live by fundamentals and that’s the easiest way to sum us up.”

Krumenacker said there will be a moment of silence for former Farmingdale player Frank Nocerino, who graduated in 1970. He died after a long 9/11 related illness at 72 years old on August 23. Nocerino was a well-respected and long-time football official for Section VIII.

“Football is an event in our town,” said Krumenacker. “Our band will be back from camp and there’s about 300 of them with 50 flag girls and the atmosphere will be outstanding.”

Nassau IV

Wantagh (1-0) at Locust Valley (1-0), Friday, 6 p.m.: Both football programs started in the 1950’s and yet this is the first meeting between the schools. Wantagh, a perennial playoff qualifier in Conference III, drops down into Conference IV due to a decline in enrollment. Locust Valley has played in Conference IV since it began varsity football in 1959 and is coming off a big 14-7 win over North Shore. To win here the Falcons need to find a way to stop the Wantagh running game led by halfback Dylan Martini.

Suffolk I

Sachem East (1-0) at Ward Melville (1-0), Friday, 7 p.m.: The question here is can No. 4 Ward Melville take out both sides of the Sachem School District in the first two weeks of the season. Judging by the pre-season seeding, the more difficult task was beating No. 2 Sachem North, 21-14, in the opener. But this week the Patriots secondary will deal with Sachem East quarterback AJ Vurchio, who completed 17 of 22 passes for 205 yards and three scores in a 37-26 win over Commack.

Suffolk III

Islip (1-0) at Sayville (1-0), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.: South Shore special where the boys in purple and gold (Sayville) battle the boys in purple and Vegas gold (Islip) for bragging rights. Both teams won the season opener and now face off in a series dominated by Sayville, 35-10. Senior standout Kyle Messina rushed for 158 yards and three touchdowns in its 48-7 win over Harborfields. Islip’s Jake DeGennaro returned a punt 62 yards for a TD and a kickoff 93 yards for a score to lead the Buccaneers over Kings Park, 34-20.

Nassau III

Manhasset (2-0) at Garden City (2-0), Saturday, 3 p.m.: Two significant historical things will occur here with a Garden City win. The Trojans are trying to win their 45th consecutive game which would give them the longest unbeaten streak in Long Island history. (South Side was 37-0-7 from 1944-1950.) Garden City coach Dave Ettinger has a record of 99-3 in his 10 years at the helm. Ettinger has the highest winning percentage (.971) of any coach in the history of New York State for any football coach with 100 or more wins. Garden City has outscored its first opponents by a combined, 80-3.

Nassau IV

Cold Spring Harbor (1-0) at Seaford (1-0), Saturday, 2 p.m.: These teams split two meetings last season. CSH won in the regular season, 13-7, and Seaford took the Conference IV final, 27-7. Top-seeded Seaford and No. 5 CSH rolled to impressive opening-season wins with strong ground games. The Vikings' Brian Falk had 230 yards rushing and two scores and the Seahawks' Alex Bauer had 171 yards and four TDs.

Suffolk I

Sachem North (0-1) at Connetquot (1-0), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.: Connetquot has not beaten Sachem North in 10 years. Sachem North was upset by Ward Melville in the season opener and Connetqout beat Patchogue-Medford, 41-0. These next-door neighbors are always in the playoff mix and this game will be a good test.

CHSFL

Chaminade (2-1) at St. John the Baptist (2-1), Saturday, 1 p.m.: These teams first played in 1969 and SJB leads the all-time series, 14-13-1. They met for the first time in 10 years in 2023 and SJB won last year’s game, 34-7.

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.