Week 5 high school football games to watch and picks

The confirmation that the Wantagh and Plainedge football programs were moving into Nassau Conference IV had to be sobering for the existing powerhouse teams in the conference, which have the lowest enrollment in the county.

Seaford, Cold Spring Harbor and North Shore have been the teams to beat in Nassau IV the past decade. Pride and tradition aside, all three of those programs were now looking at a totally different landscape to navigate to win the conference crown.

Plainedge and Wantagh are two of the best programs from Nassau III and they joined the fray for conference honors this year.

“We still look at our opponents the same in preparation,” Wantagh coach Keith Sachs said. “Obviously there are some mismatches. But there are mismatches in all conferences. This is a short week to prepare for a team like Plainedge that does so many things well. I’m interested to see how we stack up against them and the rest of the back end of our schedule, which is challenging.”

Plainedge (4-0) plays at Wantagh (4-0) at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Halfback Dylan Martini has rushed for 603 yards and 10 touchdowns as Wantagh has rolled past four opponents, averaging 49 points per game. Plainedge will counter with halfback Dylan Fella, who has 470 yards rushing and six scores, and sophomore quarterback Jaxson Torres, who’s thrown for 552 yards and seven TDs.

“Thankfully we were both seeded high enough that we don’t play the bottom teams in the conference.” Plainedge coach Rob Shaver said. “The addition of our two programs increased the depth of the conference. Now there are two more viable playoff contenders.”

Plainedge captured four of the last six Nassau III titles and leads the all-time series, 20-10-2, including seven of the last eight meetings.

“We played Seaford in what we expected to be a tough game, and we didn’t have a lull against North Shore last week,” Shaver said. “We prepare for every team, so we don’t end up with egg on our faces. We’ll play as hard as we can in a regular-season game that decides the playoff seeding. It’s a matter of whether you wear the red or white jersey in the game that really matters — the championship.”

NASSAU I

Syosset (3-1) at Farmingdale (3-1), Thursday, 6:30 p.m.: The Farmingdale defense needs to slow down Syosset’s William Cawley, who has eight TDs in the last two games and 12 this season. The teams split the last six meetings, including Syosset’s 30-27 win in the Nassau I semifinal last season. Dalers QB Dennis Finkel has thrown for 545 yards and seven scores.

NASSAU II

MacArthur (3-1) at Carey (4-0), Thursday, 2:15 p.m.: Carey is coming off a big 27-14 win over the previously undefeated and unscored upon Mepham. The Seahawks ride that wave vs. MacArthur, one of the conference heavyweights. MacArthur has won three in a row behind halfback Jesse Seder after an opening game loss to Mepham. The Generals need to contain RB Justin DePietro, who has 408 yards rushing and seven TDs.

NASSAU III

South Side (2-2) at Garden City (5-0), Thursday, 4:30 p.m.: Garden City has won a Long Island-record 47 consecutive games. The Trojans have won three straight L.I. Class II crowns and eight straight Nassau II titles. South Side is the defending Conference III champion. The Cyclones struggled early, losing their first two games of the season. To win a third game in a row, the Cyclones need to stop halfback Michael Berkery, who has rushed for 449 yards and 11 TDs. They counter with Justin Singh, who has rushed for 653 yards and 10 TDs.

SUFFOLK III

Westhampton (1-3) at East Hampton (2-2), Thursday, 3:30 p.m.: This is an East End rivalry that was an annual event from 1929-1975. These teams have met 61 times since 1929 and Westhampton leads the all-time series, 34-24-3. The teams have played only three times in the last 15 years. A fun East End bash.

SUFFOLK I

Floyd (4-0) at Ward Melville (4-0), Friday, 3:30 p.m.: The last two undefeated teams in Division I. Two excellent quarterbacks in Floyd’s AJ Cannet and Ward Melville sophomore Hudson Philbrick square off in this one. The game will be decided up front: Can the Ward Melville defense, allowing only nine points per game, stop halfback Ja’Quan Thomas, who has rushed for 588 yards and eight TDs? The Colonials are 20-2 against the Patriots since 1995.

CHSFL

Kellenberg (2-4) at Chaminade (5-1), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.: Chaminade is off to its best start in five years — one season after an 1-8 record. The Flyers have an outstanding defense with senior linebackers Dean Schmitt and Will Handley and have allowed a division-low 72 points. Kellenberg senior linebacker Nick Kramer has put in the offseason work and looks impressive. He has 51 tackles and has been a bright spot for the Firebirds.

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.