Long Island high school football games to watch, plus game picks

Hudson Philbrick emerged as a top quarterback on Long Island last season. He threw for 24 TDs and accounted for more than 2,500 total yards.

Philbrick led Ward Melville to the Suffolk Division I title and within a point of the Long Island Class I championship. The Patriots were beaten by Massapequa, the three-time defending champions, 13-12.

Now the senior leader is poised to make another run at the LIC. It won’t be easy – as getting through the gauntlet of top teams in Suffolk will stand in the Patriots way.

He opened the 2026 campaign in much the same he played in 2025. He passed for five first-half touchdowns and sat the second half in a 48-0 win over Brentwood.

“We were young last year and returned four of our starting five linemen," Ward Melville coach Chris Boltrek said. “We’re hitting on all cylinders. This is our first big test.”

Ward Melville (1-0) travels to play at Longwood (1-0) on Friday at 6 p.m. The teams played each other in the season opener a year ago with Ward Melville winning in a blowout.

Longwood went on to a 5-5 season and began to put it all together toward the latter part of the season and earned a Big 4 championship playing in the Division I semifinal round.

“We were young and lacked game experience last year,” Longwood coach Sean Kluber said. “We bring back a lot of quality athletes. We expect our team to take a leap into the county championship contention. We had six sophomores and four juniors start 10 games a year ago.”

It all starts with quarterback Ryan Greene for the Lions. He keyed last week’s 37-26 comeback win over Whitman with two TD passes and a scoring run. He also had 297 all-purpose yards.

The early season showdown with many playmakers on both teams could provide fans with an electric offensive display.

NASSAU I

Massapequa at Syosset, Friday, 6:30 p.m.

Massapequa, which owns a 24-game winning streak, rode the run game in last week's win behind a stout offensive line and halfback Mike Castellano, who benefited from that strong line play with four rushing touchdowns.

NASSAU II

Bellmore JFK at Long Beach, Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

Bellmore JFK’s Nico Pasquariello, Ethan Reiner, Don Vaglica and Dylan Babek combined for 269 rushing yards in a 34-26 win over Roosevelt. But it’s a level up in competition with Long Beach, which features two excellent linebackers in Brody Riedel and Joe Henn. First-year quarterback Brody Juan totaled three touchdowns in last week’s 34-26 loss to Carey.

MacArthur at Garden City, Saturday, 3 p.m.

Garden City looks to extend the longest win streak in the country to 68 games. MacArthur struggled against Mepham in the season opener.

NASSAU IV

Lawrence at Carle Place, Friday, 7 p.m.

Lawrence opened the season with a thrilling 38-36 win over Oyster Bay/Friends Academy. The win snapped a 28-game losing streak – the longest in Nassau. Quarterback Khalil Brassell defies everything about the prototypical QB. He’s only 5-5. But with speed and grit, Brassell accounted for four total TDs. Carle Place and back Michael Seglin will be ready to try and end Lawrence's modest win streak.

SUFFOLK I

Patchogue-Medford at Bay Shore, Saturday, 1 p.m.

Bay Shore will celebrate its 100th year of high school football against the program it played the very first game against. Patchogue won that game, 32-0, at what is now the Oregon Middle School field on October 15, 1927. This is Patchogue-Medford's 105th year of football (1922-2026).

SUFFOLK II

Northport at North Babylon, Saturday, 1 p.m.

Since Northport moved to Suffolk Division II in 2018, it has faced North Babylon six times, all one-possession games, with North Babylon winning four of them. Northport quarterback Gavin O’Brien totaled three touchdowns in his first varsity game in a 34-6 win over Newfield. Jack Miller rushed for 314 yards and five touchdowns for North Babylon in its 42-21 victory over Smithtown East.

Half Hollow Hills East at Huntington, Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

Preseason top seed Hills East opened with a dominant 42-0 win over Lindenhurst last week. Huntington ran wild in its 27-19 win against Bellport, totaling 388 yards and three scores. These teams met in the semifinals last season, with Hills East winning 49-21 behind Jayden Bryan’s four rushing touchdowns.

SUFFOLK III

East Islip at Hauppauge, Friday, 6 p.m.

Hauppauge halfback Liam O’Connor had 271 yards rushing and both TDs in a 13-9 win over Smithtown West. The Eagles will face one of Long Island’s top defensive units at East Islip. Simple - this one comes down to the EI defense stopping the Hauppauge running game.