Championship week: Previews and predictions

It’s championship week for Nassau County High School football and all four No. 1 preseason seeds are alive and aiming for titles.

All games at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium. 

Conference IV: Seaford (10-0) vs. Locust Valley (7-3), Thursday, 7 p.m.

Seaford has dominated all season behind its Big Three of quarterback Rob Anderson, receiver Mike Gallo and running back Justin Buckley. In two playoff wins Anderson has four touchdown passes, including three to Gallo, and Buckley four scoring runs. The Vikings beat Locust Valley 55-0 on Oct. 10, but the Falcons peaked at the right time and haven’t allowed a score in four straight games. 

Conference II: Garden City (10-0) vs. Wantagh (8-2), Friday, 7 p.m.

Garden City avoided a major upset at the hands of Carey last Friday night, escaping with a 21-19 victory. The Trojans’ defense gave up its first three touchdowns of the year, all to Greg D’Arienzo. Brian Fischer heads the Garden City ground attack and Joe Tursi (five interceptions) is dangerous in the defensive backfield. Wantagh, which lost 34-0 to the Trojans on Oct. 10, is led by tailback Mike Scully.  

Conference III: Lynbrook (9-1) vs. Lawrence (8-2), Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

Two late touchdowns in last Saturday’s semifinal allowed Lynbrook to squeak by Hewlett, 28-27, to set up a rematch with a Lawrence team it rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat 49-35 on Sept. 17. The Owls feature a quarterback duo of T.J. Virgona and Tom DeNapoli, and they’ll need to be sharp considering a Golden Tornadoes’ offense led by quarterback John Kinder and running back Kenny Barnett averages 45.3 points per game and put up 56 against Plainedge in last Saturday’s semifinal romp.   

Conference I: Freeport (8-2) vs. Farmingdale (8-2), Saturday, 8:30 p.m.

With 601 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns (10 rushing, one passing) in two playoff games, Freeport’s Kevin Allen has his name atop a deep list of candidates for the Thorp Award. He has 29 touchdowns on the year. He had the only score for the Red Devils in their 28-7 loss to Farmingdale on Oct. 24. The Dalers have a balanced offense with quarterback Sal Tuttle and the backfield trio of Kevin Wahl, Carmine DeMieri and Brian Prendergast.

Herald Staff Predictions

TONY BELLISSIMO

Seaford by 18, Garden City by 20, Lawrence by 8, Farmingdale by 4

ANDREW McCLURE

Seaford by 21, Garden City by 17, Lawrence by 7, Farmingdale by 2

STEVE SINISKI

Seaford by 12, Garden City by 9, Lawrence by 3, Freeport by 4

ANDREW COEN

Seaford by 10, Garden City by 7, Lynbrook by 1, Farmingdale by 4

MIKE CAPUTO

Seaford by 21, Garden City by 14, Lynbrook by 2, Freeport by 11

ANTHONY BOTTAN

Seaford by 18, Garden City by 6, Lawrence by 10, Freeport by 13

Please use the comment link below to post your predictions on these games.