HS Football: Week 1

The 2012 Nassau County High School football season gets underway this Friday with five games under the lights, including Freeport opening its new turf field against Plainview-JFK in Conference I action starting at 6:30 p.m.

The Red Devils, who won three straight county titles from 2008-10, were dethroned by East Meadow last fall. The defending champion Jets, owners of the Rutgers Cup, are seeded No. 1 and open Saturday at home against Hempstead with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m. Other local Conference I games will see Baldwin host Uniondale, and Oceanside visit Valley Stream Central.

Quite a rivalry has developed between Conference II foes Carey and Mepham. The Seahawks got the best of Pirates in 2010, rolling in regular season and playoff matchups, but Mepham took last year's Week 2 battle, 14-7, at Carey. This Saturday the teams will meet at Carey once again.

Long Beach, which lost at Carey in last year's opening round of the playoffs, kicks off the season at Kennedy, which enjoyed a monster finish last season and earned a playoff spot after an 0-3 start. Also in Conference II, Calhoun is home to Wantagh, while Elmont travels to Herricks.

In Conference III, defending champion Lawrence is widely considered the team to beat and will open at home against Glen Cove. Lynbrook hits the road to take on Carle Place, Valley Stream South visits Plainedge, South Side entertains Sewanhaka, and Hewlett goes to Bethpage for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

The featured matchup in Conference IV is East Rockaway at Roosevelt. It's a rematch of last year's championship game won by the Rough Riders. West Hempstead, seeded No. 2 behind Roosevelt, heads to Cold Spring Harbor for a late afternoon (3:30 p.m.) kickoff. Malverne hosts Locust Valley at 3 p.m., while earlier starts include Valley Stream North at Mineola, and Clarke hosting Oyster Bay.

Be sure to check out the Herald's special pullout section in this week's papers, featuring previews on 23 local teams. Also, enter our weekly Pick'Em contest for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to a local eatery. Click on the "Contest" link and follow the instructions. The Game of the Week is Mepham at Carey.