Football practice set to kick off

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No team or individual records count toward Nassau or the state, and the league does not have postseason play. Last year marked the first time a developmental league has existed in Nassau since the six-team Island Conference in 1991. Section VIII football coordinator Pat Pizzarelli said Conferences I, II and III have 12 teams this season, while Conference IV boasts 14.

“It’s a two-year experiment,” Pizzarelli said of the developmental league. “I’ve heard mostly positive things, and we’ll see what happens next year.”

Eight-game schedule continues
Nassau went back to an eight-game regular-season schedule in 2008 after playing only seven games each year from 2003-07. It needed approval from New York State since teams advancing to the county championships play an 11th time. Most games will be played on the traditional Saturdays, beginning Sept. 21. As of this week, BOCES listed a dozen games to be played on a Friday night in 2013.

Conference hoppers
Four teams switched conferences for 2013 based on enrollment figures. South Side moved Conference III to II and will open at home versus Carey. New Hyde Park went from II to III, while North Shore and Carle Place transformed from III to IV. New Hyde Park hosts Bethpage in Week 1, North Shore goes to East Rockaway, and Carle Place hosts Malverne. 

Rivalries renewed
There is no shortage of rivalry games this year. Each of the Bellmore-Merrick schools (Calhoun, Kennedy and Mepham) will battle one another in Conference II. Mepham hosts both local rivals, and Kennedy is home versus Calhoun. Oceanside has a three-game stretch against Conference I rivals Baldwin, Freeport and East Meadow beginning Sept. 28, and Lynbrook takes on Conference III rivals Lawrence and Hewlett in back-to-back weeks in October. Week 5 features a laundry list of intriguing battles, including Hewlett at Lawrence, Carey at Elmont, Long Beach at Garden City, MacArthur at Wantagh, and the aforementioned Calhoun-Kennedy and East Meadow-Oceanside matchups.  

10 Games To Watch

Sept. 28: Baldwin at Oceanside

Sept. 28 Calhoun at Mepham

Oct. 12: Hewlett at Lawrence

Oct. 12: Carey at Elmont

Oct. 12: Calhoun at Kennedy  

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