Sports

Football Schedules and Rankings Released

North grabs top seed, while East will fight from 11th spot.

It's only March, but for football fans the season can't come any faster. Two weeks ago, the Suffolk County Football Coaches Association released its 2010 pre-season rankings and tentative schedules. Sachem North is ranked No. 1 and Sachem East is ranked No. 11 out of 14 teams in Suffolk's Division I.

"The preseason respect we received from the other coaches in our division, ranking us number one and giving us the strongest schedule, is a result of our kids working hard during the off season in the weight room," North head coach Dave Falco said. "That hard work has continued this past winter and into the spring. Our core kids are bigger faster and stronger then they were last season, and its only March."

As for Brian Harvey and his team at East, he is equally content getting the 11th seed, which means they wont play three of the top four teams (North being the odd-man out).

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"We have a lot of work to do in order to be competitive and have a chance at a playoff bid this year," he said. "The start of the season should be a good gage for how we will play.  We have a chance at knocking off some teams who are ranked higher than us. It should be an interesting season."

North opens against local rival Patchogue-Medford at home on September 11. That battle is always strong because of the proximity of the schools, but the rivalry games have lacked since 2002 when Pat-Med beat a unified Sachem team in the Suffolk County championship (legendary coach Fred Fusaro's final game).

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Week 2 presents an intriguing battle against Lindenhurst at home. Last year, the Bulldogs took a dive because of coaching changes, but for years they presented a challenge to any team in Division I. With the third seed, Lindy may be back in the thick of things this year.

"[Pat-Med and Lindy] are two opposite sides of the spectrum teams when you talk about preparing for them defensively," Falco said. "One team lines up in four point stances and comes right at you and the other is a three, four and five wide receiver team that throws the ball all over the field. We will have our work cut out for us right out of the gate."

 Brentwood, who North faces in Week 3, was a tough opponent in 2009, especially with the quarterback-receiver tandem of Alex Corporan and Chris Jean-Pierre, but both have graduated and the Indians dropped to a 9 seed, giving Sachem a great chance to win out of the gate.

Connetquot will not be dominant this year, so Week 4 won't be too difficult a task. The real test comes in Weeks 5-7: Northport, Floyd and Longwood. Just in case the Arrows need a win to end the regular season, they travel to Bay Shore in Week 8.

East plays mainly sub-par teams. It opens on the road against Central Islip, who lost to North in the first round of the playoffs last season. It's home opener is against Pat-Med, and then they travel to Lindenhurst and Walt Whitman in Weeks 3 and 4. The key is that three of their four road games are in the first half of the season, giving them the much-needed home fan support to close out the year.

Anything is possible against Commack, Connetquot and Ward Melville. Brentwood, who it plays in Week 7, will be a tough opponent.

No predications will be made until the fall, but North will certainly be a playoff team and East, who loses its quarterback, running back and three wide receivers from 2009, has as good a chance as ever to crack the top 8 teams and grab a post-season slot.

Rankings

-1. Sachem North

-2. William Floyd

-3. Lindenhurst

-4. Northport

-5. Connetquot

-6. Longwood

-7. Patchogue

-8. Bay Shore

-9. Brentwood

-10. Central Islip

-11. Sachem East

-12. Walt Whitman

-13. Commack

-14. Ward Melville

Schedules Sachem East

Week 1 Saturday September 11th @ Central Islip

Week 2 Thursday September 16th vs. Patchogue-Medford

Week 3 Friday September 24th @ Lindenhurst

Week 4 Friday October 1st @ Walt Whitman

Week 5 Saturday October 9th vs. Commack

Week 6 Saturday October 16th @ Connetquot

Week 7 Friday October 22nd vs. Brentwood

Week 8 Friday October 29th vs. Ward Melville

Sachem North

Week 1 Friday September 11th vs. Patchogue-Medford

Week 2 Thursday September 16th vs. Lindenhurst

Week 3 Saturday September 25th @ Brentwood

Week 4 Saturday October 2nd @ Connetquot

Week 5 Saturday October 9th @ Northport

Week 6 Friday October 15th vs. William Floyd

Week 7 Friday October 22nd vs. Longwood

Week 8 Saturday October 30th @ Bay Shore


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