Three results from the eighth week of the high school football season

1. High-score games

In an era of massive offense, high-scoring games have become the norm. It’s not uncommon to see results like Farmingdale beating Oceanside (63-42) and Babylon beating Miller Place (57-48), with higher-tier teams like Farmingdale and Babylon , score on almost every ball possession.

The vertical seams exposed by the spread formation put defensive coordinators at a disadvantage. And the ability to spread out the defense makes it difficult to cover playmakers horizontally across the field. Athletic linebackers like Farmingdale’s Josh Kama and Babylon’s Aidan Winter are dangerous and difficult to handle in open space, or as one coach said, “they’ll be hard to beat in the closet.”

However, there are times when athletes on defense have lateral speed to neutralize the offense and playmakers. Those defensive backs this year include Longwood defensive back Caden Reed, Connetquot linebacker Lucas Weaver and Elmont linebacker Nassir Edwards.

Reed was a standout for 7-1 Longwood, catching two interceptions in Saturday’s 35-0 win over Commack. He has eight picks, averaging one per game. Weaver made 23 tackles in a 42-30 loss to Floyd. He has made at least 10 tackles in each of Connequot’s last four games. Edwards returned an interception and returned a fumble for touchdowns in an 18-7 win over Lynbrook on Sept. 28. He added a 47-yard pick-6 in a 33-18 win over Division on Oct. 18.

There are other outstanding defenders on Long Island. And if you ask Cold Spring Harbor nose tackle Grayson Meek or Wantaghie linebacker Cole Spinelli what wins titles, the answer is a resounding one: defense. Both of these guys are strong players and they were instrumental in Wantaghy’s thrilling 20-13 win over CSH on Friday night.

“We didn’t have an answer for Mick,” Wantaghie coach Keith Sachs said. “He played the whole game on our field.”

2. Power points

The Power Points system is used to determine the standings based on the strength of the schedule. If you receive a high preseason seed and a tougher schedule, you will be rewarded with automatic bonus points at the end of the season that will count toward your final Power Point rankings. If you get a lower starting level and a weaker schedule, you get fewer bonus points for playing on a soft schedule.

In Division I, Bay Shore finished 4–4 but failed to reach the postseason because the Marauders played the 10th seed. Sachem East, the fifth seed, went 3-5 against tougher competition to earn the 8th seed in the postseason.

In Division II, Newfield, which opened the season 4–0, lost three of its final four games to finish 5–3. The Wolverines were ranked 12th in the preseason, played a weaker schedule, and did not accumulate enough power points to advance to the postseason. They are also the only team with a winning record in LI that did not qualify for the playoffs. North Babylon took first place in the preseason and finished 4-4. Despite four losses, the Bulldogs finished fifth in the postseason.

At Nassau III, Southside, the defending Nassau champion and preseason second seed, finished 2–6. The Cyclones finished 7th in the playoffs.

3. Nice to see you again

The teams that played in the final game of the regular season will meet again in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. Both events will take place in Suffolk II. Bellport will play at East Islip Stadium at 6:00 pm on Friday, and Huntington will play at Half Hollow Hills East at 1:00 pm on Saturday.

With Ben Dixon