Football: Blue Waves set to face Newfield in D-II semifinals
For the second time in three years, the Riverhead Blue Waves and Newfield Wolverines will meet in the Division II playoffs. The teams will kick off at 1 p.m. today at Coach Mike McKillop Memorial Field with a trip to the county championship game on the line.
The teams come into the game from opposite directions compared to when they met in 2011. The Blue Waves lost 37-0 on the final day of the regular season in 2011 to Newfield and promptly lost in the playoffs, 49-19.
It’s a different story this year, as the Blue Waves are the top seed in Division II and defeated Newfield 21-8 on the final day of the regular season. Both teams opened the playoffs with wins. Riverhead defeated Hills West, 44-21, while Newfield, the No. 5 seed, defeated West Islip, 18-14.
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Riverhead’s defense bottled up Newfield throughout the previous matchup in Week 8. The only touchdown the Blue Waves allowed came in the final seconds of the first half set up after Newfield completed a long pass amid a crowd of Riverhead defenders. The Wolverines connected on two straight passes to reach the end zone in under 20 seconds.
Junior Ken Simco will start at quarterback for the third straight game in place of injured senior Cody Smith. Simco’s first start came against Newfield.
The winner of today’s game will advance to the Division II county finals Nov. 22 at Stony Brook University against East Islip, which defeated Smithtown West Friday night.
