Telegraph photo by TOM KING Bishop Guertin's Brendan Callahan is a player opposing coaches definitely have to game plan against.

NASHUA – Brendan Callahan wishes he were a secret weapon.

No such luck.

“I’d rather have it they don’t know me and I just get to show them,” the Bishop Guertin senior wide receiver said of all the attention he gets from opposing teams. “It is what it is. It’ll happen next year to guys on the team, too, and we do it to guys on other teams that we know, too.”

Callahan noticed coaches giving him attention, starting with the season opener at Merrimack, and that should certainly continue on Saturday night when the Cardinals take on Nashua North at Stellos Stadium. He was ready for it, as he saw teams do it to the graduated Joey Lupo and Kyle Baker last year.

At the same time, Callahan is flattered by the attention as one of the state’s better players.

“It makes me feel pretty good,” he said. “Makes me want to live up to that.”

“This will be his third year as a varsity starter,” Guertin coach John Trisciani said. “We could tell he was going to be a good player; he’s very fast, has got real good hands.

“We knew coming into this senior year the expectations would be high. He’s just very developed.”

And Trisciani knows Callahan is getting double teamed. “I’m sure it’s frustrating for Brendan, but it’s the best compliment a coach can give you when you’re getting that type of attention,” the Cardinals mentor said. “We’ll try to counteract that, move him around.

“It’s one of those things, you work hard, have some success, you’re a great athlete and a great kid, and your name gets out there. But in big picture, it’s nothing but a positive.”

Last year was difficult for Callahan, who injured his knee in an early practice and didn’t return until there were four weeks to go in the season.

“It was tough, it was our second day in pads,” Callahan said. “They were telling me eight weeks at first, and I was like ‘That’s the whole season.'”

Callahan did return, but wasn’t at full strength. Then he was wondering once the pandemic hit what the chances are he’d even have a season this year, his final shot at BG.

“Anytime we get to practice or come out here, I just try to enjoy it,” he said. “I didn’t get it last year and I don’t know (due to the virus) how much I’m going to get it this year.”

Trisciani said Callahan, who was voted as a captain, has surprised him with a dose of toughness comparted to last year.

“The way he’s tackled, his senior year has been really impressive to me,” Trisciani said. “He is a kid who is really passionate about football, passionate about his team, and doing everything he can to put us in a position to try to win some games.

“It’s something I think the other kids feed off of and that we need more of. … Right now I don’t think there’s a kid on our team I’ve been more impressed with.”

Callahan says he works on his speed, and says the job description of a wide receiver is “You’ve got to be able to catch the ball.”

But also also blocking, which is what he works on.

“Good blocking on the edge turns first downs into touchdowns, is what we say,” he said. “I try and get better with that. Sometimes I struggle with it, and I try to improve on it.”

Callahan, with his speed, is basically doing a lot of the things that Lupo did for the Cards last year. He returns kicks, he catches passes, runs sweeps, and plays defensive back.

“He was everything for us last year,” he said of Lupo. “It’s hard, but I’m just trying to do everything those seniors did for us last year.”

As Trisciani says, “If we’re going to be successful on offense, it’s going to go through him.”

The Tyngsborough, Mass. native came to Guertin following in the footsteps of his older sister. He’s played football since the third grade, and has basically always been a receiver.

“It was always the plan to come here,” Callahan said, adding he’s trying to keep his college options open to study business/economics and perhaps play football but hasn’t really looked into everything yet.

But ever since he’s been around a football, he’s been the one catching it.

“I’ve always just loved it,” he said.

Callahan has studied some NFL receivers to see their footwork. One he’s liked watching is Atlanta’s Calvin Ridley. “I just see the way he’s able to break down quickly, change his pad level,” Callahan said.

Once last season ended, Callahan was ready for the next season to start, feeling the team’s otherwise successful 6-3 season ended prematurely thanks to playoff tiebreakers.

“I thought we were going to be able to get to the playoffs, and how many more games we could have after that,” he said. “I was looking forward to this year.”

Callahan is also an outfielder in baseball, and has since his younger days. But football is clearly his favorite. For fun, he skis recreationally, as his mother has been a ski instructor for some 20 years.

Callahan enjoys returning kicks and playing the secondary. “On kicks, sometimes you see a hole but sometimes you have to make your own hole,” he said, adding that playing as a wideout helps him become a better defensive back.

“His intelligence as a receiver helps him out on the defensive side, and vice-versa,” Trisciani said. “He’s our best coverage guy. These first two games, teams weren’t throwing at him a lot. If he makes decision he wants to play in college, he can be just as good on defense as he is on offense.”

The future looks bright, as Trisciani says he could play in college. But Callahan is taking things one day at a time, especially when it comes to potential college interest.

“I’m just going to focus on this year right now, and put together as many highlights as I can,” he said, “and see if there’s any interest out there.”

In that respect, Brendan Callahan would love for his secret to be out.

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