Souhegan's Tony Garrant, left, and Mitch Hauser will play in one final football game Saturday, the CHaD East-West All-Star Game at Saint Anselm College. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

MANCHESTER – They were the only two.

Last fall, Tony Garrant and Mitch Hauser were the only two starters returning from Souhegan’s unbeaten championship team of 2020.

And in part because of their guidance, the Sabers did something perhaps few expected, except themselves: make the Division II playoffs.

“They were the only two returning starters from our championship team, and halfway through the season, we had to win out to make the playoffs,” said Souhegan coach Robin Bowkett who will guide the West squad that Garrant and Hauser are on in Saturday’s annual CHaD East-West All-Star Game at Saint Anselm’s Grappone Stadium. “We had a team meeting after the loss to Lebanon, and they were ones who said ‘This is it. We’re not settling for anything less. This is the standard we’re used to. And really demanded more from all of our younger guys. And our younger guys fed off it.”

“We were really young,” Hauser, a running back and free safety, said. “The championship season helped the young kids. All those young kids got to see how it goes, how to win, what it takes. That really helped. We were young, really small.”

But really tough, thanks to the leadership of these two.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Garrant, who was a receiver and outside linebacker for the Sabers. “You could kind of see who the new starters were, and kind of coach them up. It was fun.”

And that’s what he feels Saturday’s game will be.

“I’m really excited, it’s an honor to be here,” Hauser said. “I’m a little bit nervous, it’s new. Anything new is worth being nervous for. If you’re not nervous, you’re not ready.

“It’ll be a lot of fun. It’ll be cool being with kids I saw during the season in the other jersey. Really cool, I think.”

Hauser jumped right from the end of the Souhegan baseball season in the tournament to CHaD practice. He’ll be going to the University of New Hampshire in the fall, but this game will be it for football. His studies in mechanical engineering will be his priority.

“It’s a little emotional, but I already had the emotional thing in the last game of the high school season,” he said. “So I think this is more for me, just a fun thing.”

Hauser says playing free safety was his favorite. “I liked that it was a little bit more to think about, free roam, makes you think on your toes a little bit more,” he said. “And hit people a little bit more.”

Garrant is also playing in his final football game, as he’ll head to RPI in Troy, N.Y.to study engineering. And same as Hauser, he more or less has said his good-byes to the sport.

“I kind of got my emotional game out with the last game of our normal season,” he said. “This one I can kind of enjoy it a little bit more, and be more free with it. It’s less about winning and more about the CHaD Game.”

Garrant liked receiver, but again, defense was more of his favorite. “It was a little easier and you could be more creative.”

Having Bowkett as their head coach in this game certainly makes the pair feel more at ease.

“I think it definitely helps,” Garrant said. “Makes me feel more comfortable.”

“Their leadership, Tony and Mitch’s, was fantastic this year,” Bowkett said. “To be able to coach them one last time is just an honor. It’s awesome to be able to do that.”

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