Bishop Guertin' Charlie Bellavance, shown scoring a TD last Saturday, could be a big key for the Cards if he's healthy for Friday night's Division I quarterfinal at Pinkerton. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Can he make a difference?

That’s what the No. 5 Bishop Guertin High School football team will be wondering about running back Charlie Bellavance as they head into Friday night’s Division I quarterfinal in Derry vs. the No. 4 Pinkerton Academy Astros.

Bellavance rushed for nearly 50 yards and scored two TDs in last weekend’s 42-14 first round win over Dover.

Bellavance has been plagued by leg and ankle woes much of the season, and his TDs were his first since Week 2. He’s played some at linebacker, but the Cards could use him along with back Ethan Labbe to take the pressure off run-first QB Matt Santosuosso.

If he can go, it’s a huge plus for the Cards.

“That’s the hope,” Guertin coach John Trisciani said. “The plan is to have him start at running back and start at linebacker and hopefully be able to play a full four quarters. He said he felt great after the last game.

“I’m thinking not just physically, but mentally, too. Be able to go out there and play, have some confidence, finish a game. … That’s a kid who the first seven or eight weeks of the season last year, statistically, was one of the best running backs in New Hampshire.

“So it’s been a frustrating year for him but we hope there’s just enough time left we can make up for it and hopefully get him going.”

EARLY RISERS

The Campbell football team this past summer ran speed training sessions – at 5:45 a.m.

Yep, bright and early.

“I was originally planning on having them in the evening,” Campbell coach Glenn Costello said. “But all the kids were requesting to have them early.”

But Costello was working during the day at summer school. So he told them if they still wanted to do it, it had to be at 5:45.

“They said, ‘Yeah.’ And I’m going, ‘What?’,” Costello said, then trapped into early morning sessions for part of his summer.

And here’s the kicker – the attendance was great.

“We had the best attendance for it at 5:45 that I’ve had in my entire time here,” Costello said.

So the question is, what does that say about the Cougars?

“It’s been a very weird year,” the coach said. “A super emotional roller coaster that you get in a long season like this. But I think when I’m actually able to step back and reflect on it, which will take a couple weeks regardless of what happens on Saturday, this team is going to go down as one of the harder working ones.

“We have 35 kids on paper, and we were averaging 20-25 kids a couple of days a week at 5:45 (a.m.). Close to 100 percent attendance for varisty level kids. One of my assistant coaches said, ‘This could be something special.'”

NORTH BACK TO WORK

It’s not like the No. 2, 9-0 Nashua High School football team sat on its hands during its bye week last week, but the Titans are now able to dive into the preparation for Bedford in this Friday night’s quarterfinal as they now know their opponent. The Bulldogs beat Windham 28-0 last weekend and are the only non top 8 seed (No. 10) in the quarters.

“We’re excited about being in the playoffs,” North coach Chad Zibolis said. “We really didn’t have any idea of who we were going to play. We scrimmaged Windham (in the preseason) . You think you have week to prepare, but you really don’t. You don’t know who you’re going to see. We prepared a little bit for Windham, prepared a little bit for Bedford and kind of went on our way.

“But it was nice. Kids are healthy, kids are ready to play.”

What about the health status of defensive lineman Toby Brown, Jr. (knee) ? He was at practice in street clothes the other day and won’t play Friday night, but the hope is he can go if the Titans advance.

“Not quite sure yet,” Zibolis said. “We think there’s a possibility of getting him back. Not obviously this week, but maybe the semis if we get there. Not sure. It’s day to day, really.”

ONE MORE LOOK AT A SEMIFINAL

Campbell running back Scott Hershberger say the team “was the most prepared for game we’ve ever been” when the Cougars routed Monadnock 37-14 in last Friday’s Division III semifinal. He felt the Huskies had given up at one point during the game.

As far as Trinity goes, Hershberger said “We’ll see as the week goes on, we’ll definitely have to practice hard. It is going to be a tight game. I know it’s going to be a tight game.”

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY

The forecast is not promising on Friday night and even less for Saturday, as the remnants of a tropical storm that is hitting the east coast of Florida is headed our way. Guertin and North play Friday night; Merrimack is at Londonderry, Souhegan is at Gilford-Belmont (Division II semis), and the Campbell-Trinity title game in Division III is at Souhegan. At least four are on field turf; that may help keep them as scheduled.

“I think weather is going to be a big part,” Trisciani said. “We’re looking at it a few days out with the thought maybe it could change a little bit, but the way it looks with Friday and Saturday, whatever’s coming is going to come.

“I think it’s going to play a big part; I’d be interested to see how it’s going to affect the (other) playoff games, too. Whether teams are going to bump them back, move (the games) to the next day, or what. We’ll be playing on turf at Pinkerton, it’ll probably be a situation where both teams are running the ball. Doing it differently, but running the ball.”

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