Nashua North sophomore Dylan Noble had a tough time as a backup QB vs. Portsmouth in the Division I quarterfinals, but he will be a key for the Titans next season in multiple positions. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

This story is part of The Telegraph/nashuatelegraph.com’s occasional look back at the local fall high school sports season and what is ahead for some teams.

While the Division I and II high school football postseasons continued this weekend with semifinals (Division I) the the finals at Stellos Stadium (Division II), the season ended a week ago for all the locals involved.

Here’s a look at the abrupt end for Nashua North, Bishop Guertin and Souhegan, and where they go from here:

NASHUA NORTH

The Titans found themselves in the same spot as a year ago, in the Division I quarterfinals, but the circumstances were reversed: This time was North that was looking to get the upset against an unbeaten opponent, No. 2 Portsmouth- Oyster River. But early on in a 20-0 loss North coach Chad Zibolis felt that same familiar quarterfinal feeling creeping in. The Titans lost their starting quarterback (the now graduated Derek Finlay) in the second quarter a year ago vs. Bedford, and this time last weekend in the chill of Portmouth, QB Jack Canaway went down. Then, later in the game, his replacement, Gavin Flynn – who also had to replace Finlay a year ago – also went down. The Titans also lost a few other playes – key lineman/linebacker Jack Krulikowski also went down early – and were ravaged by injuries by game’s, and season’s end.

“It’s almost the same thing as last year,” Zibolis said, his team finishing 7-4. “When you lose Canaway, and (last year) you lose Derek (Finlay) and Finny (Gavin Flynn) had to jump in there again and he did what he could. … These guys stuck it out, the amount of adversity these guys went through, it was hard. A lot of players moving around, but we kept playing.”

To make matters worse, Flynn got hurt on one of the kickoffs and North was down to its third string QB, sophomore Dylan Noble, who was actually taking Flynn’s spot as a slot receiver.

“It’s tough,” Zibolis said. “It’s tough when you take that QB position, the kids who were taking the reps during the week. And Gavin takes reps at QB. But (during practice), he was our slot receiver so he wasn’t getting QB reps.

“A lot of adversity. The kids who got in there stepped up, they played. They played their roles and played their hearts out. I’m proud of all of them. … We just couldn’t get it going, we couldn’t get the stuff going that we wanted to get going.”

What’s next for the Titans? North’s defense was its strength all season, while the running game did pick up later in the season. The Titans will lose some key seniors: back Steven Rosario, injured split end John Barry, Jr., and massive lineman Melvin Fernandez, receiver Jonathan Torres, among about 16 seniors. They’ll have some younger players who got experience due to the injuries step in come next fall. The two key pieces will be speedy Luke Peters and lineman/defensive end Darius Smith, who also got hurt (ankle) in the second half.

“The biggest thing I take out of the year is I’m proud of the seniors for coming out,” Zibolis said. “We had a lot of seniors who didn’t play the year before. They were kids we needed to step up and take the place of the kids the year before.We just had an unbelievable season.

“And obviously we have some really good young players who were playing hard. We have a lot of good young players we’re excited about.”

Remember, one is speedy corner Dharius Sisay who had a good start to the year as a freshman but then got hurt.

“We had a lot of injuries this year, but it’s not an excuse,” he said. “We had other kids step in and you just keep playing. We had some sophomores and juniors who were playing pretty well.

“It’s tough to see these seniors go, always hard, but then you’re excited for the next group. … But this was frustrating.”

BISHOP GUERTIN

There were levels in Division I this season, with Pinkerton, Portsmouth-Oyster River, Londonderry and Bedford up there at the top. The Division was so top heavy it was going to be difficult for a team like Bishop Guertin to compete with the Astros, and that was obvious as they lost 55-20 in last weekend’s quarterfinal after losing to Pinkerton 56-17 during the regular season.

“With a team like that, you can’t give them good field position, you can’t give up special teams touchdowns, and can’t give up turnovers,” said Nalen. “We did all three (and we found ourselves behind the eight ball against one of the best teams in the state.”

Similar to North, first-year Cardinals head coach Anthony Nalen had to depend on seniors who didn’t really see much playing time, if at all, a year ago. In a lot of ways the Cardinals 7-4 success this season was due to its success throwing the football with senior QB Mike MacDonough, who got a smattering of time a year ago but this year came into his own as the starter.

He tossed TDs to Cody Szymansky, Ronan Balistreri and Sam Franco in the playoff game and had two games this year with over 340 yards in the air.

“Since day one he has [been important to the offense],” said Nalen on his senior QB. “He’s a silent leader. He distributes the ball really well and we all were proud of his efforts (in the playoff game).”

And likely through the season. The Cards will have to decide on a QB for next season but have some players like lead running back A.J. Holmes, receiver Will Helmke and speedy Alex Dolan (78-yard kickoff return in the playoff loss) back as possible mainstays. They lose 13 seniors overall, but will have some young lineman returning up front. It will also be the second year in Nalen’s system on both sides of the ball.

“Going into the season we had some questions after we lost a lot of good players at key positions,” Nalen said. “A lot of guys stepped up. We got a good foundation and had a lot of young guys play this season that we are excited about.”

Quarterback Mike MacDonough was a huge key as a senior in the success of Bishop Guertin this season. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Quarterback Mike MacDonough was a huge key as a senior in the success of Bishop Guertin this season. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

SOUHEGAN

Besides Campbell losing in the finals in Division III, the other toughest end to the season was suffered by the Sabers, who were the No. 3 seed in Division II but were playing at a No. 2 seed in Plymouth that they had mopped Calvetti Field in Amherst with during the regular season to the tune of 49-6, even in a steady downpour.

But in their 21-20 semifinal loss at Plymouth last weekend, the Sabers turned the ball over twice in the first half and came up short on a drive at the end of the half. They needed every point in this one, and fell a point short thanks in part to a blocked extra point and ultimately fell on Plymouth QB Luke Diamond’s 1-yard run and the ensuing extra point. Ouch.

Souhegan’s Romy Jain completed 9 of 18 passes for 175 yards and one TD, but that’s mundane compared to some of the numbers he put up during the regular season. Senior back J.J. Bright ends a brilliant career as he had 14 rushes for 140 yards and a TD. But he had just 16 yards on the ground in the second half as the Bobcat defense rose to the occasion.

It likely marks the end of a highly successful era, especially on offense, as Jain-Bright were quite the tandem. Bright, of course, will graduate but while Jain is a junior, there is a possibility he could move on to play at a prep school next year. That was a chance after leading the Sabers to the finals vs. Pelham as a sophomore in this high octane offense.

The Sabers graduate 16 seniors, while some key returnees could be tight end/linebacker Brayden Hickman and receiver Ayden McGrath, and with high numbers will certainly regroup and redevelop. But many were expecting a Souhegan-Pelham rematch in the Division II title game, but Plymouth had other ideas.

“Our kids kept battling and they’re always going to keep battling for 48 minutes,” Souhegan coach Robin Bowkett told the media after the game. “Just wasn’t our day. You can’t turn the ball over and then have an opportunity to score before the half and not get it. You feel like if it’s 21-7, maybe 28-7 … You can’t turn the ball over and win championships. Our defense gave us opportunities.”

We’ll see what opportunities knock next season.

(Telegraph sports correspondent Jack Belanger contributed to this report, and material from nh-highschoolsports.com was used as well.)