Nashua South's Severen Johnson, left, tries to stick check Merrimack's Sean Anderson during the Tomahawks' 8-3 win in the season opener for both at Stellos Stadium on Tuesday. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

The amazing streak should continue.

Yes, the Bishop Guertin High School boys lacrosse team should make it to their 19th consecutive state championship game, and the Cards certainly hope for a lucky 13 title.

But usually, with the program that Chris Cameron has built, there’s no luck involved, it’s all skill. The questions locally will be what teams can take steps forward. Merrmack in Division I did it a year ago by making the semifinals, and in Division III Campell made it to the state title game as well and is definitely eyeing return.

Let’s take a look, as the season is underway for some teams who were able to get on their fields once the snow from the early April storm melted fairly quickly:

DIVISION I

For Cameron’s Cards, a resounding 21-3 season opening win Friday over the Manchester Central-Memorial co-op wasn’t surprising. Back are All-Americans Brady and Alex Dumont, the latter on defense/long stick middie and the former on attack. All Staters returnng are Siena-bound Finn Moran on defense, midfielders Caleb Yeung (Stony Brook), and Micah Dunsmoor, and junior faceoff man Paulo Vazquez, headed to UMBC in two years.

The college commits are many, with Brady Dumont headed to Villanova and Alex to Loyla. Senior goalie Will Murphy is back (Bryant) as is senior Carter Jozokos (Wentworth) on attack, and Matthew Bressan (Bentley) at midfield plus senior Sam Patenaude (Lasell) helping to anchor the defense.

“Our top 18 players are at a very high level,” Cameron said. “We need to develop depth, which is needed to compete in the out of state schedule and win a state championship.

“We’re going to win faceoffs and make saves. … We’re going to play fast. Pressure D and looking to run.”

Merrimack, which beat South 8-3 in its one game this past week, will be a bit younger, and are led by senior midfield/attack Conor Dunn, plus junior midfielders Max Giles and Henry Tobin, junior attack Jake Miller and junier defensemen Beau Lamontagne and Colby Smith. Three sophomores will also be keys: defenseman Gavin Hickey, attack Sean Anderson and goalie Mason Tremblay.

“We’re looking to our upperclassmen and returning varsity players to lead a core of young players,” Tomahawks coach Brian Miller said.

How about the Nashua teams? Nashua North loses a gem in Jack Peters, now at UMass, but will make due, although it was a tough 17-3 loss to start vs. Timberlane.

“We don’t have that No. 1 stud like Jack, so our offense will need to be able to possess and move the ball quick and get looks from actually running plays,” Titans coach Matt Brewster said, as he’s also excited having 12 new players and possibly enough for a small JV team for the first time in his four-year tenure.

They will build around returning seniors Alec Jankerson (midfield), Brody Sutton (attack), and goalie Jace Colon. Two other key returnees are junior middie Andrew Cullinane and sophomore attack Nick Wilkinson. Keep an eye on newbies Jevon Anson (junior, defense) and freshman goalie Josh Parsons.

“I’m excted to see what we can do with this group and hope to just keep building the program up,” Brewster said.

How about at Nashua South, where Will Delanoy begins his second year at the helm? The Panthers graduated a lot of experience and now will move forward with youth. They’re experience is on defense, and that was evident in 8-3 and 7-6 losses to start the season, the latter vs. Alvirne.

“We’re looking to develop and improve the young team as the season progresses,” Delanoy said. “We’re looking forward to see the young players take advantage of their opportunities to compete this spring.”

Eight returning players will be keys, four on the defensive end beginning with junior goalie Jake Lynne, and defensemen Severen Johnson (senior), Andew Convery (junior) and Tyler Benzekeri (sophomore). Junior Broden Landsteiner and sophomore Raiden Chao will help anchor the midfield while back up front on attack are senior Wyatt Solis-Serber and sophomore Owen Roy. Keep an eye on newcomers Luke Lowell (junior, attack), Cody Jackson (sophomore midfielder) and Grant Imbeault (freshman midfielder).

DIVISION II

There’s a new coach at Hollis Brookline, Mac Martin, and he’ll be looking to see if the Cavs can improve on last year’s 11-8 mark, and he’s off to a good start with a season opening 16-1 win over Hillsbor-Deerng/John Stark. They’ll have a very good player to start with in returning senior midfielder Ben Dufoe, who can score and then some. Other key seniors include Rudy Rosa and Cayden Emmons on defense plus and Connor Cook on attack. Key juniors are Noah Taylor on attack and J.P. Torgersen at midfield, and sophomore Charlie Dee will be once again in goal.

“This year we have a lot of new players, but our returners come back with a lot of experience,” Martin said. “As the season progresses, more younger players will gain experience and begin playing important roles for us.”

Souhegan went 9-8 overall last year, losing in the prelims, and the Sabershave started out 1-1 with a tough 15-6 loss at Windham but a nice bounce back Friday with a 16-6 win at Keene.. Cole Manning should be a welcome sight as he missed most of last season due to injury and should provide a scoring boost. Sophomore Nate Hill will also be on the attack, while seniors Zach Wyborney and junor Muse Cross Swartzell should help anchor the midfield and senior Brett Bouvier the defense. Remember, the Sabers, who got hot in the second half of the seaosn after a tough start, graduated nine seniors.

Alvirne made the tournament at 8-8, finished 8-9 overall and hopes to be even better this year. So far, so good, as they are off to a 2-0 start with a 12-8 win over Goffstown and 7-6 win over Division I Nashua South.

“We’re looking to take another big step forward this year,” Broncos coach Cam Debrusk said. “We have a lot of great attitudes on the team and a lot of kids ready to compete.”

And that includes seven returning starters, starting with seniors Ayden Kelly (goalie), Jonavan Santana (attack), Preston Ball (attack) and Cedrik Beaulieu (attack), Aiden Malloy (defense) and Sam Fortin (defense). Junior long stick midfielder Jackson Hurrell is back as well.

Newcomers who could contribute are senior midfielders Brandon Lavarnway and Cam Drohan, freshman attack Finn Malloy and sophomore middie Carsen Mills.

DIVISION III

Ahhh, the Cougars. They still have a bad taste in their mouths from last year’s title game loss and plenty of key players back, especially on offense.

It starts with senior attack Andrew Willnus, the division’s top offensive player last year, plus junior attack Cruz Sandquist. The midfielders back are seniors Wyat Tarr, Brandon Portillo and Hunter Grant, plus sophomore Nathan Lencki, who will also work on faceoffs with senior specialist Lucas Craig.

Defense starts with seniors Alex Kirby and Tyson Landry in the midfield, plus the junior Hersbergers, Scott (long stick middie) and Nick (defenseman).

Key newcomers start with sophomore Will O’Brien, who will man goal as a first-time regular, junior attack Zach Hannah and fresehmen Jake Landry (defense) and Evan Molino (midfield).

“We’re excited for the season,” Campbell coach Josh Knight said before his team handled Kearsarge 9-2 to start the season. “Definitely a senior-led team that will have some younger contributors throughout.”

Milford, which fell 16-3 to Coe-Brown in its opener, is still a work in progress, but there are some key returnees: Senior defenseman Dartagnan Boudreau, senior midfielder Tyler Descoteaux, juniors Ryan Arseneau (midfield), Braydon Atwood (midfield), and sophomores Jason Daykin (defense), Landon Briand (attack) and Simon McFarlane (midfield).

There are several newcomers, including sophomore goalie Brennan Cassidy. Others include senior Matt Gaumont on defense, freshman attack Dylan MacLeod, and junior midfielders Mitch Broadhurst and Tyler Ireland.

“Like a lot of teams in the state, we’re a young team and need to devleop our skills, tactical knowledge and get to know each other to play as a cohesive unit,” Spartans coach Rick Urda said. “The more experienced players have done a great job integrating the inexperienced players.”

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