The play of Nashua South QB Cody Jackon has been a major strength for the Panthers as they face Londonderry Saturday in the Division I quarterfinals. (Telegraph file photo by TOM KING)

They both have one playoff win under their belts, but now the stakes are higher and the challenges tougher for both the Nashua High School South and Alvirne High School football teams.

The No. 6 Panthers (7-2 Divsision I, 8-2 overall) travel to face No.3 Londonderry (6-2, -3 overall while No. 8 Alvirne (8-2) heads to face the beast, No. 1 9-0 Bedford. Both games are Saturday at 1 p.m.

While both are underdogs, the odds are one of the top three teams that had a first round bye in Division I could fall. The third, No. 2 Exeter (9-0) hosts No. 7 Manchester Memorial (7-2). The other semi has two teams that played in the first round, No. 4 Pinkerton (7-2) vs. No. 12 Windham (5-4).

Here’s a look at your local games:

NASHUA SOUTH AT LONDONDERRY

The Panthers, coming off an impressive first-round offensive performance against Bishop Guertin, putting up 59 points after Goffstown held them to six two weeks ago, now have to transition to the next level. Will it be hard?

“I’m not sure, we’re going to do what we do,” South coach Scott Knight said. “We’ll make a couple of adjustments, we’ll distribute the ball to a lot of different kids. That’s our strength, our depth.

Londonderry had a first-round bye after losing their regular season finale at Exeter, 21-10.

“They’re a big team, tall and big all over, Knight said. “They’ve got some height. They do a lot. When you watch Bedford, there’s a couple of things that you say, ‘Oh boy, that’s problematic’. But they’re (Londonderry) just good at a lot of stuff.

“A lot of formations on offense, solid on ‘D’. They have maybe five kids going two-ways, which is similar to us. We rotate a lot of guys.”

And Knight is right; while the running and throwing of junior QB Cody Jackson has developed into a major strength, players like Sam Levine and Kyle Emmons rushing and receiving, plus Diego Cabrera are just a few of the others who contribute regularly.

Plus, look for South receiver Josh Tripp to be back on the field, a huge plus. Tripp’s season looked to be over three weeks ago when he suffered an ankle injury during the loss at Bedford. But it wasn’t as bad as first thought, he’s rehabbed and was back on the practice field earlier this week.

“He’s on the mend,” Knight said. “I expect he should be in good shape. We didn’t know the extent of it that night… He’ll do everything he can as close to 100 percent as possible.”

Meanwhile, the numbers on the Londonderry roster are staggering, the size of two teams, not one. The Lancers are also, which that depth, are very good on special teams – they blocked three punts against Nashua North turning those into points.

The Lancers have been up and down. A couple of turnovers hurt them vs. Exeter, as well as a surprising Blue Hawks passing game that included 154 yards and two TDs.

Londonderry had been QB’d by senior Sam Ogden, but he was injured in the Exeter game and replaced by Alex Villa. But depth has been a Lancer strength as well (remember, they’d play three QBs in a game regularly last year).

They’re aggressive on both sides of the ball, with a lot of different formations, including some razzle dazzle.

“We can’t leave guys unblocked,” Knight said. “And defensively, we’re going to have to be smart, we have to be real disciplined. We’ll probably see a lot of screens, maybe a double pass, etc.

“Let’s face it, you win, and you’re going going to go to the semis. They’re going to pull out all the stops.

“It’s going to be a great challenge for us. Looking forward to it.”

ALVIRNE at BEDFORD

The Broncos are fresh off their first Division I playoff win ever in beating Concord last week, but they have to face arguably the state’s best team, led by running back Brody Helton as well as quarterback. And the only in-state team that scored more than two TDs in a game vs. the ‘Dogs was Pinkerton (28-25 Bedford win).

“We actually did a camp with them,” Alvirne coach Matt Lee said. “We saw their guys. They’ve got some players over there. They lost a lot (from last year) but they got a lot of guys back. They’re going to be difficult.”

The two teams did not meet during the regular season, like South and Londonderry. Helton is a key for the Bulldogs, but so is the passing of senior QB Jack Maye. Helton is one of the state’s best players in any division.

However it ends up, the Broncos have been the feel good story of the fall, taking last year’s stunning playoff appearance to the next level with a playoff win (last week over Concord) and have been led by key players like back Mike Landmesser (148 yards rushing vs. Concord), QB Charlie Crawford, tight end Ryan Rochileau, Shawn Boudreau, and safety Chris Darbe. Crawford threw for 168 yards last week and rushed for 80.

“We’re pretty balanced,” Lee said. “Mike can run it … and then we can throw it around pretty good, too.”

And defensively, Lee says “We are who we are. We’ve got smaller goys who get after it, and we’ve got some big guys in the box…The effort is really good.”

And they’ll need every ounce of that on Saturday.