Well, that’s a wrap.

Summer is unofficially over, as Monday is Sept. 1, Labor Day.

That means that we’ll be right into the fall high school sports season full time on Tuesday after a smattering of openers late this past week.

It means the Patriots regular season will begin next weekend. It means high school football opens Friday.

It means we are off and running for the 2025-26 local sports year,schools and basically the Boston pro teams, etc. So let’s take a look at what September has in store:

MONDAY, SEPT. 1

We start off with the University of North Carolina football opener vs. TCU. Why? Because, of course, Bill Belichick is the Tar Heels coach and we’ll see him on the sidelines for the first time since that snowy January Sunday in 2024, his final game as the Patriots head coach. The game will be on ESPN, 8 p.m. You know you’re watching.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 2

Portsmouth takes on Nashua North in boys soccer at 6 p.m. Stellos Stadium. Now, not the biggest of deals, but it is the home debut of new Titans head coach Thomas Prentice.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 3

It’s the first big field hockey matchup of the high school season, Bishop Guertin at Bedford at 5:30 p.m.. These two are usually contenders, so it’s worth checking out at Bulldog Stadium. It’s Bedford’s season opener. It seems they’ll flip flop the JV-Varsity time so the JV plays first, giving the varsity the later time.

Also: it’s the home opener for Rivier University men’s soccer, as they host Fitchburg State at 7 p.m. at Joanne Merrill Field, a non-conference game.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 4

NFL Opening Night, with the Dallas Cowboys at the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on NBC. Football begins to rule our lives.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 5

High school football is officially underway. Check the special insert in this paper, the Telegraph’s annual High School Football Preview. The game of the night is Manchester Central at Nashua North at Stellos season, as the Titans want to get off on the right foot.

Also, just outside of Boston, Josh Porter makes his head coaching debut for Nashua South at Malden Catholic. For the first time in over two decades, a football team in Purple won’t be coached by Scott Knight (retired).

SUNDAY, SEPT. 7

Yes, the New England Patriots will begin their long awaited 2025 season; we’ve been ready for this since the team fired Jerod Mayo about an hour after its 2024 regular season finale and hired Mike Vrabel a couple of weeks later. Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels schemes against the team that fired him two years ago during the season and former Patriots coach Pete Carroll coaches the Raiders. Lots to look at for a 1 p.m. game.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 12

It’s the early season football Game of the Year with Bedford coming to Stellos to face Nashua South. New coach Josh Porter said he’s happy to have a tough game so early in the season, so let’s see how it turns out. Also in girls volleyball, two of the better local programs, Bishop Guertin and Nashua North will tangle at the Colligadome.

And, at Fenway Park, well, the New York Yankees are in town for what will probably be another spanking at the hands of the Red Sox. Amazing how things have turned.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 13

Bishop Guertin football has its home opener against Merrimack at 6 p.m. at Stellos.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 19

Obviously another big Football Friday, but the game we’re looking at is Hollis Brookline at Milford, two programs that have been struggling in Division II. HB has new coach Pat Gendron and Max Morelli is hoping to make strides in his second year with the Spartans.

Also, it’s the home opener for Campbell, with a rematch of its Finals opponent in Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough. It’s the Cougars’ annual night game when they bring in temporary lights for a 7 p.m. start.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 21

The Patriots are back at home and coming to Foxborough will be none other than Aaron Rodgers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. For your information, the last time the Steelers won at Gillette Stadium was Nov. 30, 2008 – the season when Tom Brady was out after knee surgery and Matt Cassel QB’d. The final score that day was 33-10. Almost 17 years, yikes. Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl that year.

Also, this is the day of the Bruins first preseason game vs. the Washington Capitals after camp opens a week earlier.

Also, it’s NASCAR’s annual stop at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and this one’s a playoff stop, the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, kicking off the Round of 12 in the postseason. Next year NASCAR will make its stop a month earlier.

MONDAY, SEPT. 22

It’s that week: Battle of the Bridge Week, and it starts with Nashua North vs. South varsity field hockey at 6 p.m. at Stellos. North will be the home team for most of the events this week.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 23

The Battle continues with the annual North-South boys-girls soccer doubleheader, the girls at 4 p.m. and the boys at 6. North boys coach Thomas Prentice said he’s been in the stands for a couple of these, but he’s looking forward to experiencing it from the sidelines.

Also that night, the Red Sox are at the current AL East leading Toronto Blue Jays to start a three-game set.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 24

It’s girls volleyball’s turn in the BOTB, the match set for 6:15 p.m. at Nashua North, which upset South in last year’s Battle. It’s one of the best events of the crazy week, as the students get loud, and this one is in Titans Gym.

And at Rivier, the women’s soccer team hosts rival Saint Joseph’s of Maine, always a big battle whenever a Riv team is facing the Monks. Game time is 4 p.m.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 25

It’s the first day of Boston Celtics training camp workouts, as Media Day was slated for the previous day. New owner. New lineup, minus the injured Jayson Tatum. Last year it was how they were going to defend their title; now it’s how they’re going to be able to make the playoffs. Wow.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 26

The biggest local game in terms of a rivalry, the North vs. South game at 6:30 p.m. at Stellos Stadium. Interesting things always happen during this game, so keep an eye out.

Also an interesting game will be Souhegan at Manchester West. Sabers coach Robin Bowkett, plus others, feel that the Blue Knights are Final Four material in Divsion II.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 28

While the Patriots host the Carolina Panthers, the Red Sox wrap up their regular season vs. the Detroit Tigers at 3 p.m. at Fenway Park. There’s still a lot of baseball left but the bet is their season won’t be ending there.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 30

It’s not October yet, but the MLB Playoffs will be underway with the Wild Card round. Two series in each league, with the games on ESPN, best two out of three. Red Sox-Yankees? Please no.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on X, formerly known as twitter, @Telegraph _TomK.