Bishop Guertin's Will Andrews gets ready to try to run past Nashua North's Yandel Velazquez (3) during Friday night's seaosn opener for both at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – The last time the Bishop Guertin High School football team won a game, it was last November against Nashua North at Stellos Stadium.

That was a Division I playoff game. But Friday night was just as valuable for both teams as they opened the season vs. each other, and the results were basically the same: a 42-7 Cardinal win in front of a big crowd.

But that wasn’t too surprising. The Cards are considered one of the top teams in Division I, while North is determined to build with youth. And youth makes mistakes.

No, what was somewhat startling was the connection between brothers BG senior quarterback Nate Bowen and sophomore receiver Jake. The two connected four times for 203 yards and two TDs and just missed on another one right before the half.

“It’s awesome,” Nalen said. “They’ve been working hard all summer together, they’ve got the continuity with each other, they know where each other’s going to be, which is good.”

With North taking the opening kickoff and driving 77 yards in eight plays with Jace Gallego waltzing into the end zone untouched for a 5-yard TD, things were looking up for the Titans. That is, until Nate Bowen hit his brother for a 70 yard score 37 seconds later. The senior QB was 14 of 24 for 320 yards and three TDs.

“Slow start,” Nalen said of North’s drive. “I think our guys I don’t want to say nervous but they were just trying to settle into the game early on. They took a good punch, they got back up and they kind of competed for the rest of it. I was glad they were able to respond.”

Guertin then made it 14-7 with a fourth-and10 Bowen-to-Bowen connection from the North 41 of 30 yards setting up a Logan Curran 3-yard TD run to give BG a lead it wouldn’t relinquish with 1:22 left in the first quarter. An interception by Gavin Harnum near midfield then set up a Will Adams 2-yard TD two minutes into the second and it was 21-7 in a flash. Adams was a tough runner, 110 yards and two TDs on 12 carries.

“We knew we were going to have growing pains,” North coach Chad Zibolis said. “Our kids were down 21-7 at the half, and with the amount of penalties we had, the amount of stuff that we had, it didn’t help us. Young team, and I think as we grow each week we’ll be fine.”

It could have been worse for North at the half but the senior Bowen tried to run the ball into the end zone as time was running out rather than throw the ball away and kick a chip shot field goal. But he was stopped at the 1.

Then, to start the second half, BG’s Jackson Humphrey had a 40-yard kickoff return to the North 48, and that set up the first of three BG third quarter TDs, another Bowen-to-Bowen connection of 50 yards with the sophomore shaking off a couple of tackle attempts down the middle of the field. The middle was open most of the night for the Cards.

“They were blitzing, they were blitzing a lot,” Nalen said. “At times we were able to stay in the pocket and deliver the ball. We were able to exploit that at times.”

Guertin added a Bown 20-yard TD to Wyatt Hull and an Adams 12-yard scoring run, the latter with 3:47 left in the quarter to get the clock ticking (running time).

Nashua North’s Jace Gallego waltzes into the end zone untouched early in Friday night’s season opener vs.Bishop Guertin at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

The Titans can look at the first half job done by quarterback Brady O’Connor (7 of 9 for 109 yards) and know they have something.

“Yeah he did, he played really well,” Zibolis said. “Like I tell him all the time, you’re never too high, never too low, and we started to get a little bit too high, and a little bit too low, we weren’t right in the middle where we needed to be.

“BG played an unbelievable game. They were physical, flying around the field, they exposed us with some of the pass stuff. But we’re going to be fine.”

Unlike last year’s second meeting, both teams have plenty of football to play.