Tom King

It’s transition week coming up, the time right before Labor Day weekend when the realization is that a fun summer is over and a fall of promise is ahead.

This weekend fall sports are underway, mainly soccer, and this coming week is a full high school schedule, culminating in the opening of high school football on Friday, Sept. 2 and Saturday, Sept. 3. All that is covered in your annual Telegraph Football Preview, inserted in this print edition.

But before we move ahead, we certainly want to think back on what was an eventful summer locally. Two big events stand out: Nashua’s Brandon Gillis winning the State Am golf title at Rye’s Abenaqui Country Club, and the Silver Knights winning their sixth Futures Collegiate Baseball League crown in another world known as Centennial Field in Burlington, Vermont.

Locals winning hardware. Gillis was dominant during State Am week in early to mid July. After match play began at mid-week, he only saw the 18th hole once, and that was because the finals were a max of 36 holes. Incredible, and a great moment for the former Nashua North standout who didn’t enjoy his time at Wake Forest but absolutely loves his tenure at the University of Rhode Island that has one more year to go.

Then there were the Knights, of which much has already been written. Every championship they’ve won (six) have had their own story, and this one included one of the most dramatic games you’ll ever see. A memorable way to end a memorable summer.

The best championships are the ones you don’t expect, and this one certainly fit that category.

And now we fall ahead, not back. Football is football, and while there’s no one defending a title – Milford came close last year, three points shy of Timberlane – there’s a new Division I format and a lot of people are looking at Bishop Guertin as a legit title contender, perhaps a favorite.

The non-football spotlight locally in the fall will be on the two local soccer champions, the Bishop Guertin girls and Nashua South boys.

Both teams won dramatic, emotional titles last November in temps about 50 degrees colder than when they started the preseason.

And now the preseason has started again, and there’s the job of the coaches, Cardinals coach Winston Haughton and Panthers mentor Tom Bellen, to let their teams know this is a different deal.

Haughton has liked what he’s seen so far.

“They came back ready for business,” Haughton said. “A lot of girls had their off-season doing their stuff, and they were just happy to be back together, ready to go again. A good attitude.”

Of course, Guertin and South will have to handle the fact that there will be a target on their back.

But Haughton feels that’s really nothing new.

“I’ve had a sense the girls are set to go against whatever,”Haughton said. “It’s just another thing to put on our shoulders. Just another expectation, really.”

Bellen has had to remind his group, which, like BG, still has key players returning, that you just don’t show up.

“The kids are starting to realize that now,” he said, noting it took a few days of workouts for them to get that mindset. He reminded them after a scrimmage earlier this week at Winnacunnet that they can’t wait until the 60th minute to turn things on. And that teams will be gunning for them.

“These kids tend to thrive on that a little bit,” he said.

But both programs enjoyed last year, with banner raisings and the other championship ceremonies.

Winning is fun. Duh.

“The first time I met with them, I said ‘Congratulations for being champions, and this is probably the last time we’ll mention it in those words,'” Haughton said. “This is a brand new season.”

And it starts now. Thanks for the memories, summer. Welcome to Fall 2022.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph_TomK.