Telegraph file photo by TOM KING HB's Marc-Andre Thermitus will be a player to watch in tonight's Division II quarterfinal between the Cavs and unbeaten Souhegan Sabers in Amherst.

You don’t have to wait until NFL training camps open at the end of this month to get your first taste of football for the year.

How about Friday?

That’s when the first practices for the annual CHaD East-West High School All-Star Football Game begins, with the West Squad practicing at Bedford High School and the East team at St. Thomas Aquinas in Dover.

The game will be played on Saturday, July 17 at 1 p.m. at Saint Anselm College’s Grappone Stadium in Manchester.

Weekday practices are slated roughly for 4-8 p.m. while weekend sessions begin at 9 a.m. . The West team is practicing 9-11 a.m. then 1:30-3:30 p.m. on Saturday, and 9 to noon on Sunday.

And there’s plenty of local flavor, with Souhegan High School coach Robin Bowkett coaching the West squad. In fact, this Saturday’s West practice will be at Souhegan High School.

Both the East and West will practice (walk-throughs) at Grappone Stadium on Friday, July 16.

Not surprisingly, Division II champion Souhegan leads the local contingent with five former Sabers on the roster. Will Boyle is the only lineman, and the rest are quarterback Austin Jain, running backs Riley Lawhorn and Mike Maroun, plus receiver Luke Manning.

Division I champion Nashua North has two-way lineman Max Ackerman and linebacker Spencer Whiting on the West.

Other local West squad members: Nashua South running back/defensive end Jason Compoh, who is bound for Merrimack College in the fall, was also selected, along with Bishop Guertin receiver Brendan Callahan to round out the Nashua schools’ contingent.

Hollis Brookline has three players, including spectacular running back Marc -Andre Thermitus. Joining him from the Cavs are linemen Quinn Connors and Adam Slater.

Merrimack has three players on the West roster – RB-DB Jake Trahan, TE-LB Cody Keefe, and two-way lineman Dylan Sadowski. Milford running back-corner Darrion Kimball is also on the West.

For the East, the only local on the team is Alvirne’s Kyle Gora.

There are some familiar names on the East coaching staff, which is headed up by Spaulding’s Kevin Hebert – Jimmy and Andy Vailas, the latter a former Bishop Guertin and UNH standout.

Bowkett, of course, was slated to coach the West team last year before the game was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Assisting him this year are several current and former head coaches and highly regarded assistants: JT Anderson, Jared Chandler, Justin Hufft, Keith Jones, Brandon O’Connell, Andrew Provencher, Joe Battista, Nick Hammond, Kip Jackson, Branden Lilley, Pat O’Neil and Rick Urda.