Telegraph Sports Reporter Tom KIng.

High football is back.

Midway through the summer, we all felt it would be a “normal” season.

Schedule-wise, it is. Fan-wise, so far, it is, with no limits as of this writing. Repeat, as of this writing. Visiting fans allowed. Home fans. Tickets must be purchased, etc.

And what should be the best of all, no empty stands.

“It’s going to be great to have the fans back for games,” Bishop Guertin quarterback/split endMatt Santosuosso said.

Keep your fingers crossed.

The other thing: They’re playing for keeps this year, after a year with an open playoff.

“Which is, at the end of the day, why we play the game,” Campbell coach Glenn Costello said. “Last year was fun; I knew we were in the playoffs regardless so I could start so-and-so at another position to get him experience for down the line. But not that I threw any games.”

No one did. But coaches could experiment. Imagine what it was like, with games canceled a few days before if a team had to go on pause. Teams often mixed and matched if their regular schedule had to be disrupted. Merrimack, for example, had to take two weeks off, then had another game canceled but picked up an unscheduled opponent to fill the void.

That hopefully won’t be the case this season, because the playoffs aren’t an open door this year where anyone can walk through.

Everyone had to go through it.

“I think it’s a little different from last year,” Merrimack coach Kip Jackson said. “Last year it felt like the other shoe was going to drop. This year, I think we’re cautiously optimistic right now.

“But it doesn’t feel like something is hanging over our head, which is the way it was last year.”

Championships were either held at the site of the highest seed, or a charitable school like Bedford would allow its Bulldog Stadium to be used as a neutral site so fans of both teams could attend the Division I final. Not sure if UNH will be the site of the title games this year, but the Division III and IV finals are on November 13, a week earlier than the Nov. 20 Division I and II title games.

It turned out locally to be a fabulous fall in 2020 even in the pandemic, with Nashua North and Souhegan both winning championships – and both going undefeated. You’d be hard-pressed to find a year in the last 20 when that happened for two teams.

What awaits us all this fall? Don’t underestimate Nashua South, we think, because the Panthers have a lot of beef back up front, and experience is always the name of the game with them. They may not need to take half a season to get that experience this year.

Campbell, if it can stand out to the Pelham beast, could be strong in Division III. One of the best football players in the area may be Milford senior back Caden Zalenski.

All sorts of possibilities, and it all starts next Friday night, about three weeks earlier than last year’s abbreviated schedule but this is the way it’s supposed to be.

Enjoy.

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

Newsletter