Looking too far ahead in high school football has become a dangerous proposition.
Underclassmen stars that were once slam-dunk returnees — for another year of Friday night glory in front of their adoring hometown fans — are now more than ever tempted by the lure of prep school football and the “next big opportunity.”
But lets hope, for a second, that our Eagle-Tribune region is safe this offseason.
Barring a mass exodus, expect a high school football season to remember in 2026.
As we say farewell to the 2025 season, it’s striking to look at how any stars made this fall so special should be back in next season.
Starting at quarterback, the group is of course led by two-time Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 offensive Player of the Year Caden Smith. The junior was third in the area in both passing (1,233 yards, 14 touchdowns) and rushing (993 yards, 16 TDs), leading the Raiders to the Division 1 semifinals.
But he isn’t alone.
Methuen junior Caiden Hartley-Didio moved from running back to quarterback — for the first time in his career — and led Methuen to the MVC Division 1 title, rushing for 840 yards and 14 touchdowns and throwing for 831 yards and seven TDs.
Haverhill should be excited about the return of the area’s most prolific passer, junior Michael Bayko. He led the region in both passing yards (1,768) and passing touchdowns (20) in his first year as a starter.
North Andover junior Austin Allen was pressed into action due to injury and impressed, throwing for 945 yards and nine touchdowns and rushing for 875 yards and eight scores. Andover will look to return a pair of impressive QBs in the area’s second leading passer, junior Kyle Olson (1,462 yards, 17 TDs passing; 707 yards, 9 TDs rushing) and John Stadler, who led the Golden Warriors to the win on Thanksgiving Day.
Others QBs with big victories under their belts include Salem sophomore Van Mason (527 yards, 4 TDs passing) and the Windham duo of Adrian Bergman (541 yards, 6 TDs passing) and Jackson Wright (202 yards, two TDs passing in tourney comeback win over Concord).
The running back crew returning is just as impressive.
Division I semifinalist Salem loves to run the football, and the Blue Devils will be able to do so with the return of lead backs Colin “Coe” Salkovitz (790 rushing yards, 14 TDs) and Aiden Shikrallah (533 rushing yards, 3 TDs despite battling injury).
Pinkerton rode its backfield to another Division I title game appearance, and the Astros will also return their top two backs — Brady Spellman (687 rushing yard, 5 TDs) and Ryson Michaud (351 rushing yards, 11 TDs). Both are juniors.
Pelham’s Luke Draper (878 yards, 15 TDs) is just a sophomore, while Windham’s Michael Brearley (661 yards, 5 TDs) is a junior.
In Massachusetts, Andover brings back junior Marcus DeJesus (746 rushing yards, 324 receiving yards, 14 total TDs) and Greater Lawrence will return Ziah Herring (511 rushing yards, 218 receiving yards, 11 TDs).
The area’s two most dangerous receivers are both back, and will both be in Brown and Gold — Haverhill juniors Jathian DeJesus (876 yards, 11 TDs receiving) and George Papanikolaou (662 yards, 8 TDs receiving). Greater Lawrence returns junior Jayvin Mejia (353 yards, 2 TDs receiving) and Central brings back three-year starter Drew O’Keefe (362 yards, 5 TDs receiving) and Jeremiah Mateo Mora (304 yards, 5 TDs receiving).
Pinkerton returns the duo of playmakers in Michaud (441 yards, 6 TDs receiving) and Noah Rao (379 yards, 6 TDs receiving).
There should also be plenty of standout linemen back, including Central Catholics’s returning Eagle-Tribune All-Star Brian Waller-Reitano, Haverhill All-MVC center Ethan Jalbert and the Pinkerton All-New Hampshire Division 1 South duo of Eliot Ingraham and Braden Connolly.
And don’t forget about the defense, led by All-N.H. Division 1 South defensive lineman Brooks Batson, Central Catholic linebacker Armari Mills, North Andover defensive back Marcus Peralta , Andover’s Braden Sullivan (team-high 91 tackles) and Matthew Lee (74 tackles), along with many of the aforementioned offensive players, like O’Keefe and Michaud.
Players …. please stay home and make 2026 special.
Varela in perspective
We were all fortunate to witness history, as Greater Lawrence Tech running back Gustavo Varela shattered the Eagle-Tribune area and Massachusetts career rushing records with his eye-popping 6,688 rushing yards in his tremendous four-year varsity career.
Varela is the seventh player in the history of our region to top 4,000 career rushing yards, joining a very elite group:
— Jerickson Fedrick, Salem, 2012, 4,568
— Max Jacques, Salem, 2011, 4,559
— Andrew Foote, North Andover, 2007, 4,549
— Manny Latimore, Pinkerton, 2014, 4,144
— Matt Jordan, Pinkerton, 1994, 4,099
— Dan Brucato, North Andover, 1978, 4,041
After high school, Fedrick played for both the University of Maine and the University of New Hampshire, Jacques was a starter for Marist and Jordan won a Division 1-AA national title with UMass.
Varela also set an Eagle-Tribune area record with 86 career touchdowns, breaking a mark set by Pelham legend Bruce Vieira, Pelham (81, class of 2008). Next on the list were Jordan (76) and Jacques (75).
Truly selfless players
Hats off to Methuen’s Josh Danella, North Andover’s Billy Vincent, Andover’s Kyle Olson and Windham’s Adrian Bregman, all quarterbacks that were willing to put their teams first.
After successful 2024 seasons as their teams’ starting QBs, both Danella an Vincent found themselves injured — Vincent in the offseason playing lacrosse and Danella in the season-opener — and teammates taking over their jobs behind center.
Did either pout? Nope. Both took on roles on defense and special teams, chipped in on offense when called upon and made major contributions to the team as leaders an mentors.
Likewise, both Olson and Bregman could have scoffed when other QBs went into the game for their respective teams. Instead, Olson shifted to running back and slot receiver and made a few impressive plays on Thanksgiving, while Bregman waited his turn, then ran for the game-winning overtime touchdown in a state tournament win over Concord.
There was certainly no quit in this foursome.
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