Local high school football fans will see a lot of familiar helmets with Team West, which gathered for a mid-practice rally on Thursday at Souhegan High School. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

AMHERST – If you think the local high school football season is over, guess again.

There are practices going on at Souhegan High School that say otherwise.

Team West, coached by Merrimack’s Kip Jackson, is hard at work in preparing for the annual CHaD East-West All-Star Football Game that is set to be held at Saint Anselm College a week from today at 6 p.m.

But don’t call it Team West. Call it Team Nashua Area, as there are as many as 21 local players on the roster.

Here’s a look:

NASHUA NORTH – Corner Amaury Almonte, back Jordyn Andino, defensive end Toby Brown, Jr.; Nick DiGesse, receiver/defensive back; Jack Peters, back/linebacker.

NASHUA SOUTH – Matt Harding, lineman; Jake O’Connor, tight end/linebacker; C.J. Vancelette, lineman.

BISHOP GUERTIN – Jakob Baker, tight end; Charlie Bellavance, running back; Matt Santosuosso, QB/safety.

MERRIMACK – Jason Duke, lineman; Reimello Hyde, running back/linebacker; Reese Lopez, kicker/lineman; Owen Sadowski, receiver/safety;Ryan Turley, back/defensive line.

SOUHEGAN – Charlie Maroun, receiver/db-linebacker; Madux McGrath, receiver/safety.

MILFORD – Trice Cote, wide receiver; Chris Cotsifas, running back-linebacker; Charlie Urda, QB/DB.

It’s hard to remember a CHaD team having this many locals.

“It fell that way a little bit,” Jackson said. “Obviously all of them are good players, but I felt like a lot of the kids who were from some of the outer regions decided not to play or decided to play in the Shrine Game (in August). But we were able to obviously get a lot of good kids that are nearby, which we were happy about.”

FINAL GAME FOR BG DUO

This is it for football for both BG’s Jakob Baker and Matt Santosuosso. Baker, a sackmaster as a defensive end/linebacker as well as a tight end for the Cards, is going to the University of Tampa (Fla.) to study film/new media arts. He’s wrestled with the idea of not playing football to focus on his academics and career as a videographer, and feels he’s made the right decision.

He says he wants to “make a mark” knowing it’s his final football game.

“Really just finish it off the way I wanted to,” Baker said. And when the horn sounds, he doesn’t think it will hurt as much as hearing it his last game with BG, the quarterfinal loss to Pinkerton. “It’s probably going to be like graduation this year, it won’t hit me right away until I look at the film. … I know I’ll always feel I should have played college football, but I know I’m making the right decision.”

Meanwhile, Santosuosso, who was a prolific runner as a quarterback and just as good if not better as a hard-hitting safety, is hanging up the cleats for sneakers to play basketball at Plymouth State.

“It’s definitely a shocker for most people,” he said, “Once I got into the basketball season (with Guertin), I started really loving it and I decided to play at Plymouth.”

Schools from all three divisions were definitely after Santosuosso for football, he said. But PSU and basketball won out.

“It’s close to here, not too far,” he said, adding he’ll study business. “And I already know a lot of the coaches and players on the team.

“Football I don’t think I’m going to go really far, and basketball, I just love doing it.”

PRACTICES ALL WEEK

Thursday was the second day of practices for both teams, with Team East, which is coached by Londonderry’s Jimmy Lauzon, is working out at mainly at Manchester West.