Souhegan's J.J. Bright rushed for nearl 1,500 yards and was the area's dominant offensive player, earning him Telegraph Player of the Year for 2023. (Telegraph file photo by TOM KING)

Today the Telegraph and nashuatelegraph.com wind up our week-plus honoring of the outstanding local high school athletes of the fall season and their memorable performances.

2023 TELEGRAPH ALL-AREA FOOTBALL TEAM

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

J.J. BRIGHT, RB-DB, SOUHEGAN

Bright was simply unstoppable as a running back, rushing for 1,471 yards and 21 touchdowns this season to go with 18 receptions, 356 yards and three touchdowns. He was also third on the team in tackles and received several other postseason honors, including the inaugural Joe Yukica Player of the Year Award. The senior will also be remembered for an incredible one-game, 457 yard night at Hanover.

COACH OF THE YEAR

MATT LEE, Alvirne

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

Mike MacDonough, QB, Bishop Guertin

Romy Jain, QB, Souhegan

Logan Daigle, RB, Campbell

JJ Bright, RB, Souhegan

Aiden Mills, RB, Alvirne

Cody Szymansky, WR, Bishop Guertin

Cole Manning, WR, Souhegan

Jack Kidwell, TE, Campbell

Connor Lennon, TE, Bishop Guertin

Melvin Fernandez, OL, Nashua North

Kevin Ndubuisi, OL, Nashua South

Zach Rezaoui, OL, Merrimack

Sam LeBlanc, OL, Souhegan

Cam Porter, OL, Alvirne

Alex St. Pierre, OL, Campbell

Evan St. Pierre, OL, Campbell

Dom Silva, OL, Campbell

Carson Behn, Utility, Souhegan

Connor Cassidy, KR/PR, Souhegan

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE

Luke Peters, DB, Nashua North

Garron Brown, DB, Merrimack

Ronan Balistreri, DB, Bishop Guertin

Braydon White, DB, Campbell

Logan Day, DB, Merrimack

Darius Smith, DL, Nashua North

Luis Toledo, DL, Souhegan

Zach Wyborney, DL, Souhegan

Jack Thornton, DL, Merrimack

Lochlain O’Neil, DL, Campbell

Harris Jones, DL, Milford

John McCole, DL, Hollis Brookline

Sam Levine, LB, Nashua South

Nick Hershberger, LB, Campbell

Scott Hershberger, LB, Campbell

Cade Cloutier, LB, Milford

Sam Stevenson, LB, Souhegan

HONORABLE MENTION

ALVIRNE – Ayden Kelly, LB; Kyle Dufour, DB; Ryan Rocheleau, TE.

BISHOP GUERTIN – A.J. Holmes, RB; Aaron Chmielecki, DL.

CAMPBELL — Zach Poulin, DL; Nolan Mackey; Hunter Henderson, DL

HOLLIS BROOKLINE — Jacob Velez, QB-RB

MERRIMACK — Matt Schmitt, P-K; Nate Sadia, DL

MILFORD — Braeden Mellen, OL; Kaleb Rancouer, LB

NASHUA NORTH — Steven Rosario, RB, Jack Kralikowski, LB; Jonathan Torres, DB; Dylan Noble, DB; John Barry, Jr. WR.

NASHUA SOUTH — Kyle Emmons, RB; Sampson Akotey, DB

SOUHEGAN — Brayden Hickman, TE; Brett Bouvier, OL; Brody Smith, WR