MANCHESTER — For Will Stinson, the transition isn’t as great as it might be for others in the same boat.
But he’s still aware he's giving away size on the field this week.
Stinson, a 6-foot, 210-pound center, is one of three players representing St. Thomas Aquinas at the sixth annual CHaD East-West Football All-Star Game, a showcase for the state’s top outgoing seniors that will be played Friday (7 p.m.) at Saint Anselm College.
About 60 percent of the players originally picked for the East team come from Division I, the largest of the state’s three classifications. The numbers are similar on the West side.
Stinson, who is expected to rotate at center on Friday with Ryan Michaud of Salem, grew up playing with Gillis and others in the Exeter Seahawks program so there’s familiarity with some of the D-I guys. But he also comes from one of the strongest programs in D-II, with the Saints capturing the state title his junior year.
Linemen Brad Conha and Cam Goodell of St. Thomas were also picked for the East team.
Kozens had praise for one of the handful of Division III players on his roster, nose tackle Kiki Oroh of Somersworth.
As challenging as it will be facing bigger bodies on the West defensive line, Stinson is also getting used to an offense that bears little resemblance to the fast-paced spread he played in at STA.
Kozens has named Jake Stevens of Londonderry the starter at quarterback. Running backs Christian Peete of Portsmouth (who’ll also be the backup quarterback), Vinny Panetta of Dover, John Ferrelli of Winnacunnet and Cam Flanagan of Exeter are all expected to get a share of carries, along with Joshua Thibeault of Timberlane and Parker Belsky of Windham.
Of the three STA guys chosen for this game, only Stinson, who earned second-team All-Division II South honors at center, is not continuing his career in college. He’ll be attending Texas A&M-Galveston, and plans to study engineering and join the Navy ROTC program.
Conha and Goodell plan to continue their football careers at Division III colleges, the University of New England and Western New England, respectively.
But first, the three will take the field as teammates one last time, a trio of Division II standouts rubbing shoulders with players from the state’s largest division.
The event has become a big annual fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth, with more than $1 million raised. Other local players on the field this week are Shon Parham, Ben Barba, Alex Gladu, and Kevin and Aidan Moore of Portsmouth; Liam Viviano and Seth Provencher of Winnacunnet; Dylan Russell of Dover; Tim Ramsay of Exeter; and David Barca of Farmington-Nute.