Score another one for N.H. over Mass.

Unlike Massachusetts, the Friday and Saturday night lights of high school football will burn brightly in the state of New Hampshire this fall.

Despite the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Granite State possessed the will and the way to make it happen.

That’s in stark contrast to our state, which banished high school football to a socalled “wedge” season that’s scheduled to begin in late February and run into April. That’s usually referred to as the mud season — just what a weatherbeaten grass field doesn’t need.

Meanwhile, dozens of programs across New Hampshire will play a five-game regular fall season.

The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) — the enlightened version of the MIAA, its Massachusetts counterpart — also plans to hold football playoffs, though those particulars have yet to be finalized.

Decisions on the number of spectators allowed at regular-season games will be left up to individual schools. NHIAA guidelines ask that fans of one family remain at least six feet from other spectators, and while face masks aren’t mandated, it’s strongly suggested that attendees avail themselves of that protection. The NHIAA’s decision to allow football and other fall sports resulted from a vigorous examination of all the public health variables involved, and comes with a plethora of mandates that every school must follow, specific to the sport.

For example, no shaking hands between teams before and after games will be allowed, and the footballs will be sanitized frequently. Other measures were put in place to decrease potential exposure to respiratory droplets by encouraging social distancing, limiting participation in administrative tasks to essential personnel, and allowing for appropriate protective equipment.

It’s true that New Hampshire’s coronavirus exposure pales in comparison to Massachusetts, and noting the sport’s high-risk status, not every one of our northern neighbor’s high school football teams have opted in.

But at least they were given the opportunity.

Participating programs also made it a priority to schedule regular season games against opponents in close proximity. We shouldn’t be surprised that New Hampshire found a way around a difficult problem that Massachusetts couldn’t.

Back in the summer when the Archdiocese of Boston was wringing its hands over the closure of several parochial schools — including St. Louis School in Lowell — due to falling enrollment, New Hampshire Catholic schools mounted a recruitment campaign to entice disgruntled public-school parents.

Offering tuition discounts based on a child’s grade and in-school instruction, they saw this pandemic, not as a crisis, but as an opportunity to bolster their ranks.

We suggested that the Boston Archdiocese should take the same approach, given a similar dissatisfaction with public schools here.

Its potential for success was reinforced by a recent Masslive article that indicated the Boston’s archdiocesan schools have experienced an all-time enrollment record of nearly 4,000 students since mid-July. Springfield’s Catholic schools have also seen a spike of 700 new students.

So, area high school fans, you’ll have to go north of the border to get your football fix this fall. Locally, Nashua’s Bishop Guertin, Hudson’s Alvirne and Pelham are all fielding football teams, as well as Hollis-Brookline, Milford, and Souhegan in Amherst. You can catch Pelham in action at home against Sanborn Saturday night at 6.

Schedules should be available on the high schools’ and NHIAA’s web sites, and be sure to inquire about each team’s spectator policies before making a trip.

It’s either that, or wait until February — maybe — to watch high school football in Massachusetts.