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# Cormier poised for big things in return to Londonderry football
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/cormier-poised-for-big-things-in-return-to-londonderry-football/
- Published: 2018-08-16T14:21:14.000Z
- Updated: 2018-08-16T14:21:14.000Z
- Description: Evan Cormier wasn't supposed to be participating in the first day of practice for the Londonderry High School football team. The senior wasn't supposed to be working hard all summer to prepare to be the starting quarterback going into the 2018 season. But there was Cormier, practicing and working o
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Evan Cormier, football, Londonderry, NH High School Sports Insider, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

Evan Cormier wasn't supposed to be participating in the first day of practice for the Londonderry High School football team.

The senior wasn't supposed to be working hard all summer to prepare to be the starting quarterback going into the 2018 season.

But there was Cormier, practicing and working out alongside his teammates as the Lancers opened a new year. 

Less than two years removed from a freak injury that was supposed to take him 18 months to two years to fully recover from - if he could fully recover at all - Cormier is back at a hundred percent and is anxious to make up for lost time.

"I wasn’t even supposed to be on the team this year and able to start," he said. "I’ve been with these guys forever. We’re going to be good."

Before Cormier even stepped on the Londonderry football field, Lancers coach Jimmy Lauzon knew who he was. 

"All I heard was ‘we’re getting Evan Cormier,'" Lauzon said of the talk around the team. "The first camp we had, he was going to be a freshman, and I was already on his case. He brings it up all the time, but my expectation for him was high.

"Then he had a great freshman year. When we’d throw him into games at the end of sophomore year, he started to stick out."

But in the second half of a loss to Merrimack in 2016, Cormier was tackled from behind and his foot got caught in an awkward position.

"I broke 13 bones in my foot, dislocated four toes and crushed the joint," Cormier said. "I had to have a couple of surgeries. I got 13 screws and three plates (put in) and the doctor told me it ends a lot of careers."

For Lauzon, it was tough to watch the rising sophomore be forced to the sidelines for so long, but Cormier didn't stay down for long.

"In a lot of ways, I think it’s motivated him, with the ability that he has, to get back to full strength," the coach said. "He’s been awesome in the weight room the last two years.

"He was in my room, it seemed like forever, and he’d watch film with me. We’d do everything we could without using his feet. I kept telling him it was going to make him stronger in a lot of ways. It’d make his core stronger, his arm stronger."

As soon as he was able to, Cormier rejoined the team to not only keep his spirits up, but to support his teammates.

"I just stayed around my team as much as possible," he said. "I was in the weight room, crawling around and doing whatever I could. I went to a few of the games at the end of the year. They were helping me out. My parents helped me stay motivated, too."

While he wasn't able to fully participate when practice began last August, Cormier was still there when Londonderry started the preseason. And to the surprise of everyone, he was able to return to full activities by the middle of the 2017 season.

By the final few weeks of the season, Cormier was splitting time at quarterback with last year's starter, senior Mike McAlister, and in the final game of the regular season, he played the entire second half.

With Londonderry making the playoffs, facing a quarterfinal game against Salem, Lauzeon decided to give Cormier a head start toward his senior year.

"(Lauzon) called me at dinner (a few days before) saying I was going to be the starter," Cormier said. "I got the phone call and my parents were like ‘really, in the middle of dinner?’ I took a step outside and then came back and told them. My dad (Eric), he flipped out a little bit, he was really happy for me."

With an entire offseason to get ready, Lauzon feels Cormier is ready to have a breakout year as a senior.

"He’s fast and handles our quarterback run game really well," Lauzon said. "He makes good reads. He has the ability, and we haven’t had a guy like this in a while, who can just make plays. The ability to freelance when things breakdown and come up with a great play.

"I think last year finally getting the opportunity, he did great, but this year, he’s been as motivated as anybody I’ve seen. He hasn’t missed anything. He’s been looking forward to (this) for a long time."