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# Goffstown duo at its best in D1 football championship
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/goffstown-duo-at-its-best-in-d1-football-championship/
- Published: 2015-11-25T16:30:23.000Z
- Updated: 2015-11-25T16:30:23.000Z
- Description: Bill Ball knew that if his Exeter High School football team had any shot at slowing down Connor Bourque, it had to get to the Goffstown senior running back as fast as possible. Getting Bourque before he reached the second level was key to keeping him check. Unfortunately for the Blue Hawks, not many
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, championship, Exeter, football, Goffstown, playoff, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

Bill Ball knew that if his Exeter High School football team had any shot at slowing down Connor Bourque, it had to get to the Goffstown senior running back as fast as possible.

Getting Bourque before he reached the second level was key to keeping him check. Unfortunately for the Blue Hawks, not many teams were able to figure out how to do that this season.

"Once Bourque got to the second level, we had issues with him like everybody else," Ball said. "If you get him in the first level, we had some success, but once he got to the second level, he's a quick back. He can jump-cut and go."

When Bourque started to find room to run, it opened things up for quarterback Casey Gervais to pick up yards with his legs, and by then, Exeter didn't know which way to go when the ball was snapped. Both players finished with three touchdowns as Goffstown rolled to a 42-14 win in the Division I championship game.

"It's a one-two punch with Gervais and Bourque," Ball said. "They're obviously pretty good up front. It's a tough time matching up."

Bourque rushed for 211 yards on Sunday to give him 1,560 for the season to go with 26 rushing touchdowns; he added two on receptions and two on kickoff returns. Gervais had 76 yards rushing and ended the year with 614 and 15 rushing scores to go with 1,185 yards passing and nine touchdowns.

"The past three years, I don't know if any other quarterback can compare with Casey, how we work on and off the field," Bourque said. "It just comes like second nature. It just works. We're paired very well. It's a challenge for other teams to handle."

The tandem worked so well together at times this season that they often were done playing by halftime. Of Goffstown's 12 wins, nine were by more than three scores, including three games were both Bourque and Gervais were out before the first half was done.

Against Exeter, it took a bit of an adjustment up front to help get both players going consistently.

"We went to a different formation that we hadn't used yet," Goffstown coach Justin Hufft said. "We gave the line a chance to do some things and I thought the line responded well. We were able to get some movement and give Connor time to see some holes and he just did his thing."

After practicing at Saint Anselm College most of last week, Hufft got to watch Bourque on the turf and felt he might have a good game playing on the same surface at the University of New Hampshire.

"Seeing him on the artificial turf, he's just so darn quick," Hufft said. "You almost don't appreciate it until you see him on that type of surface. So on this surface especially, he's got a different gear. We do a good job blocking for him as well, but he's certainly a special player."