Goffstown football clinches playoff spot with in over Portsmouth-Oyster River (video)

GOFFSTOWN - With rain falling all day and conditions deteriorating the longer the game went, field position was key in Saturday afternoon's contest between the Goffstown High School football team and Portsmouth-Oyster River.

When the Grizzlies' Peyton Strickland busted through the line to block a punt late in the third quarter, giving his team the ball on the ClipperCats' 31-yard line, Goffstown got the break it needed.

Aaron Duval carried six times, picking up all 31 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown run, and that was all the Grizzlies would need, as they held on for a 6-0 win over Portsmouth-OR in a Division I game. With the win, Goffstown clinches the final playoff spot in the North/East cluster and will play at Winnacunnet to open the postseason next week.

"They played with everything they had," Goffstown assistant coach Joe Battista said. "The seniors, this was their last home game, so they wanted to go out on a very high note. They wanted to lay it on the line and the rest of the team just followed their lead. My hat’s off to them. They’ve been sensational for four years."

Duval was at the front of that effort, rushing for 146 yards and the game's only score on 34 carries, and in the second half, the senior had 88 of Goffstown's 105 yards.

"He’s a warrior," Battista said. "I love that kid. If I was in trouble and I needed help, I’d take him with me. He’s reliable. You know exactly what you’re going to get. Even if something doesn’t go well, you know he is giving it everything he’s got."

Going into the game, Duval knew that he might be expected to carry a lot of the load on offense.

"We all knew what the circumstances were," he said. "If you lose, you go home, so we wanted it so badly, we put it all on the field. I knew we had it in us. The rain wasn’t ideal, but we came out here to play. Everyone was fired up before the game."

Josh Webb was 6 of 9 passing for 75 yards for Goffstown (4-3) with four of those completions to Jonah Lopez for 56 yards, all in the first half.

Portsmouth-OR (5-4) got a solid performance from quarterback Will Hindle, who ran for a team-high 52 yards and completed 8 of 18 passes for 130 yards and an interception.

Nick Smith caught four passes for 54 yards, but the ClippersCats lost senior Max Lalime late in the first quarter to injury, which had an affect in all three phases. It ended up costing Portsmouth-OR on the blocked punt.

"Lalime goes down and he’s our long snapper," Portsmough-OR coach Brian Pafford said. "He’s money. You go to your second long snapper. He’s OK, but the snap is a little low. It’s huge. We always try to have an athlete there."

The drive started on a high note for the ClipperCats, as Hindle hit Smith for a 12-yard gain and a first down. But on third-and-6, Hindle's pass was incomplete and Portsmouth-OR lined up to punt from its 49.

The snap to Colin Marshall was short and by the time he was able to get the kick off, three Goffstown players were closing in. The kick went off Strickland's helmet, and although the ClipperCats' Max Durkin recovered, the ball went over to the Grizzlies.

"It was a called block," Battista said. "We thought coming into the game that we could get one and we put that in during the week. (Strickland) came clean and put his hands together. It was one of the biggest plays. It was all about field position. He got there so quick. I thought as I was watching it, he might get it and he did."

After Duval's touchdown, Goffstown was able to pin Portsmouth-OR back at its 5-yard line on the kickoff. The ClipperCats were unable to pick up a first down and Marshall had to punt from the back of the end zone, setting the Grizzlies up with great field position again.

This time, Portsmouth-OR's defense held, getting the ball back on its own 13, and the ClipperCats moved out to midfield, but stalled there, turning the ball back over on downs with 1:52 remaining. Goffstown was able to run out the clock, securing the win and the playoff spot.