Goffstown football overcomes slow start to knock off Manchester Central

MANCHESTER - Charlie Keith thought there might be a chance the Goffstown High School football team would have to go point for point Friday night with Manchester Central.

The Grizzlies junior quarterback practiced all week with that mindset and was ready to play that way, and early on, that's what Goffstown needed to do.

Keith helped bring the Grizzlies back from a slow start and picked up first downs in the second half to keep the offense on the field, as Goffstown snapped Central's five-game winning streak with a 29-12 win in a Division I North Conference game at Gill Stadium.

Goffstown's offense picked up 21 first downs, including seven on its final two drives, and the defense held the Little Green to just 87 yards in the second half and kept Central out of the end zone over the final 35 minutes of the game.

"We had to be real crisp," Keith said. "We’ve been working all week because we know that if they put up a lot of points, we have to put up points. We needed to make fewer mistakes and see how the rest of the game could go."

Keith finished the night with 133 yards rushing and a touchdown and was 11 of 18 passing for 146 yards and another score, a 44-yard catch-and-run touchdown to Andrew Duval, who had six catches for 102 yards. Duval also had 33 yards rushing and an interception inside the Goffstown 10-yard line to end a Central drive in the second half.

"They’re very well-balanced," Central coach Ryan Ray said of Goffstown. "They’re probably the best-coached team in the state. They do a great job of preparing their kids and their kids play harder. Their kids play harder than just about anybody else in the state. You’ve got to give them credit."

Coleman Handrahan and Joey Poisson also had rushing touchdowns for the Grizzlies (6-1), as they scored on three straight possessions after Central (5-2) took a 12-7 lead with 7:04 left in the first half.

"I was pleased the kids fought back," Goffstown coach Justin Hufft said. "I thought physically, we played hard and we played well. We had some line issues in the first half that we were able to fix at halftime. In the second half, we did a nice job controlling the ball and running for first downs."

Alex Hawkom led Central with 201 yards through the air on 21 of 33 passing, with a touchdown and an interception, while Alex Guillemette had six catches for 81 yards and a score. Jeremyah Rivera returned the opening kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown to give the Little Green a 6-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game, and Central was in position early for more.

Goffstown's offense drove down to Central's 16-yard line on its first possession, but turned the ball over on downs. On the Grizzlies next drive, Keith was strip-sacked, and the Little Green recovered at Goffstown's 35-yard line.

But Central's offense stalled, and Hawkom threw incomplete on third and fourth down from Goffstown's 16 to give the Grizzlies the ball back.

Keith capped a seven-play, 84-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown run, with the extra point giving the Grizzlies a 7-6 lead, but the Little Green looked like they were going to take the lead right back. Central had a first-and-goal at the Goffstown 9, but a bad exchange on a handoff between Hawkom and Rivera was recovered by Goffstown's Adam Moses.

The Central defense forced the Grizzlies to punt, and a bad snap on the attempt gave the Little Green the ball on Goffstown's 29. On Central's first play, Hawkom connected with Guillemette for a touchdown to give the Little Green a 12-7 lead.

"Central is a very good team and Ryan Ray does a great job with them," Hufft said. "They always get so much better as the year goes along. We always get them at the end of the year. They’re coming into their own.

"They certainly moved the ball on us. We put the clamps on them. They got their first downs. We were able to bend, not break."

Goffstown retook the lead on its next possession, as Duval turned a short pass from Keith into a 44-yard score, and Duval ran in the two-point conversion to make it 15-12 with 5:20 left in the half.

Central was able to get down to the Goffstown 29-yard line on the ensuing drive, but turned the ball over on downs, and the Grizzlies quickly went back down the field, scoring on Handrahan's 8-yard run with 30.4 seconds left in the half.

The Grizzlies opened the third quarter with an 11-play, 52-yard drive that ended with Poisson's 2-yard scoring run to make it 29-12 with 7:38 left in the third.

"We really rely on motivation," Keith said. "If we do well, it snowballs to the end of the game. With a rough start to the game, we have to get it together and keep our mentality. Coach (Hufft) does a good job keeping us focused."

Goffstown returns home on Oct. 21 to host Spaulding (1-6) while Central will play its final home game of the season on Friday against Winnacunnet (7-0).