Goffstown football trying to fight through injury, inexperience

MANCHESTER - There's a lot up in the air for the Goffstown High School football team going into the 2014 regular season.

The Grizzlies are without their starting quarterback, and aren't sure how long they will be. They've got some playmakers at their skill positions, but aren't sure if they've got the guys to block for them.

And in Friday's scrimmage against Timberlane, which the Grizzlies won 15-0, head coach Justin Hufft wasn't thrilled with his pass defense.

"Our pass coverage was awful and we were fortunate they didn't connect on a couple because they had guys open," Hufft said. "Run defense, we played OK, and the pass rush looked OK. Aside from that, everything else was a disappointment.  We didn't run block at all. We threw interceptions. It was pretty ugly."

Goffstown's first drive of the scrimmage was a thing of beauty, as junior Connor Bourque carried the ball twice and rushed for 80 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown run. But Bourque, who touched the ball six times, gained 124 yards and scored two touchdowns, did a lot of the work on his own.

"Wish we would have done a better job blocking for him," Hufft said. "I think he had to create a lot of stuff on his own. He certainly showed what he has, he's an explosive player. He makes a lot of stuff happen. He’s a smart, tough kid who does what you want. Can’t have enough of those kids around."

The Grizzlies also had a long touchdown pass called back on a hold and lost a fumble at Timberlane's 1-yard line. They closed out the scoring with a 40-yard field goal by Samuel Heidenreich.

The key for Goffstown will be how quickly starting quarterback Casey Gervais recovers from a separated shoulder. Matt Collins stepped in Friday to replace Gervais after just a day and a half of practice at the position.

"He's played quarterback before, but not this year," Hufft said. "Matt Collins is an extremely smart player, very cerebral. He worked extremely hard. He was coming in early before practices, getting help. The fact that we were able to do as much as we could with him is a testament to how hard he works."

Goffstown opens the regular season Friday against Concord, a game that's now a conference contest after the Grizzlies were moved to Division I North. With 70 players in the program - up from around 50 last year - Hufft feels the Grizzlies are still not quite at the point of being a contender yet.

"A team that's going to compete, we're not there yet," he said. "It was nice (Friday) that we made some plays. At the Division I level, we have to improve a lot."