On the Gridiron: Goffstown football's Moquin trying to just be himself

Nik Moquin knows he won't be able to fill the shoes of Casey Gervais.

That may be key for the Goffstown High School football team to continue its run of success.

Listed on the Grizzlies' roster as 5-10 and 166 pounds, Moquin gives about six inches and almost 70 pounds to Gervais, who moved to tight end now that he's at Stonehill College.

Trying to run over defenders or dragging guys down the field are things that the senior knows he won't be able to duplicate. Instead, he's focused on playing to his strengths.

"Casey has gone to college for tight end, so obviously he's a big kid," Moquin said. "You've just got to work with what you've got. You watch them and see what works, and then you go out and tweak it a little bit and make it your own."

What Moquin lacks in size, Goffstown coach Justin Hufft believes he makes up for in other areas.

"He's got a little different game there," Hufft said. "But he runs well and he's a good deal faster than Casey was. Nik has some pretty good speed and he's a good athlete. He's got a great release and throws the ball well. There certainly are some strengths that we try to play to."

Although Hufft likes what his new starting quarterback brings to the table in terms of his athletic abilities, what he does off the field also makes the coach feel good about having Moquin at the helm.

"He's a leader on and off the field and he works his tail off," Hufft said. "He has really since he walked through the doors at Goffstown High School. From freshman year on, he worked his tail off in the weight room and does a great job in the classroom.

"He's great with younger kids, he studies hard and knows his playbook. He's done all those things all along. He's been behind a kid who was a phenomenal talent the last few years, but I have a ton of confidence in Nik."

Moquin has already felt the need to bring some teammates back out of the clouds after last year's championship run.

"A lot of the young kids over the summer have talked about 12-0," he said. "We lost 25 seniors, and they were all great players. We've got to work with what we've got. They had great chemistry and came to work every day. We have to do what they did."

QB controversy?

While it came up on the short end of the scoreboard Friday at the Queen City Jamboree, Londonderry got some decent play from the quarterback position.

Ben Johnson started the scrimmage against Timberlane and completed all five of his pass attempts for 58 yards and a touchdown. But Johnson left the game after getting hit hard and losing a fumble that turned into the winning touchdown for the Owls.

Backup Michael McAlister completed just half of his passes (5 of 10), but more than half those attempts came on a 13-play drive that led to a touchdown that gave the Lancers a chance to tie it. McAlister threw for 75 yards and a touchdown, but also lost a fumble and threw an interception.

Keep running

With Jon Nogueira, Cam Kinney and Zach Bossi all graduating, Souhegan went into the season without three of its top rushers from a year ago.

If Friday is any indication, the Sabers might just be reloading, as Dante Savo and Kyle Archambault showed the ability to get down the field in a hurry against Manchester Memorial. And when Souhegan needed tough yards, it turned to Benjamin Hart, who was listed as a tight end last season.

That ground game will come in handy during a brutal September for the Sabers.

Souhegan opens the year at John Stark, then returns home to face Trinity before going on the road to play St. Thomas and Milford with a game at home against Windham in between.