Poisson quietly leading the defense for Goffstown football

It was perhaps the biggest play of the season for the Goffstown High School football team and Joey Poisson read the play from the start.

When Exeter lined up to go for two points at the end of last Saturday's Division I quarterfinal, the Blue Hawks shifted before snapping the ball.

Poisson, the Grizzlies' senior linebacker, realized what Exeter was trying to do and made sure his teammates were lined up properly. Goffstown made the stop on the conversion attempt that kept it a 22-20 lead for the Grizzlies, and they held on to advance to this weekend's semifinal round of the playoffs. Goffstown will take on Winnacunnet at 1 p.m. Saturday in Hampton.

"He got the guys moved to the right place, he came up where we wanted him," Goffstown coach Justin Hufft said of that play. "He’s an impact defensively player from the linebacker position. He makes a lot of tackles, but he also gets things coordinated for us and gets guys lined up right. He gets a grasp of the other team’s offense. He just plays his tail off."

And that's the way it's been since Poisson moved into the starting lineup on defense as a sophomore in 2015. Playing alongside some talented players like Ian Routhier and Damien Jackson, there was still plenty of room for Poisson to make a name for himself.

"Joey was a heck of a linebacker on that team (in 2015), too," Hufft said. "We had two other senior linebackers that year who were very good, but Joey was a player who caught people’s eye. He’s been an impact player. He had just as much of an impact then, but now he’s opening people’s eyes."

Better late than never for Poisson, but then again, he doesn't make the flashy plays that some of Goffstown's other players have over the last few years, and doesn't get quite the same recognition.

And that's all right with him.

"It’s a team effort," he said. "It makes me keep working harder just to get my little bit of the spotlight. Being on that defense for three years, it gives us a lot of experience to help out the younger guys, give them tips and tricks, let them know what it’s going to be like in the playoffs."

Poisson got his feet wet with the Goffstown varsity as a freshman and remembers it being a harrowing experience playing alongside players who were a few years older.

"It was definitely nerve-wracking, especially being a freshman," he said. "You don’t know what it’s like, you’ve never played a high school game in your life. All the older guys helped me. They taught me the ropes and gave me advice. It was all about senior leadership."

This season, it's been Poisson's leadership that has helped Goffstown turn in one of the best defensive performances in program history. The 20 points scored by Exeter was just the second time this year a team has reached that number, and only the fourth time this year the Grizzlies have allowed double digits.

"Having a guy like Joey at the center of everything, who has been there before, has played a lot of varsity football, that gives us a building block to start from," Hufft said. "He’s helping guys be in the right place for their assignments, and he’s going to do his assignment. From that perspective, it’s very helpful from a team like this."

While he's played a little bit more frequently on offense this season, Poisson prefers to be on defense, where he's been a linebacker for as long as he can remember. But this season, that has meant more than just lining up and playing the position.

"I love hitting people," Poisson said. "I realized I had to be that leader because I couldn’t look to the kids above me. It just fell on me and I embraced it."

Whether there is one or two more games for Goffstown this season, Poisson knows that his playing days will continue on beyond that. He's drawn interest from a handful of schools and would consider playing college football a dream come true.

Hufft believes that wherever Poisson ends up going, that program will be getting a special kind of player.

"Whatever chance he gets, he’s going to excel at," Hufft said. "You look at the measurables and think maybe he’s good. No, Joey is a sure thing. He’s a very good player and citizen. There’s no downside."