> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Souhegan's Dessureault has always been a playmaker for Sabers - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/souhegans-dessureault-has-always-been-a-playmaker-for-sabers/ - Published: 2012-11-21T18:27:21.000Z - Updated: 2012-11-21T18:27:21.000Z - Description: When the Souhegan High School football team has needed big plays, it’s often turned to its smallest player. - Author: Joe Marchilena - Tags: Division III-IV, Fall Sports, Division III, football, Souhegan, Thanksgiving, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/hbsocshsalvfball091412-shs1-1.jpg "HBsocSHSAlvFball091412 SHS1-1") Souhegan's Denny Dessureault breaks a tackle during a game against Alvirne earlier this season. When the Souhegan High School football team has needed big plays, it’s often turned to its smallest player. Denny Dessureault’s size has never kept Sabers coach Mike Beliveau from calling the senior’s number when there’s a lot on the line. That’s because Beliveau learned a while ago that Dessureault can deliver in crunch time. “Denny is a very clutch football player,” Beliveau said. “He’s never shied away from any kind of pressure situation. He always plays bigger than he is and he comes up big quite a bit.” Dessureault was thrust into the spotlight in perhaps the biggest pressure situation a high school football player could face. With Souhegan trailing Portsmouth by a score in the 2010 Division III championship game, injuries forced the then-sophomore, who hadn’t played much with the varsity, onto the field for a last-minute drive. “It was a nerve-wracking moment to say the least,” Dessureault said. “(His teammates) all kind of patted me on the back and said I was doing a good job. It was nice that there were a bunch of older kids helping me out there.” Truth was, Dessureault was doing a good job, going over the middle to make a key third-down reception. With Souhegan moving into Portsmouth territory, Dessureault came out of the pile with a fumble, keeping the Sabers’ hopes alive. And after Souhegan had scored the go-ahead touchdown, Dessureault turned something out of nothing, and score on a two-point conversion. “He made some spectacular plays,” Souhegan senior Jake Kennedy said. “He isn’t afraid to face adversity. He doesn’t back away from a challenge. People underestimate his strength sometimes. They underappreciate it and he’ll lay a shoulder into them and turn some heads.” Strength and speed were two things Dessureault knew he needed to work on if he was going to be a key player for the Sabers, but it took something else for him to keep fighting. “(Size is) a big obstacle, but a lot of it has to do with heart and passion,” Dessureault said. “I’m fighting for every single yard I get. I’m never giving up on a play, I’m never giving up on my teammates. I might only be like 5-5, but I work harder than anyone out there. I put my heart and soul into the game.” His teammates notice that, especially when he makes a big play. “We see a kid like him making a play, it gets the rest of us fired up,” Kennedy said. “He makes some pretty spectacular plays.” Dessureault battled a hamstring injury as a junior, but worked enough during the offseason to add what Beliveau figures is an extra 15 pounds of muscle. That added strength has not only come in handy this season, but the coach thinks it might draw some interest from coaches at the next level. “He’s always been real well put together, but that’s where he got thicker and stronger,” Beliveau said. “I believe because of that, he has a real opportunity to play Division III college football, or the sprint football over at Franklin Pierce. He’s the perfect kind of candidate for that. “I think people will look past the size issue. Truth of the matter is, you watch him as a football player, and that’s what he is, a football player. Sometimes they come as big as Jake, and sometimes they come as small as Denny. He’s been a great performer for us and he’s helped us get where we are.” Dessureault and the Sabers will go for one more win Thursday, when they play at Merrimack at 10 a.m.