10 For 10: The top football players and teams

This week, for the 10-year anniversary celebration, we turn our focus to the gridiron and take a look at some of the best football players and teams from the last decade.

Perhaps no sport has seen the changes that football has seen in the last 10 – and 20 – years when it comes to the way the game is played. If this list were to be done for the previous decade, I’m sure it would look a lot different. Here, we have a good mix of players who really put their stamp on New Hampshire football during their playing days, and as a bonus, I’ve included the top linemen of the decade as well.

The following are the top football players and team I’ve covered for this website over the last 10 years, with players listed in alphabetical order and the teams listed chronologically.

Top Players

• Connor Bourque, Goffstown (2012-15): Bourque was one of the most elusive players on the field and a threat to score every time he touched the ball. As a senior, he was named Gatorade Player of the Year and helped lead Goffstown to an undefeated Division I championship while rushing for 1,554 yards and 26 touchdowns and catching 17 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Is currently playing lacrosse at Norwich University.
• James Caparell, Bedford (2009-12): Caparell helped put the young Bulldogs’ program on the map, leading the team to the Division III final as a junior and the Division II final as a senior. Finished high school with 5,389 yards passing and 50 touchdowns, along with another 23 rushing touchdowns. Continued his playing career at the University of Rhode Island.
• Andrew Duval, Goffstown (2014-17): Duval started on varsity for three years, helping the Grizzlies to a championship as a sophomore and to the semifinals as a senior. During his final year at Goffstown, Duval had 11 touchdowns on just 27 receptions, averaging 26.6 yards per catch, and also scored two rushing touchdowns, one passing, one on a kickoff return and one on an interception return. He was also named Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior.
• Gannon Fast, Pinkerton (2015-18): Fast was a two-way standout for Pinkerton, helping the Astros reach back-to-back championship games his junior and senior year. As a senior, he rushed for over 1,200 yards and had 22 touchdowns, while recording 7.5 sacks on defense.
• Justin Grassini, Merrimack (2013-16): A three-year starter for the Tomahawks, Grassini helped his team win more than it had in almost two decades. As a senior, he turned in one of the best seasons by a quarterback in state history, throwing for over 3,500 yards while setting a single-season record with 43 touchdown passes, to go with a single-game record of nine scoring tosses.
• Curtis Harris, Nashua North (2017-20): Harris was a varsity starter for the Titans on defense as a freshman, and has been a standout two-way player the last two seasons. As a junior, he rushed for 1,425 yards and 21 touchdowns despite playing in just eight games, and also threw for 384 yards and four touchdowns.
• Trevor Knight, Nashua South (2010-13): A dual-threat quarterback who could beat a team running and passing, Knight was a three-year starter for the Panthers. As a senior, was named Gatorade Player of the Year after completing 57 percent of his passes with 1,800 yards and 19 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,553 yards and 19 scores. Continued playing in college at the University of New Hampshire.
• Manny Latimore, Pinkerton (2010-13): Latimore was a four-year starter at running back for Pinkerton and set a school record for rushing yards in his career with 4,144 while scoring 64 touchdowns. Helped the Astros reach the Division I championship game in all four years of high school, including a title win as a freshman.
• Garrett Macomber, Plymouth (2014-17): Macomber helped lead the Bobcats to back-to-back championships as a junior and senior, winning the Gatorade Player of the Year award in 2016. That year, with Plymouth losing several players to injuries, Macomber was the team’s workhorse, rushing for a school-record 2,373 yards and 26 touchdowns.
• Ryan Toscano, Bedford (2015-18): After being a solid two-way player as a sophomore and junior, Toscano broke out as a senior to help the Bulldogs win the Division I title. He was named Gatorade Player of the Year after a dominant season in which he had over 1,300 yards and 20 touchdowns to go with 63 tackles on defense while only playing in the first half of games. Is currently playing for the University of New Hampshire.

Top Linemen

• Bobby Heald, Bedford (2012-15): A three-year starter and two-time all-state performer for the Bulldogs, Heald was a huge part of the Bulldogs’ offensive and defensive lines. Over those two years, he helped Bedford to a record of 19-3, including an appearance in the 2014 Division I title game. Is currently a member of the Army West Point wrestling team.
• Ricky Holt, Portsmouth (2009-12): Played both ways for the Clippers, earning all-state recognition three times while helping Portsmouth to back-to-back Division III championship in 2011 and 2012. Continued his playing career at the University of New Hampshire.
• Jake Kennedy, Souhegan (2009-12): A key part of the Sabers’ offensive and defensive lines and was a two-time all-state first-team performer. Continued his playing career at the University of New Hampshire
• Kody Palladino, Milford (2012-15): Was a three-year varsity starter for the Spartans a was a two-time first-team all-state selection as Milford’s center his junior and senior year. Is continuing to play at Saint Anselm College.
• Noah Robison, Pinkerton (2011-14): An all-state first-team performer who helped lead the Astros to an undefeated Division I championship as a senior. Initially played a year of college football at Coastal Carolina before transferring to the University of New Hampshire.

Top Teams

• 2013 Concord: The Crimson Tide won the program’s first championship since 2000, going undefeated along the way. Concord averaged better than 42 points per game during the year, including a 42-14 win over Pinkerton in the championship game
• 2014 Pinkerton: After losing in four of their previous five title-game appearances, the Astros broke through in a big way, thumping Bedford 37-0 to complete an undefeated season. In three playoff games, Pinkerton outscored its opponents 103-14.
• 2015 Goffstown: Behind a senior class that had been building to something big, the Grizzlies went undefeated to win the program’s only championship. Led by Connor Bourque and Casey Gervais, Goffstown averaged 41.6 points per game, including a 42-14 win over Exeter in the final, with both Bourque and Gervais rushing for three scores.
• 2016 Merrimack: The best team to not make it to a championship game, the Tomahawks won the program’s first playoff game in two decades. Led by Justin Grassini, the offense was one of the most prolific in state history, as Merrimack went 8-2, with both of its losses to Bedford, which won the Division I title.
• 2017 Plymouth: The second of three consecutive Division II titles, this edition of the Bobcats was unstoppable. With Garrett Macomber, Nolan Farina and Owen Brickley healthy for the entire year, Plymouth dominated, scoring more than 40 points in nine of 12 games while going undefeated and beating Bow 27-8 in the final.
• 2017 Campbell: The Cougars went undefeated to win the program’s second championship, averaging 44.3 points per game while posting six shutouts and allowing 46 points all season. But Campbell needed everything it had in the final, escaping with a 12-8 win over Monadnock.
• 2018 Monadnock: The Huskies finally broke through after three years of dominating Division III during the regular season. Monadnock had six shutouts during the year and averaged 36.1 points per game before getting a last-second win over Campbell, 15-12, in the title game.
• 2018 Bedford: The Bulldogs dominated Division I from start to finish, as they were the top scoring offense and allowed the fewest points all year, with their closest game all year was in the final, a 28-14 win over Pinkerton.

Did any of these players or teams make your list as well? Comment on here, or on Facebook or Twitter, to share your top football players and teams from the last decade.

Next week, I’ll have lists of the top players and teams for girls basketball.