Goffstown football strikes quickly in win over Keene

GOFFSTOWN – It didn’t take long for the Goffstown High School football team to do what it needed to Saturday against Keene.

By the time the Grizzlies had run their 12th offensive play of the day, they already had a three touchdown lead and the second string was coming into the game.

The smooth sailing continued through the first half, as Goffstown scored five touchdowns while possessing the ball for less than three minutes on its first five drives on the way to a 37-14 win over Keene.

“Everything,” Goffstown quarterback Casey Gervais said when asked what was working. “We were just clicking.”

Gervais was only on the field for 11 plays, which took up just 2:25 of the clocked, but in that time, he ran for 69 yards and a touchdown and was 2 of 3 passing for 25 yards. Connor Bourque played one more series and had 109 yards rushing and two touchdowns on five carries, while Franklin Castillo Diaz caught three passes for 90 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown pass from backup Niq Moquin.

That touchdown made it 28-0 Goffstown (2-0) with 8:02 left in the second, and the Grizzlies had run 13 plays, gained 269 yards and had the ball for 2:58.

“I’ll never complain about short scoring drives,” Goffstown coach Justin Hufft said. “But as the year goes along, we’re going to have to sustain some good drives against some good defenses. We’ve yet to show that we can do that.”

Andrew Duval also scored on an 82-yard punt return midway through the second quarter, and two plays after Keene blocked a field goal, Goffstown’s Justin Pinard tackled the Blackbirds’ Cullen Costa in the end zone for a safety that made it 37-0 in the first half.

Hunter Massucco led Keene (1-1) with 22 yards rushing and a touchdown while going 9 of 18 for 47 yards and an interception through the air. Sean Corrigan came on in the second half and completed 3 of 4 passes for 59 yards and a touchdown to Jake Blaisdell.

Both teams return to action on Friday, as Goffstown travels to face Nashua North and Keene returns home to host Manchester Memorial.