Henault found comfort level as Goffstown football’s signal caller
There are sure to be some nerves for Jarrett Henault when the Goffstown High School football team takes the field Saturday afternoon.
But it won’t be anything like the nerves the senior felt the first time he took snaps as the Grizzlies’ varsity quarterback.
As a sophomore, Henault had played some defense with the varsity. But when starting quarterback Charlie Keith went down with an injury in the team’s seventh game of the year against Nashua South, Henault found himself suddenly in the spotlight.
“I was so nervous,” he said. “I saw Charlie go down and I thought he was dehydrated or something. I was like shaking, I was like scared to death. I think I threw a touchdown pass on that drive and I was relieved. From there on, I was the starter.”
In the two-plus seasons since that game, Henault has gone from that nervous sophomore to a senior who is a dual-threat on every play. Much like Connor Benjamin and Casey Gervais, former Goffstown quarterbacks who led the Grizzlies to the championship game, Henault can run the ball between the tackles, but he’s also been able to make big plays in the passing game.
“Wherever we need him to run the ball, he can run the ball,” Goffstown coach Nick Hammond said. “You know you’re quarterback can run between the tackles, and I think that really stresses the defense. He can run in any gap successfully. He can stretch on the perimeter a little bit.”
Hammond, who was an assistant with the Grizzlies before taking over as the head coach this season, remembers what it was like for Henault taking the reigns for the first time.
“I think it was moving very fast for him,” the coach said. “To this point, the game has slowed down and he’s comfortable with what we’re trying to do on offense. Back then, it was how can I survive this play on a play-to-play basis. Now he has complete command of the offense.”
While he improved as a junior, Henault knew after Goffstown lost in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row that he was going to have to put in more work during the offseason. That started with some time on the mat, as Henault won the Division II 195-pound wrestling title during the winter season.
But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit a few weeks later, it provided an unexpected opportunity.
“I think I wouldn’t have started to workout as seriously as I did and gain a little more weight,” Henault said. “Through all the negative things that it brought, there was a positive.”
He dedicated so much time to the weight room, Henault guessed he probably would have jumped a weight class, if it were wrestling season.
“We talked about lifting and finding ways to lift, and he did a great job with that,” Hammond said. “Conditioning, running, sprinting, things like that. We met as a quarterback unit and he took charge very early on, and it was pretty evident that he was confident in everything that he was doing.”
That confidence helped Hammond feel comfortable calling whatever play fit the moment for the Goffstown offense this season. While the Grizzlies have been hit by injuries to some starters on offense, Henault has paired with fellow senior Zach Picard in the backfield, with Jonah Lopez, Caden Perry and Jeremy Henault, Jarrett’s brother, stepping up at receiver.
Over the last three games, the brothers have connected for three touchdown passes.
“I was kind of bummed earlier this season, because he only played defense,” Henault said. “He’s probably one of the best defensive players we have. It’s been sweet that I’ve been able to throw him three touchdown passes in the three games he’s played (offense). It was a goal of mine and it finally happened.”
There’s still one more goal left for Henault and the Grizzlies, and that will be decided Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Division I final against Nashua North. The game will be played at Bedford High School.
“I wish we had a little more experience, to see them at actual game speed, to see how they play,” Henault said. “I think it’s just to our advantage that they don’t know what we can do.”
