By Jim Lockwood
Staff Writer

Goffstown High School sophomore running back Ryan Devriendt follows the block of his lineman during a Grizzlies’ practice at Barnard Park on Wednesday, Aug. 24. Devriendt will be one of the many sophomores who could provide depth at key positions for head coach Rob Cathcart’s club. (Jim Lockwood Photo)

GOFFSTOWN – With any new varsity program, the first few seasons are spent dealing with the growing pains of learning what it takes to compete at the varsity level. Each season is a building block; returning players feed off the positives of the previous campaign while coaches attempt to fix weak links in the system.

That’s the case in 2005 for Goffstown High School’s football team.

Entering their fourth season in Division III, the Grizzlies are prepared to improve on last year’s 3-6 mark by taking advantage of the increased depth provided by a strong sophomore class.

“It’s a matter of getting a little more mature, focusing, and deploying themselves a little more,” said Goffstown head coach Rob Cathcart.

According to the head coach, the Grizzlies’ sophomores should provide the type of roster depth Goffstown lacked in prior seasons. For the first time, GHS is three-deep at every position, Cathcart added.

If a player is hurt or not playing well, Cathcart can rest a bit easier, knowing the Grizzlies can fill any position with a fresh replacement.

“You almost never go through a football season where you have 11 guys all the way through,” Cathcart said. “So depth is very important.”

On defense, Cathcart wants to see his 4-4 scheme of four linemen and four linebackers allow less than 20 points per game.

That number of points seems to be an important threshold in high school competition, Cathcart said.

Last season, the Grizzlies offense averaged less than 20 points per game, but allowed an average of more than 20 per tilt.

In two of their wins last year, the Grizzlies tallied more than 20 points.

They beat John Stark 22-0, and scored a season-high 34 points against Kingswood.

In ’05, the offense will be led by quarterback Alex Sobolov and running back Ben Collins.

Goffstown will run the Wing-T offense, a system that’s very common in high school football, especially in southern New Hampshire.

Cathcart likes the system because it forces everyone to play as a team and is suitable for a club that doesn’t have a lot of size and speed.

The Grizzlies are small on the offensive line, according to Cathcart, so the Wing-T suits them well.

Goffstown will also bring an improved kicking game to the ’05 season, Cathcart said.

Senior Chris Morgan used the preseason to change his kicking technique from soccer-style to American wedge.

The more accurate American wedge-style is used by NFL kickers like the Denver Broncos’ Jason Elam, who shares the league record for the longest field goal of 63 yards.

With all the on-field components in place, continuing to nurture that winning attitude is all that remains. And maintaining that mental toughness might be the toughest task to tackle.

“It’s a lot harder for everyone to get the attitude a winning team has,” Collins said. “When there’s an established program, there seems to be a lot more dedication.”