By Marc Thaler
Staff Writer

Rick Doell wouldn't be a head coach if he was content with the outcome. However, he was clearly proud of the effort put forth by his football team.

Pembroke Academy senior quarterback Tyler Boisvert (No. 13) has the presence of mind to head for the first-down marker after Goffstown sophomore Steve Case collapsed the pocket with 24 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Despite the 31-0 final in favor of the Grizzlies, PA played well with many young athletes. (Marc Thaler Photo)

Hosting Goffstown High School on Saturday, Sept. 10, Pembroke Academy lost a lopsided Division III contest, 31-0. But the final score didn't totally reflect the successful strides made by the Spartans.

"We were a play short, a guy short, in a lot of those (game) situations," Doell said. "Against a team like Goffstown, we're not quite there yet ... We're playing with young kids and I'm extremely happy with (how they compete). But we just can't man-up play after play."

Time of possession, the contest's key statistic, was overwhelmingly in favor of PA's visitors. GHS possessed the pigskin for a total of 30-minutes, 59 seconds. In the first half, the Grizzlies had the ball for 17:33 of a possible 24 minutes.

The discrepancy was the result of playing young and inexperienced athletes out of necessity, Doell said. Most of PA's players just weren't as strong and quick as their Goffstown counterparts, he added, which allowed the opposition to dictate play at the line of scrimmage and sustain long drives.

"Time of possession has to be a situation where we're in the same ballpark," Doell said. "If we can get with a team that's similar to us (in size and experience), I think we can fix that problem. With teams that are bigger and stronger than us, boy, we have a heck of a challenge."

PA was presented with that challenge immediately, as GHS pieced together a scoring drive lasting 5:08 to open the afternoon.

But after falling behind, 7-0, the Spartans stepped up on defense. PA stymied the Grizzlies on successive possessions, which took the game deep into the second quarter.

It wasn't until the final 3:42 of the first half when the Spartans fell well behind their guests.

A pair of Goffstown touchdowns - sandwiched around a :38 appearance by PA's offense - pushed the deficit to 21-0 at intermission.

"The defense played well, but they were on the field for 90 percent of the game," Doell said. "When you're on the defensive side of the ball and you're getting pounded, you get worn out."

"He's doing a nice job with them over there," GHS head coach Rob Cathcart said of Doell. "They played a tough defense. We didn't have any yards come easy."

Cathcart's sentiments were certainly true in the second half.

In the final 24 minutes of action, the Spartans didn't allow Goffstown to break the goal line. A GHS third-quarter field goal and late-game interception return for a TD represented the only points scored.

"They didn't give up. I was pleasantly surprised," Doell said. "With young kids, you don't know what you're going to get - rookie mistakes, apprehension �c I don't think we played like that today. I think we played strong, but got beat by better personnel."

The senior trio of Tyler Boisvert, Christian Beauregard and Carlos Muniz, along with juniors Floyd Brigham and Josh Muniz, plus sophomores Nathan Langone and Justin Muniz, were particularly solid, Doell said.

"We made a commitment this year to make sure we were in real good shape," the PA head coach said. "We pushed the kids and they've accepted the challenge. Now we know we can go into the fourth quarter and at least have the wherewithal to play hard �c The conditioning we've gone through has definitely paid off."

The Spartans. biggest goal in 2005 is to play competitively against D-III powers like Souhegan and Milford, and win contests against divisional rivals that are also young.

"Our kids are giving it everything they've got," Doell said.

"We've got Kingswood and John Stark coming up �c and we need to steal a couple of those (games). They're both programs that are in the same boat we are - they're looking for a win and they're hungry for it."