22 hours Ago
WINDHAM, N.H. — With Salem facing a crucial fourth-and-long, trailing by a touchdown in the third quarter of Saturday’s game against Windham, quarterback CJ Goss had a plan.
And he wasn’t afraid to express it to his coaches. “He said to me, ‘Coach, lets throw the out (pattern)!” said Blue Devils head coach Steve Abraham. “He had the confidence that it was the right play, and the boys had confidence in him.
That’s huge. He has the confidence to call his own plays in spots like that. It didn’t look like there was room for that play, but he drilled it in there.
He stepped up big for us.” The ensuing throw, a 20-yard dot to Calen Smith into a tight window for a first down, was highly impressive. His willingness to step up and make his voice heard in the big moment was an even more critical statement.
Just a sophomore, in his sixth start, Goss has stepped up as the leader of the Salem offense — and he isn’t intimidated by the toughest situations. “This is my first year as starting quarterback, and I know I have a very big burden on my shoulders,” said Goss. “But I love football so much.
I love to study the game, and I love working on situational football, so I know what to do in big spots. I have to have confidence to lead the offense and lead my team to wins.” With Windham stuffing Salem’s vaunted rushing game, Goss led the Blue Devils (5-2) with poise, confidence and a healthy touch of swagger in Saturday’s comeback 28-14 win over the archrival Jaguars (3-4) — improving to 5-1 as a starter, since taking over in Week 2, with five straight victories.
The QB gave Salem its first touchdown with a beautify-placed 43-yard strike to Calen Smith. He tied it up in the third quarter, escaping the pass rush and finding Smith in the flats for a 7-yard score. He then gave the Blue Devils the lead with a quarterback sneak for a 1-yard score in the opening second of the fourth quarter.
He finished the day 7-for-11 for 125 yards. “On the first one, I had just missed Kevin (Todisco) in the middle of the field on a post and was really mad at myself,” said Goss, who also threw the game-winning touchdown pass a week ago against Cumberland, R.I.
“I knew I had to get it back. Coach called the play, Calen burnt his corner and I put it right on him. I was pumped.
“On the second one, we knew we could take advantage of their secondary. We had never run that out before, but knew it was going to be wide open. On the sneak, my linemen said they wanted to push me in, and it worked.
” And two of his biggest plays weren’t touchdowns. The first was that out pattern he suggested to Abraham, an absolute dart that set up his second TD throw. Then, midway through the fourth, he managed to escape not one but two would-be tacklers, avoiding a sack with a combination of elusiveness and strength, before rolling out and hitting Todisco for a 32-yard gain.
The Blue Devils scored the game-clinching touchdown five plays later. “CJ is a stud!” said Smith, who finished the day with six catches for 90 yards. “He’s a sophomore who has unbelievable confidence.
You see him in the pocked, three guys around him, and he just stays in there and slings it. He finds the open guy every time, and I give him a lot of credit for that.” Goss now has exactly 500 yards and seven touchdown passes this fall — and an ever-growing confidence.
“I’ve loved this game my whole life,” said Goss. “I love the challenge. Sure, going from middle to high school, to the varsity starter, were big jumps.
I had to adjust to the speed. But I love to throw the football, and I’ve worked really hard to build a chemistry with my teammates.” SECOND QUARTER W — Jack Koutrobis 6 run (Brady Clementi kick), 10:55 S — Calen Smith 43 pass from C.
J. Goss (Ryan Bryant kick), 9:42 W — Hayden Tedesco 2 run (Clementi kick), 6:45 THIRD QUARTER S — Smith 7 pass from Goss (Bryant kick), 6:44 FOURTH QUARTER S — Goss 1 run (Bryant kick), 11:36 S — Felix Gonzalez 5 run (Bryant kick), 5:58 INDIVIDUAL STATS RUSHING : Salem — Kevin Todisco 21-81, Felix Gonzalez 7-51, Aidan Shikrallah 7-20, CJ Goss 2-4, Jordan Zannini 6-28; Windham — Hayden Tedesco 12-71, Mike Brearley 13-59, Chris Brearley 3-24, Adrian Bergman 7-11, Jack Koutrobis 6-31 PASSING: Salem — Goss 7-11-0, 125; Windham — Koutrobis 1-1-0, 37, Bergman 3-6-0, 20 RECEIVING: Salem — Calen Smith 6-90, Todisco 1-32, Gonzalez 1-3; Windham — Cam Williams 2-19, Jake Michalik 1-1, Mike Lisa, 1-37 TWITTER: DWillisET.
