Goffstown junior football captain Alex Paraskevas gets his team fired up to face the Souhegan Sabres. (Goffstown News/Dan Suitor)

Last season was full of firsts for Goffstown High School’s varsity football team.

It was the first time it finished above .500, at 7-2. It also marked the team’s first trip to the Division III playoffs, as the No. 3 seed.

For the first time, the Grizzlies had a quarterback with more than a year of varsity experience, and the 2005 edition of also produced the first Shrine Bowl player in school history, senior offensive tackle/defensive end/long-snapper Michael Donahoe.

The NHIAA moved Goffstown to Division II because of the school’s enrollment, despite the team’s relatively short six-year existence.

Still, head coach Rob Cathcart said the team can compete at the D-II level.

The Grizzlies graduated eight starting seniors last year ­ both running backs, a tight end, a wide receiver, a trifecta of lineman and their placekicker.

Among these are Goffstown’s all-time rushing and receiving leaders, Ben Collins and Joe Torre, respectively.

Still, the Grizzlies return six seniors, including four-year varsity quarterback Alex Sobolov and all-state defensive back Mike Sullivan.

Last year, Sobolov completed 49 of his 92 passes for 797 yards and five touchdowns, while Sullivan led Division III in interceptions with six ­ including one for a touchdown ­ and added four sacks from his free safety spot.

These two, along with juniors Steve Case and Alex Paraskevas, were elected captains by the team.

The team leaders, coaches and captains alike, must get the team to shake off a season-opening 42-7 loss at Keene on Sept. 2.

The locals fell behind, 28-0, after one quarter before showing improvement.

Linebacker Kiah Colbert batted down a fourth-down pass on the Grizzlies’ 33-yard line, stopping a nine-play, 57-yard Keene drive.

GHS then put together a nine-play drive, highlighted by an 18-yard gain by running back Kerry Tower and a pair of Sobolov-to-Sullivan pass completions totaling 33 yards. Sobolov capped the drive with a one-yard QB sneak.

Tommy Foote led the defense with 13 tackles and one sack, while Colbert added nine tackles and a pair of sacks. Senior defensive lineman Mike Przekaza also made nine tackles.

Bishop Guertin, the two-time defending state champions riding a 25-game unbeaten streak, faces GHS in the team’s home opener on Saturday, Sept. 9, at the fields behind the high school. Kickoff is 1:30 p.m.

For more on the team, visit grasmerewebservices.com/grizz.

– Submitted by Daniel Suitor