Two years ago, no one would have blamed Forrest Rovello for suffering through panic attacks before the start of the 2008 school year.
Despite the fact that his Eagles football squad was losing its entire backfield – three-year starting quarterback James Gagliardi and 1,000-yard running backs Cody Fogle and Billy Creason – the veteran coach was as cool as the other side of the pillow.
“We’re going to be fine,” Rovello said with an assuring voice that parents might use to quell the anxiety of a youngster who fears the monster in the closet. “We have a young man coming up to varsity who’s pretty special. He might be the best athlete we’ve had at quarterback – maybe at any position.”
Rovello’s prediction rang true as Austin Gouldsmith has become one of the most productive and successful quarterbacks in the history of the program.
And talk about an athlete – the senior hit .418 with 26 RBIs and had a .459 on-base percentage last season for the Eagles baseball team to earn Examiner All-Area recognition.
Gouldsmith and former teammate David Richards teamed up for school single-season record 10 touchdowns to go along with 58 receptions and 1,050 yards. This year, the heady quarterback is getting the job done with his legs as he has rushed for 19 scores.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Gouldsmith has topped the 1,000-yard mark in both passing and rushing this season. He is 51 for 100 for 1,105 yards in the air (21.6 yards per reception) with 10 touchdowns and has carried the ball 118 times for 1,062 yards on the ground (9.0 yards per carry).
He will likely play a key role at 7 tonight when the 8-2 Eagles travel to Ruskin High School to take on 6-4 Hickman Mills in a Class 4 regional playoff.
“We’re excited about the game,” Gouldsmith said. “It’s the first time we’ve played in a Class 4 playoff game, and it should be a lot of fun.”
Gouldsmith has always tried to have fun, no matter what sport he was playing.
“When you’re young and playing youth football, you don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of your friends,” Gouldsmith said. “You want to impress everyone when you’re a little kid.
“Now, I just go out and have fun. And it’s easy to have fun with a successful team, a great coaching staff and guys like Trace (Goade) and Drew (Liddle), who I’ve played with forever.
“We had a lot of success this season, and none of us want this season to come to an end.”
Rovello has done his best to make this a regular work week, despite the fact that the game is on a Wednesday night and not Friday under the lights.
“We’ve gone through the same practice routines,” Gouldsmith said, “just on different days. We don’t care when we practice, we’re just so thankful to still be playing.”
And one big reason the Eagles are still playing is the explosive offense that Gouldsmith directs with the precision of a surgeon.
“First and foremost, Austin is one of the finest young men I’ve ever coached,” Rovello said. “And he’s the leader on offense. The guys respect him and will do anything for him. He can beat you so many different ways – with his arm, with his legs and with his heart.
“It’s been a fun two years with him running the offense.”
One might say, it’s been the Gould-en era of Eagles football.
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Two years ago, no one would have blamed Forrest Rovello for suffering through panic attacks before the start of the 2008 school year.
Despite the fact that his Eagles football squad was losing its entire backfield – three-year starting quarterback James Gagliardi and 1,000-yard running backs Cody Fogle and Billy Creason – the veteran coach was as cool as the other side of the pillow.
“We’re going to be fine,” Rovello said with an assuring voice that parents might use to quell the anxiety of a youngster who fears the monster in the closet. “We have a young man coming up to varsity who’s pretty special. He might be the best athlete we’ve had at quarterback – maybe at any position.”
Rovello’s prediction rang true as Austin Gouldsmith has become one of the most productive and successful quarterbacks in the history of the program.
And talk about an athlete – the senior hit .418 with 26 RBIs and had a .459 on-base percentage last season for the Eagles baseball team to earn Examiner All-Area recognition.
Gouldsmith and former teammate David Richards teamed up for school single-season record 10 touchdowns to go along with 58 receptions and 1,050 yards. This year, the heady quarterback is getting the job done with his legs as he has rushed for 19 scores.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Gouldsmith has topped the 1,000-yard mark in both passing and rushing this season. He is 51 for 100 for 1,105 yards in the air (21.6 yards per reception) with 10 touchdowns and has carried the ball 118 times for 1,062 yards on the ground (9.0 yards per carry).
He will likely play a key role at 7 tonight when the 8-2 Eagles travel to Ruskin High School to take on 6-4 Hickman Mills in a Class 4 regional playoff.
“We’re excited about the game,” Gouldsmith said. “It’s the first time we’ve played in a Class 4 playoff game, and it should be a lot of fun.”
Gouldsmith has always tried to have fun, no matter what sport he was playing.
“When you’re young and playing youth football, you don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of your friends,” Gouldsmith said. “You want to impress everyone when you’re a little kid.
“Now, I just go out and have fun. And it’s easy to have fun with a successful team, a great coaching staff and guys like Trace (Goade) and Drew (Liddle), who I’ve played with forever.
“We had a lot of success this season, and none of us want this season to come to an end.”
Rovello has done his best to make this a regular work week, despite the fact that the game is on a Wednesday night and not Friday under the lights.
“We’ve gone through the same practice routines,” Gouldsmith said, “just on different days. We don’t care when we practice, we’re just so thankful to still be playing.”
And one big reason the Eagles are still playing is the explosive offense that Gouldsmith directs with the precision of a surgeon.
“First and foremost, Austin is one of the finest young men I’ve ever coached,” Rovello said. “And he’s the leader on offense. The guys respect him and will do anything for him. He can beat you so many different ways – with his arm, with his legs and with his heart.
“It’s been a fun two years with him running the offense.”
One might say, it’s been the Gould-en era of Eagles football.
