Goforth to Waterloo again
Why just settle for one Goforth when you can have two.
One year after signing Tyler Goforth, the Waterloo Warriors football team landed younger brother Evan Goforth.
Waterloo coach Chris Bertoia was stuck in traffic and was unable to attend Tuesday’s signing ceremony in person, but Waterloo and Myer alumni Tre and Tyrell Ford were on hand to welcome the 18-year-old into the Warriors fold.
When contacted by phone, Bertoia was effusive in his praise of the latest Goforth to go forth to Waterloo.
“He is an outstanding football player, he comes from a good family, he obviously comes from a very good high school football program at A.N. Myer and obviously we have a connection there with coach (Dave) Buchanan and the rest of the staff,” he said. “We have a good history with the players coming from Myer to Waterloo and his brother, Tyler, is there now.”
Bertoia described Evan Goforth as a playmaker and a fiery competitor.
“He is not the biggest in stature but he is very refined in his route running, he has some explosiveness in him and he just makes plays and scores touchdowns. It is always our job to sometimes look past those measurables of height and weight and all that stature stuff and look more at productivity. He certainly had an outstanding career at Myer.”
He envisions Goforth playing slotback for the Warriors.
“He has some versatility and there might be some potential with returning kicks and stuff as well but he is a dynamic guy, a guy you can run jet sweeps with. We have him coming in at the W position (weakside slot) and that has a lot of different roles within our offensive scheme. It gets vertical down the field, runs jet sweeps and sometimes screens. You name it.”
The 5-foot-8, 150-pounder is relatively new to the sport and has only played since entering high school. Prior to that he was an AA travel hockey player.
“Everyone said to try out high school football and I had always wanted to try it. I just fell in love with the sport. It was something different than hockey and I felt I could do more with it than hockey,” Goforth said.
He played sparingly in Grade 9, Grade 10 was lost to COVID, he played left slot in Grade 11 and had five catches during the season. He became a key component of the senior team playing right slot in his Grade 12 and 12B years. He has been named a First Team All-Ontario receiver the past two seasons.
Goforth also suited up at cornerback for the Marauders in a 2023 season where he continued to get better.
“I have a lot more knowledge of the game and was a lot more aware,” he said. “The next step is I want to get to Waterloo and show them what I got, try to prove myself and try and get some playing time. I am hoping to at least dress and go from there.”
Goforth had interest from a couple of other schools but he knew early on that he wanted to land at Waterloo.
“A lot of Myer guys are there and I kind of knew the whole time that I was going there. They have a good atmosphere around the football team and it is a good family feeling.”
His brother has told him it’s a great program but an adjustment balancing football and school. Evan is planning to study business at Waterloo.
He can’t wait to get started.
“It will be nice to be with all the guys again and experience what university football is all about.”
Goforth will have his work cut out for him.
“Guys are bigger, faster and stronger in our league so Evan has got to commit to the weight room. Obviously his football IQ is outstanding but there’s going to be a difference in competition,” Bertoia said.
He will need to continue to put on muscle and work on his speed.
Buchanan will miss his talented receiver.
“He plays bigger than his size and he is very committed. He has been overlooked because of his size and he has had to battle that forever but talk about work. He has worked as hard as anybody I have ever seen. He has made himself into a football player. He is gritty, tough and dedicated. He never missed practice, he practised more than anybody in the off-season, he is committed to the weight room now and he is committed to a meal plan that he preps weekly,” he said. “He is looking to make a difference in university. He is not just looking to finish his high school career and be a really good high school player.”
Buchanan is confident Goforth will be able to play at the university level.
“After watching this for a long time, you can never discount the heart of a player. He is pretty motivated to prove people wrong and sometimes that can be really powerful.”
