Milford's Cade Cloutier is looking forward to another day Friday on the football field in the annual CHaD East-West All-Star Football Game at Saint Anselm's Grappone Stadium. (File photo)

BEDFORD – His Milford High School football career may be over, but Friday night’s annual CHaD East-West All-Star Game is really just the beginning of the nex chapter for Milford’s Cade Cloutier.

Cloutier, a running back/linebacker for Team West, was the Rock of Gilbratar for the Spartans this past season, a breakout year that he parlayed into a future collegiate career playing at Franklin Pierce University.

Thus, unlike a lot of players in this game, including other locals, this won’t be his last hurrah.

“I’m excited,” Cloutier said, noting he made the decision just a couple of weeks ago.

He’ll probably play linebacker in college. Cloutier enjoyed playing defense, but he certainly stood out for the Spartans on offense carrying the football.

“I really like defense, but carrying the ball into the end zone, there’s no feeling like it,” Cloutier. “There’s no other feeling like it in football.”

The Spartans had down year, going 3-6, but Cloutier still enjoyed the push to try to win.

“It was a lot of fun,” Cloutier said. “We had some guys with injuries, so I had to take a bigger role. I mean, I loved it. All the guys around me, helping me out a lot.

“We had some good kids that didn’t get recognized because we didn’t have as good of a year as we planned. But I loved playing for the team.”

And he liked the extra burden.

“It’s fun, I like having the weight on my shoulders,” he said. “We tried to keep the energy level up. We got tired pretty quickly because we had some guys out of condition at the beginning of the year. But I loved it.”

Cloutier could have a big night. West head coach and former longtime Milford mentor Keith Jones has always been a 3-yard, cloud of dust coach with a rock ’em , sock ’em style, and that fits Cloutier perfectly.

“I think he plans to run a lot of the same stuff we have been,” Cloutier said. “I really love that. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, playing in the offense he’s created for the game.”

FINAL GAME FOR FRANCOEUR

As we said, Friday is it for football for a lot of players, and Cloutier’s former Milford teammate, Kaleb Francoeur, is one of them as he’ll work in the trades.

“This is it,” Francour, mainly a fullback/linebacker, said. “It’s very special, just to play for the kids (from Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth).”

Francoeur says it will also be special to play one more time for Jones.

“He’s been like a second Dad on the football field,” he said. “He’s been very supportive the whole way, all through middle school he helped out our team. It’s huge that he’s here coaching our team.”

Francouer has been playing football since grade school, and says he’ll miss sports.

“As soon as you could start, I was on the football field,” he said, noting he started with the youth Milford Mustangs. “I’ve been playing linebacker forever.”

Forever ends on Friday, but Francoeur no doubt will make it a game to reemember.