After getting a week to prepare for their first game, the Broncos opened their season on Friday against Manchester Central. In their second consecutive season with a trip to Gill Stadium to open the season, Alvirne came away with a 35-14 victory over the Little Green, moving their record to 1-0 and earning themselves a share of first place in the Central Division.
The Broncos jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter and never turned back, putting up 21 more points in the second quarter to take a 28-0 lead into the half before allowing Central to get on the board to make the score 28-6 before junior running back Mikey Landmesser scored the final of his three touchdowns on the ground to make it 35-6. Manchester Central would tack on a fourth-quarter touchdown with a two-point conversion to push the game to a final score of 35-14.
Landmesser finished the night with 159 yards on the ground to go with his three touchdowns. Ryan Rocheleau led the way in receiving yards with 90 yards and a reception for a TD. Broncos’ senior quarterback Charlie Crawford added another touchdown on the ground. Senior defensive back Jeremiah Yi picked off a pair of Little Green passes to lead the Broncos on the defensive side of the ball.
Taking a look around the division, Concord narrowly beat Goffstown on the road 17-14, Londonderry laid a beating onto Salem in Haverhill, where the Blue Devils will be playing their 2024 season, as Salem is renovating their field this year, and Windham beat Timberlane 53-7 on Saturday at home. Pinkerton also beat non-conference Andover, MA 40-17 in a game that won’t count towards their record.
Looking at the rest of the league, in the East, Exeter beat Dover 32-12 in Dover, Portsmouth-Oyster River lost 30-20 to Winnacunnet in Hampton, and Spaulding lost 42-7 on the road against the Keene Blackbirds. In the West, Bedford beat Nashua North handily 35-3 on the road, and Nashua South beat the Cardinals of Bishop Guertin 21-15-a result that came as a surprise to many. In non-conference games, Manchester Memorial lost to Central Providence on the road on Friday night and Merrimack lost 42-6 against Hingham, Mass.
Alvirne will return to the Barn for week two to take on the Salem Blue Devils (0-1) on Friday. Salem will be looking for their first win of the season after their 30-7 home loss to Londonderry, whereas Alvirne will look to assert themselves as a top team in Division I if they can surprise the Blue Devils. Last season, the Broncos took a close 21-10 loss on a muddy Veterans Memorial Field, but were without their starting QB Charlie Crawford by that point in the season, as he was lost against the Windham Jaguars two weeks before.
