The Alvirne High School football team finished the regular season on a bit of a sour note, losing 30-17 to Pinkerton Academy.
This was the Broncos third loss of the season and dropped them from their second place status in the Central Division to fourth and an eighth seed in the upcoming Division I playoffs.
Next week, Alvirne will host their first playoff game in quite some time and it will be their second consecutive appearance in the state championship.
The Broncos first round playoff game is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. at Alvirne High School against the ninth-seeded Concord Crimson Tide.
In the team’s final regular season game against the Astros, AHS actual led by halftime, but that lead vanished early in the second half.
The Broncos gave their fans some hope during their first drive of the game, but that drive stalled at the PA 38-yard line, where they punted.
Pinkerton started from their 8-yard line and the Broncos defense was able keep them from crossing mid-field.
The Broncos were pinned back to their 7-yard line after the PA punt and were never able to move up field.
The bad field position resulted in a two-point safety when a high snap ended up in the AHS endzone.
The next PA possession gave the Astros another good scoring opportunity, after the kick return came back to the AHS 17-yard line with a long run down the sideline. It took just three plays for the Astros to get into the endzone and a 9-0 lead at 6:43 in the second quarter.
Alvirne had their first successful drive at that point in the game, thanks to a 53-yard pass by quarterback, Charlie Crawford, to Ryan Rocheleau.
Rocheleau caught the ball at the 35-yard line and sprinted to pay dirt.
The Shawn Boudreeau extra-point made it a 9-7 game with just under three-minutes left in the half.
Following the AHS score, the Bronco defense held PA to a punt where the offense was able to start from their 33-yard line.
From there, Alvirne quickly marched down field for a field-goal to end the half with a 10-9 lead.
The field goal was set up by a 30-yard passing play from Crawford to Garrett Hall.
The Alvirne lead was short lived, after PA carried a well-booted second half kick off from their one-yard line all the way to the AHS endzone for a 15-10 lead.
A fumble recovery by Alvirne on a punt at the 10-minute mark put the Broncos at the PA 19-yard line, but they weren’t able to capitalize on that good fortune.
At 6:34, the AHS offense fumbled at their own 28-yard line, giving the Astros another scoring opportunity.
That mistake cost the Broncos another seven points and a 22-10 PA lead.
With 15-seconds left in the third, Crawford connected with Rocheleau again to get within a five-points.
Unfortunately for the Broncos, the Astros also tacked one more on for the 30-10 win.