By Blake Santana
Alvirne’s first foray into Division 1 playoffs in a great long while was one that could have gone either way. On one hand, they were a 10 seed coming in playing against a 7th-seeded Nashua North Titans that only had one “signature win” with the Broncos looking for their first. This was a winnable game, but in order for the Broncos to win, they would have needed a lot to go right. Unfortunately for the maroon and gold, that was not the case on Saturday.
After falling behind 6-0 on a touchdown run, it felt like Saturday’s game was in jeopardy, despite it only being the first quarter, and the Broncos needed to respond. Unfortunately, it was not Shawn Boudreau’s night for the Broncos, as he threw four picks in the 27-14 loss to the Titans.
Early on, the game felt like a defensive battle was brewing, with neither team being able to generate anything in the way of offense until 3:15 left in the first quarter when Jonathan Torres ran it in from 15 yards out, breaking several tackles in the process. Fortunately for Alvirne, the kick on the PAT went wide right, but they were still down a touchdown early. Not a place that you want to be in if you’re the Broncos.
The next drive for Alvirne was a crucial one, and it seemed as if Boudreau had settled his nerves down after he completed a short pass to senior receiver, Cam Drohan, after being backed up on a penalty following fellow senior Aiden Mills’ 7-yard carry. The Bronco offense was clicking.
Naturally for Alvirne, when their offense starts clicking, they try to take shots down the field; this is exactly what Boudreau did, looking for Drohan again, but slightly overthrowing him, leading to an interception from North’s Dylan Noble. The first of four INTs thrown by Boudreau was merely an “arm punt”, as it put North on their own 24-yard-line.
After forcing a quick 3-and-out and a punt, Alvirne would get the ball from their own 36. Good field position to potentially go down the field and even things up. Unfortunately, a second straight Bronco drive would end in an INT with Kobe Perry being the one to pick off the Bronco QB after he overthrew Cole Dionne on 3rd and 8.
The Titans would respond by adding a touchdown on a four-yard run from Steven Rosario, and after a successful PAT, they would make it 13-0 in favor of Nashua North.
North would add a 40-yard TD play on a screen pass to Joshua Bozek to make it 20-0 just before the half, and that is how it would go to the break; not ideal for Alvirne at all.
After Dylan Noble picked off his second pass of the afternoon, North would take over at their own 20 yard line. They would promptly turn it into a 14-play 80-yard drive for another touchdown, making it 27-0 after Steven Rosario punched it in from about a yard out.
Alvirne wouldn’t go down without a fight, however, as they would score on a deep pass to Cam Drohan for a TD with 5:19 left in the fourth. It may have been a long shot, but there was hope for the Broncos.
With the clock not on the side of the Broncos, they were forced to go for the onside kick, which wound up being recovered by Lewis Mazerolle of Nashua North. Alvirne would manage to force a quick 3-and-out, though, getting the ball back with 3:47 left on the clock.
Boudreau would hit Drohan again, this time on a 14-yard slant pass for a TD, making it 27-14 with 41 seconds on the clock. Never say never in Bronco Nation.
This set up an onside kick, and one that, if Alvirne recovered, they had a fighting chance. Alas, the clock struck midnight on the Cinderella Broncos, as the kickoff went out of bounds, and the Titans merely kneeled out the clock, defeating the Broncos 27-14 and advancing to Portsmouth-Oyster River to play the Clippercats on Friday.
As for remaining matchups in the preliminary round of the D1 playoffs, it was the round of the home teams, as #4 Londonderry took care of business against #13 Windham 46-0 in a central division clash, #5 Exeter beat up on #12 Keene 31-13, #6 Salem came out on top of #11 Spaulding 55-34, and #8 Bishop Guertin held on in a shootout Saturday night against #9 Dover by a final score of 56-42.
