The Alvirne High School football squad took another step closer to securing the Broncos first state championship after beat the Concord Crimson Tide 33-10 on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 9, at home.
With the victory, the Broncos now have the difficult task of taking on the undefeated Bedford Bulldogs next weekend. Bedford is the #1 seed in the playoffs and last year’s Division I Champions.
The first-round game was the first time the AHS squad has been able to host a playoff spot since entering Division I in the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association.
The Broncos finished the season at 6-3, giving them a number eight seed in the playoff bracket to line them up with first-round game against Concord (#9), a team they beat 30-14, at home, three-weeks earlier.
In the 20-point win over the Crimson Tide, in very windy conditions, junior running back, Mike Landmesser, ran for four touchdowns and racked up over 160-yards rushing.
Senior Ryan Rocheleau had the fifth Alvirne touchdown on a catch to start the second half.
Senior quarterback, Charlie Crawford, was nearly perfect throwing to his receivers, completing eight of nine for 162-yards and running for 75-yards.
It didn’t take long for the Broncos to take control of the first-round game, forcing a quick three-and-out and staring their first drive at mid-field.
From there, it only took six plays before Landmesser got his touchdown of the game. A 12-yard run at 6:15 in the first quarter.
The Broncos second drive gave them a similar starting point, after CHS lost possession on downs at the AHS 46-yard-line.
In that drive, on fourth-and-six, Rocheleau made a big 18-yard reception to keep the drive going.
From there, at 9:07 in the second quarter, it took two running plays by Landmesser to get into the end-zone again. Broncos kicker, Shawn Boudreau, put threw his second extra-point of the game for the 14-0 lead.
Concord started to show some life in their third drive, but finished with a punt into the end-zone.
In Alvirne’s third drive of the half, they once again marched down field with a handful of plays, highlighted by a 28-yard reception by Garrett Hall, and set up Landmesser for anther touchdown run. The junior running back ran this one in from the three-yard-line. The point-after was into a stiff wind and wide-right for the 20-0 Broncos lead with less than a minute left in the half.
In Concord’s final drive of the half, they managed to get down field quickly and put three-points on the board with a 22-yard field goal.
During the opening drive of the second half, Crawford completed a 37-yard pass into the end-zone to Rocheleau for the fourth touchdown in as many drives. The Boudreau extra-point made it a 27-3 lead at 10:22 in the third.
Following another strong stop by the Broncos defense, in the Broncos fifth drive of the game and second of the third quarter, Landmesser ran the ball in from the 20-yard-line for his fourth score of the game to put his team ahead 33-3. The extra-point was wide-right, giving AHS a 30-point lead at 2:37 in the third quarter.
After an exceptional kick return, the Tide was able to get into the AHS endzone at 1:06 in the third.
In the fourth, Concord finally stopped the Broncos offense, but weren’t able to score.
With the 33-10 victory, the Bronco are scheduled to take on the defending State Champions at Bedford High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, starting at 1 p.m.