Alvirne football avoided big hole with win over Merrimack Valley

It's not impossible to make the football postseason after starting 0-2 in the division, but it certainly isn't easy.

Having a shot at the playoffs wasn't the only reason that the Alvirne High School football team needed a win last Friday at Merrimack Valley.

"We have a corps of sophomore kids playing for us and we needed to get that win to get us excited," Alvirne coach Bobby Nimblett said. "We couldn’t go 0-2 in the division."

After a close first half, the Broncos (1-1 in Division III, 1-3 overall) outscored the Pride 21-0 in the second half. Two of those touchdowns came in the third quarter from Jack Mahoney, who finished with 113 yards rushing. Lucas Notini also rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown and Josh Cohen added another 57 yards and a touchdown on the ground and had a 28-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Stevens.

But for all Alvirne did on offense, it was the defense that allowed the Broncos to pull away in the second half.

"In the first half, we missed 17 tackles and gave up 14 points," Nimblett said. "In the second half, we missed four tackles and didn’t give up any points. We had to be a better tackling football team. We did a good job in the second half and had the ability to run away a bit."

The challenges for Alvirne weren't limited to just fixing things on the football field. The Broncos were playing their first road game against a Division III opponent, and although they'd scrimmaged Merrimack Valley before, there were some things they had to figure out.

"Challenges were simple things like where are the locker rooms?" Nimblett said. "Where is the bathroom? Where do we got at halftime? Sometimes our kids get caught up and we have to remind them they’re here to play football and the coaches will tell you where to move."

Alvirne will get more of the same this week, as it takes its first trip to Milford (3-0, 3-1) on Friday. There's a little more mystery going against the Spartans, but Nimblett believes if the Broncos are able to execute their game plan, they'll be fine.

"That’s what we’re preaching to the kids," he said. "Milford has that reputation of hard working and going to come out and smash you. Are we going to be ready for it? That’s the challenge for the kids."

Kickoff for Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Milford.