St. Thomas football able to hold off Alvirne

HUDSON - The Alvirne High School football team took to its home field for the first time in 2018 on Friday night, but the result wasn't the same.

After opening the year with a win, the Broncos (1-1) tried to rally for a win over St. Thomas, but came up short, as the Saints improved to 2-0 with a 26-22 win.

“That’s a good, physical football team we played against but I’m proud of the guys for holding on and sticking to it in the end,” Saints coach Ryan Brown said.

His team’s offense was powered by quarterback Shawn DeKorne, who threw for three of the Saints’ four touchdowns.

“The kid is a real good player," Brown said of DeKorne. "I mean he’s a kid who has been a three-year starter for us. He’s done a heck of a job for three years and I think we expect him to be the best player on the field."

The Saints controlled the game for much of the first half, where their defense was able to hold the Broncos scoreless, until Alvirne running back Alexander Giuffrida broke the drought with a 5-yard touchdown carry with five minutes left in the second quarter. But St. Thomas responded back with a touchdown pass on the next drive, making it 20-6 at the half.

The second half of the game brought about more adversity for the Saints, as Broncos quarterback Kyle Gora became a triple threat by notching an interception as a defensive back, as well as touchdowns by way of a scoring pass to wide receiver Jack Regan and a scramble that helped to put the Broncos in position to mount a comeback and take the lead.

Alvirne’s defense was also able to hold the Saints to just six points, and according to Broncos coach Tarek Rothe, linebacker Mitchell Dobek called many of the defenses in the second half.

The Broncos improved defensive performance led to perhaps their most important stop of the game.

After a failed third-down attempt, the Saints were forced to punt the ball back to Alvirne, giving the Broncos possession with just over 50 seconds on the clock in the fourth quarter. Down four points, the Broncos needed to reach the end zone to win, but they were unable to move the chains and materialize a drive.

Rothe said it was great to come home and play one of the best teams in the division.

”We were just excited for the opportunity," the coach said. "You know, we knew it was going to be a dogfight and we just happened to come (up) short on the end of this one."

Alvirne is scheduled to travel to Amherst and go up against Souhegan on Sep. 14. The Saints will play their home opener against Sanborn on Sep. 15.