HUDSON – A shootout ceases to be a shootout when one of the teams stops shooting, and that’s what happened in Alvirne High School’s 54-21 victory over the Keene Blackbirds.

A thrilling first quarter featuring four touchdowns devolved into the Broncos crushing Keene once they solved quarterback Dallas Landry and the Blackbirds’ offense.

Landry was responsible for both first quarter touchdowns for Keene, with a 50-yard run and a 60-yard pass play to John Link. But from that point, the Keene senior was hurried into three interceptions and banged around mercilessly by the Broncos’ defense.

The quarterback also fumbled on his own goal line on the verge of being sacked for a massive loss by Kyle Heidbreder, with Jared Glenzer-Thomas recovering in the end zone for Alvirne’s third touchdown of the third quarter.

If last week’s big win over Nashua North was about Alvirne’s passing attack, this game was the complete opposite. The Broncos ran for 415 yards and five touchdowns, riding Jack Mahoney (266 yards, two touchdowns) up and down the field for most of the game. When Mahoney finally cramped up in the third quarter, his replacement, Ryan Godschall, picked up where he left off and ran for 114 yards of his own and a touchdown. Ethan Rainville, so masterful as the lead blocker, even picked up 32 yards and two touchdowns on just four carries.

It’s laughable that Mahoney’s first carry of the game was for a 3-yard loss, since he spent the rest of the game gaining ground in large chunks. Mahoney, who had been encouraged after film sessions to be a “step faster” according to Alvirne coach Tim Walsh, had eight runs of double-digit yardage, including six that were for longer than 20 yards.

Which is not to say that quarterback Danny Brown was invisible. The junior completed just three passes but for 105 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown to George Notini, and a beautiful sideline bomb to Andrew Stevens for 38 yards.

In fact, the passing-versus-running discussion was rendered moot by a brilliant defensive job after the first quarter. Stevens had two interceptions, while Notini had one plus a sack, and the Broncos succeeded in squashing the big-play capabilities the Blackbirds showed in the first quarter.

“We made a few adjustments,” said Walsh. “They were overpowering us, and we went back to basics. We were trying to read too much. The kids made adjustments with the coaching staff at halftime.”

The Broncos led just 19-14 at halftime, but a dominant third quarter changed all that. It started, once again, with a big defensive play. Alvirne’s quarter-opening drive had ended in an interception, but with Keene attempting to convert a fourth-and-1 in its own territory, Tyler Janko dropped the Blackbirds’ runner for a 4-yard loss. Gifted with great field position, it only took the Broncos two Mahoney runs and two Godschall runs to get in the end zone. Alvirne forced a three-and-out on the next drive and again started on Keene’s side of the field, culminating in Mahoney’s second touchdown, and Glenzer-Thomas’ fumble recovery touchdown put things out of reach.

Keene would score one final time in the fourth quarter, with reliable running back Tim Lane (146 yards) finally scoring on a 10-yard run halfway through the quarter.

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