Alvirne running back Michael Maghakian gets wrapped up by two Windham defenders during Saturday's lopsided loss at WHS. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

WINDHAM – Alvirne High School head football coach Tarek Rothe was like a prophet after a late first half time out during Saturday’s Division I contest at the Windham Jaguars.

“Let’s get a turnover, let’s go,” he told his troops.

Sure enough, on the very next play the Jaguars made their only mistake in what was a 52-0 dominance of the 0-5 Broncos when they fumbled the ball away, to be recovered by Alvirne’s Quintin Tetreault.

Unfortunately, three lays later, the Broncos fumbled it right back, leading to a field goal just before the half that made it 38-0.

That’s the way things have gone for Alvirne this season, a program that has not won a game since it was in Division II in 2019. Clearly, Alvirne doesn’t belong in this divsision, as the Broncos dressed 28, 32, and then yesterday 28 the last three weeks due to illness, injury, and simple low numbers.

Yet they keep plugging way.

“I give credit to the kids,” Rothe said. “Right now for this season, I told them that’s the group of guys. We’re getting smaller and smaller, but I told them 20 years from now they’re going to remember the character that this built and the men they’re going to become – because they’re willing to be relentless, willing to just keep going and keep grinding and grinding and grinding.

“We have, I don’t know how many sophomores in there, all these are young kids, just doing the best they can.”

Yet still they were no match for the 3-2 Jags, who scored on every possession in the first half, starting with Bryan Desmarais’ 52 yard run early on, then Tiger An’s 3-yard TD set up by a blocked punt, a David Croteau 25-yard pick six, and a Josh Sweeney 12-yard TD pass to Desmarais. That was all in a 28-0 first quarter. Sweeney added a 3-yard TD run in three minutes into the second and it just got worse from there.

“In a situation like that, they have an opportunity to figure out who’s for real,” Windham coach Jack Byrne said. “It might not come out as football victories right now but all this bad stuff, you figure out whoever sticks that out is going to be a helluva person when they grow up. And I think they have a coaching staff that sets that example.

“Yeah,sure, right now it doesn’t feel good, but I hope they find those positives.”

Starting QB Zach Peters fell ill Saturday morning and went home. Backup Gabe Conrow took the start but he got clocked by the Jags defense during the game and was too shaken up to continue. It just keeps getting worse. Third string quarterback Brody Orr has a shoulder issue and can’t throw. The team finished with 24 players.

It won’t get any easier. The next two games are against Nashua North at home next Friday and then Londonderry. Gulp.

“One day at a time,” Rothe said. “Just keep fighting forward. I want nothing more than to have these seniors experience a win, and we just have to keep grinding for it.

“All we can do is the best we can against whoever we’re matched up with and go from there.”