Concord running back Colin Savard (7) breaks away from Alvirne's Ethan Dudley (8) for big gain. Savard ran for 249 yards and five touchdowns in the Tide's win Saturday over the Broncos at Memorial Field. (Photo by Chip Griffin / Photos By Chip)

CONCORD – Football is often won and lost in the trenches, and Alvirne came out on the losing side on Saturday afternoon.

Concord junior running back Colin Savard ran for 249 yards and five touchdowns, and the Crimson Tide defense had 11 sacks in a 41-17 victory over Broncos in Concord’s homecoming game on Saturday at Memorial Field.

Coming off of a disappointing 13-7 loss to previously winless Manchester Central the week prior, Concord (2-2) took control of the game early, forcing Alvirne (0-4) to turn the ball over on downs after just four plays and marched the ball 65 yards down the field over the next eight minutes. Savard, Division I’s leading rusher entering this weekend, punched in a 1-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead with 2:29 left in the first quarter.

The Tide didn’t let up, with Savard’s third touchdown putting Concord up 19-0 with 2:45 left in the half before senior quarterback Ethan Dudley connected with fellow senior Jaden Taylor for a 43-yard touchdown catch to put Alvirne on the board, 19-7, with 1:59 left.

Dudley completed 13 of 20 passes for 259 yards, with Taylor also pulling in a 63-yard reception for a game-high total of 106 receiving yards, and senior Logan Sharland had a game-high five receptions for 97 yards.

Despite Dudley doing a good job moving the chains, any hope of a momentum swing was short lived. Savard’s fourth score of the game with 53.9 seconds on the clock gave Concord a 27-7 halftime lead.

The Tide lines opened up holes for Concord runners, who outgained Alvirne 379-4 on the ground. The Tide defense also had 11 sacks and blocked a field goal, compared to a single sack by the Bronco defense.

“We were feeling good that we could win the battle up front,” Concord head coach Jim Corkum said. “Defensively, a couple breakdowns, blown coverage and blown assignments, but I felt like they stepped up. We tried some guys at different positions trying to get that extra pass rush. … We tried to get after it a little more and it worked out.”

Sophomores Jax Diachenko (three sacks) and Thomas Saysaw (two sacks), and senior Cam Carbone (two sacks) led Concord’s defense, while sophomore quarterback Rhys Craigue went 8-for-10 with 85 passing yards and 54 rushing yards on five carries.

“We struggled. Concord is a physical football team. They had their way with us,” Alvirne head coach Justin Hufft said. “We’ve seen really good lines every week we’ve played.”

Two more Tide touchdowns in the second half extended Concord’s lead to 41-7.

Sharland hauled in a 19-yard TD pass from Dudley with 6:12 left in the game and junior kicker Suleiman Suleiman (who kicked both extra points) made a 25-yard field goal at 5:13 to wrap up the scoring.

Suleiman’s field goal was set up thanks to a fumble recovery by senior Aaron Lavoie, who pounced on a fumbled snap by Concord on the Tide 5 yard line.

Lavoie was a bright spot on the defense, as was the play of senior lineman Jacoby Durham.

“He played really well on defense,” Hufft said. “He’s doing everything we’re asking him to do, reading, squeezing, he was doing everything right.”

Durham is just one example of the improvement that the Broncos are working towards, but haven’t yet reached in their 0-4 start to the season.

Hufft also commented on Dudley, who “played hard and did some really good things,” leading Alvirne’s offense to a season-high 17 points, the first game where the Broncos have had multiple scores.

“We fought for four quarters,” Hufft said. “That’s what we’re trying to do, get a little better each week, and I think we saw that today.”

Next up for Alvirne is the Manchester Central Little Green, who will be traveling to Hudson for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Friday. Central started the season 0-2, but had a big upset victory over Concord last weekend and a 49-35 win over Portsmouth-Oyster River on Saturday.