Running back Mike Landmesser was a key for Alvirne in Friday night's win vs. Timberlane in Plaistow. (File photo)

PLAISTOW – Timberlane Regional may have landed the final punch of the first half, a four-yard Gio Recesso TD run for a 14-8 lead at the break.

The Alvirne High School footballers did nearly all the punching the rest of the night Friday, dominating the third quarter to take a 23-14 lead and then holding off the Owls in the fourth for a thrilling 25-22 win.

“We made some adjustments at halftime, and the kids just came out and started to make some plays,” said Alvirne coach Justin Hufft. “Really, it was just the kids, focusing, doing their jobs. The kids started making plays in the second half. It was just really good to see.”

Alvirne held the Timberlane running game, which churned out 137 yards before the break, to just 32 yards on 26 carries in the second half.

It was an absolute monster effort by the defense, and the offense hit its stride, for sure.

“We have a couple kids that run hard,” said Hufft, whose 2-5 crew hosts Dover next week. “Mikey (Landmesser) broke a couple long ones. That was good to see. Quintin (Tetreault) had a big conversion on fourth-and-short there (in the fourth). We’re aggressive. We go for it on fourth-and-short, and I think it helped win us a game tonight.”

The Broncos forced a punt and took the lead for good on their first possession of the second half.

On third-and-10, Ethan Dudley found Quintin Tetreault for wide open for 32 yards and the TD as Alvirne took the lead for good at 15-14 on the Suleiman Suleiman PAT kick.

The senior Landmesser, who had a short TD in the first half, pushed the margin to 23-14 with a 54-yard TD burst followed by Dudley’s second two-point rush of the night.

Landmesser was a Timberlane problem all night long with 18 carries for 179 yards plus a pair of catches for 36 more.

The Owls made things interesting with a long TD pass of 56 yards – doubling their second-half offensive yardage in the process – midway through the fourth, slicing the lead to a point at 23-22.

But Tetreault and Landmesser helped churn all but the final 94 seconds of time off the clock.

Timberlane, trapped inside its five thanks to an 18-yard grounding call, took a safety on purpose with 59 seconds left, and the Broncos pounced on the onside kick to secure the hard-earned win.