Bodies collide in a big way during Friday night's Alvirne season opener at Keene. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Keene Sentinel)

It was mileage well worth it for a couple of area road teams on high school football’s Opening Night.

The Alvirne Broncos took advantage of three Keene turnovers for a win, while the Souhegan Sabers rolled at Bow. Unfortunately, Hollis Brookline suffered a tough loss to Merrimack Valley at home.

Here’s the rundown:

ALVIRNE 16, KEENE 6

The Blackbirds turned the ball over three times, one of which resulted in a defensive touchdown, as Alvirne scraped out a 16-6 win on Friday night at Alumni Field.

Alvirne’s offense struggled to move the ball as well, as the Blackbirds held the visitors to 171 yards of net offense. Broncos quarterback Cam St. Clair finished with 72 yards on the ground, while going 4-for-8 for 52 yards in the air.

St. Clair rushed in from 11 yards out in the second quarter to help make it 10-0 at the half. Broncos kicker Suleiman Suleiman got Alvirne on the board on the game’s first possession, hitting a 29-yard field goal.

The Blackbirds finally found the scoreboard early in the fourth, with Mason Ward plunging into the end zone from one yard out with 9:01 remaining. That capped a 12-play drive that included two fourth-down conversions. Keene faced fourth-and-6 from midfield when DeCost called timeout then swapped the punt team for the offense.

A stop from the Keene defense gave the Birds the ball at their own 15-yard line with 6:25 remaining and a chance to take the lead. But on third-and-two from their 23, Conboy was met in the backfield by Alvirne’s Angel Kangar. Conboy’s effort to throw the ball away landed in the hands of Broncos linebacker Chase Noone, who had a clear path for a defensive touchdown that made it 16-6. Noone later recovered a red zone fumble to ice the win.

SOUHEGAN 41, BOW 7

Jacob Bryan and Owen Mobley each had two rushing TDs as the Sabers cruised. Luke Fallon hit Cole Brandt for a TD while Cam Foley had an interception return for a score.

The Sabers will host ConVal next Friday.

MERRIMACK VALLEY 50, HOLLIS BROOKLINE 21

Ben York, Stevie Niebel and A.J. Scott all had a TD apiece for the hot Cavaliers. Thurston Balmer had 60 and Cole Duncan 48 yards receiving as HB had trouble stopping MV’s rushing attack and lost the battle at the line of scrimmage.

The Cavs are at Manchester West next Friday.

(Keene Sentinel Sports Editor Michael McMahon contributed to this report.)