Broncos coast past Mary Walker

Scoring 33 unanswered points in the first half, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos rolled to a 39-6 win over Mary Walker of Springdale on Friday.

With the varsity generating overpowering offense in the first half, the junior varsity players had a chance to stretch their legs during the second half, giving the entire team valuable varsity experience.

The varsity enjoyed scoring success primarily on the ground behind the efforts of Connor O’Neill who stepped up his game in the absence of Chris Steinmetz. Steinmetz suffered a deep leg bruise during a tackling drill in practice last week, forcing him to miss at least one game.

O’Neill capitalized on his chance to be the leading rusher, scoring three touchdowns and rambling for 146 yards on 10 carries.

Keanu Niezwaag also turned in a good rushing effort with 72 yards and one touchdown on nine carries.

“Connor is so fast hitting the hole and with his great speed, that was just fun,” head coach Greg Whitmore said.

The coach was also pleased Niezwaag had a good outing.

“Keanu was the pleasant surprise,” he said. “He is a lineman that we moved to fullback. Normally we ask him to block for Chris. He really held onto the ball and made some quality runs.”

Another important score was a touchdown reception by Jake Dewald. The six-yard scoring catch was Dewald’s first of the year.

“After working his tail off all these years, he hadn’t scored one yet. It worked great. I was happy for him. He deserved it,” Whitmore said.

Dewald finished the game with two catches for 45 yards. Ryan Whitmore hauled in a pair of passes for 55 yards.

Quarterback Dylan Hartz was the first to make it into the end zone on a seven-yard quarterback keeper.

O’Neill then scored on running plays of six, 33 and 46 yards.

Niezwaag’s touchdown came in the third quarter on a 13-yard effort.

For the game, Hartz completed seven of 13 attempts with one touchdown and no interceptions.

“Dylan had some good decision making and he is completing about 60 percent of his passes. They played tough man-to-man defense and pressured us a little more. Dylan is so good at not getting sacked. He is so athletic and has great vision. We just need to remind him to protect himself.”

The Broncos will travel to Spangle this week to face a struggling Liberty team. Whitmore said his players will need to continue working on their own game, improving their technique.

The Broncos have two more players joining the ranks this week. Drew Wilke will play halfback and linebacker. Cory Goble will check in as an offensive lineman and backup center.

Defensively against Mary Walker, Niezwaag was the leading tackler with four first hits and six assists.

Jarradd Morley had two assists and two tackles for a loss. Salvador Huitron had three assists and one tackle for a loss.