Dayton stunned by Broncos, 12-0

The Dayton Bulldogs had been performing like a top notch 2B football team in District 9 and had given DeSales and Waitsburg-Prescott a run for their money.

When they rolled into Ritzville last Friday for a Districts7 and 9 crossover playoff game, they did so believing they were the better, more talented team.

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos has a surprise for them. The Broncos were well prepared offensively and defensively, delivering a painful 12-0 shutout to Dayton.

The win secures the Broncos a chance to vie for the state title. They will begin the pursuit at 6 p.m. this Friday at Manson in the first round of the WIAA 2B Football Championship bracket. The Broncos have made it into the elite roster of 16 2B teams that have qualified for the state playoffs.

A win over Manson on Friday will set up a quarterfinal meeting between the Broncos and the winner of the Waitsburg-Prescott versus Brewster game.

According to head coach Greg Whitmore that game will be played on neutral turf.

Of the win over Dayton, Whitmore was excited.

“We had a great game plan. On offense we wanted to run away from No. 65 (Kroft Sunderland) and we did that,” Whitmore said. “On defense the main goal was to stop their No. 7, and we did that. I don’t think I’ve seen one of my teams execute as well on offense and defense for an entire game.”

The Broncos were successful on offense, and could have been even more successful had penalties not spoiled a pair of scoring efforts. One long run was negated by a holding penality.

Dylan Hartz got the team on the scoreboard with a nine yard run in the first quarter. The extra point kick was no good.

The Broncos finally earned a bit of breathing room in the third quarter when Chris Steinmetz scored from 17 yards out. The two-point conversion attempt came up short.

The Broncos produced 227 yards of offense during the game. Dayton had 152 yards and gave up two interceptions and a fumble.

“To play that physical of a team and really dominate the line of scrimmage, I was very pleased,” Whitmore said.

Whitmore’s game plan from the beginning was to maintain possession on offense, move the chains and keep Dayton’s offense from having extra chances to score.

“We ran the ball and kept the chains moving,” he said. We had 62 possession and they had it 42 times.”

Hartz, at quarterback, showed great skills during the game, even as a young sophomore starter.

“He is a shifty runner,” Whitmore said. “I have been throwing a lot of new stuff at him. He is intelligent beyond his years. He threw the ball out of bounds when he had too and didn’t take sacks.”

Hartz completed five of 14 pass attempts for 33 yards. He ran the ball eight times for 31 yards.

Steinmetz was the typical workhorse, carrying the football 33 times for 135 yards. Connor O’Neill carried it seven times for 28 yards.

“Chris ran better for us as the game went on,” Whitmore said.

Manson will be a different kind of opponent. They have built their offense around running back Javier Guillen. Guillen is also known to line up in the shotgun as quarterback. Whitmore said when that happens, Guillen is going to run the ball.

“They run some option to him. We think he’s the guy we have to stop,” Whitmore said.

The Broncos are facing a long, three hour road trip. They have played and won some tough games on the road.

Whitmore said he believes the tough battles they have had lately have made the team better, stronger.

“We’re confident and healthy,” he said. “If we get over weary legs and the long road trip I think we’re the more physical team.”

Davenport defeated Manson in non league play earlier this season, 28-14.