Senior Reality...

For many of you the snowstorm in Pasco last Saturday came as a complete surprise. It is supposed to be fairly nice in the southern part of the state in November, shouldn’t it? When it gets cold in the state and there is humidity there is a good chance it will snow. The one thing that we should all be happy about is that it didn’t stick to the floor of Edgar Brown Stadium.

The fans came from Lind, Ritzville and Sprague to see the Broncos season continue but unfortunately it came to a screeching halt. But Bronco fans left Pasco with a lot of pride in the outstanding season that LRS had in the fall of 2011.

There were a lot of questions about this team that were answered fairly quick. There was a good mix of seniors, juniors and sophomores who were very tough defensively and at times very efficient on offense. Now I didn’t make it to all of the games this year but I saw some great plays and I think it would be fun to relive some of them now.

The Broncos took on the Warden Cougars on September 9 and the Broncos would take a 21-7 lead at halftime scoring a TD with about a minute left and converting the 2-point conversion. It looked like the Broncos had good momentum and that with another score they could lock up a victory. Unfortunately LRS had trouble hanging onto the football on a very warm night which made it difficult to put the Cougars away.

After tying the game in the fourth quarter the Cougars had a difficult time kicking a couple of potential game winning field goals. The Broncos survived in overtime in a very hard fought battle. Chris Steinmetz scored four TDs and gained a bunch of yards in the victory.

Steinmetz would hurt his ankle in the Kittitas game and LRS would need to find a go-to-guy in the Springdale game. Conner O’Neill had a breakout game against the Chargers scoring three touchdowns, two on long runs where the sophomore exhibited his amazing speed.

The Broncos secured a victory over the young Liberty Lancers in a somewhat ho-hum game for LRS. But a win is a win and Homecoming against Kettle Falls was next.

After all of the festivities of Homecoming week coaches never know if their team will show up by kickoff time. When the KF Bulldogs took the opening kick 89 yards for a TD, I’m sure the coaching staff was a little nervous. But the Broncos settled in nicely and drove the ball down the field scoring the first time it touched the ball. But it was on the next drive that a key block was made on the way to the second TD and the Broncos lead for good.

LRS would have four of the most impressive plays of the football season. Steinmetz took the ball and ran for a first down gaining 10 plus yards. O’Neill followed with another double digit run. Then Dylan Hartz gained a first down with a 10 plus yard run. Hartz would pass the ball to Ryan Whitmore who would turn the corner and score from 30 yards out. The reason he was so open was a block thrown by Matt Fryberger. Fryberger was down field and when he saw two defenders chasing Whitmore he turned and put his shoulder pads into the two Bulldogs taking them out of the play. It was a great individual play leading to the team’s ultimate success.

The Broncos would split their next two games against the two best teams in the league. A rally against Colfax came up a point short on a missed PAT and the following week the Broncos would stop Reardan outside the goal line throttling a two-point conversion.

The last scheduled home game of the season came against Davenport and LRS dominated the Gorillas. The best play of the game came from sophomore Tyler Frederick. As Frederick was rushing the QB he sniffed out a screen pass. He backed off and got in good position to tip the pass and catch it running it in for a Bronco TD. Later in the same game Senior Brent Stromberger blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone.

In the crossover game the Broncos would secure a hard earned victory against Dayton. The front line of Stromberger, Frederick and sophomore Jarradd Morley kept the Bulldog offense in disarray notching a 12-0 win.

The Broncos dropped an overmatched Manson club in the first round but needed a second half kickoff to get LRS started. LRS 34, Trojans 7.

In the quarterfinal game against Waitsburg-Prescott the Broncos met their match against a sold Cardinal team and would eventually get beat 42-7. The W-P line protected their QB and opened nice holes for their running backs.

But the Broncos had some good plays as well. Senior Jake Dewald wrestled two passes away from Cardinal Defensive backs for long gains. Most receivers never have that play happen in their careers and Jake had it happen in one game. Steinmetz and O’Neill had some good gains as well.

The careers for Palmer Phillips who was solid at center and linebacker, Stromberger, Miller, running back/ defensive back Drew Wilke, Dewald, receiver/DB/kicker Salvador Huitron, Steinmetz and lineman Grayson Morris came to a close last Saturday. These individuals earned a lot of respect and solidified the team concept with their sophomore and junior teammates.

The last game of the season is a senior reality and when it comes to a close it can be very emotional. These seniors need to be patted on the back for the success of the 2011 Bronco season.