Cardinals halt Broncos gridiron season

Saturday’s WIAA 2B State Quarterfinal could easily be dubbed the Snow Bowl. The LRS Broncos and Waitsburg-Prescott Cardinals met in Edgar Brown Stadium in Pasco on artificial turf for the playoff battle. They were greeted by freezing temperatures and snowfall that was heavy at times.

Ultimately the Broncos were handed a playoff loss, 42-7. While the Cardinals earned the right to advance to the state semi-finals, the game score didn’t tell the whole story. The Broncos defense turned in a gallant effort that held WP to just seven points until the final 45 seconds of the first half.

The Broncos opened with an impressive first drive, marching nearly the length of the field and consuming more than seven minutes off the clock. The effort came up just short and WP took possession deep in their own territory after the Broncos couldn’t convert on fourth down.

The Cardinals used a 62-yard sprint to record a first quarter touchdown on their second play from the line of scrimmage.

“It was a much better football game than that,” head coach Greg Whitmore confirmed. “You just can’t give up big plays and turn the ball over. You can’t be unlucky.”

Part of the Broncos’ offense was hindered by an early injury. Dylan Hartz tweaked his knee in the first quarter, taking away one of the team’s running threats.

“We had an awesome first drive,” Whitmore said. “When Dylan got dinged up it changed our whole philosophy. He didn’t have the strength to be the runner he can be.”

The Broncos moved the ball well. They recorded 174 yards rushing and 146 yards passing to tally a 320-yard effort. Hartz was held to just 13 yards rushing during the game.

“When you get down in the red zone you need all your threats,” Whitmore said.

At half time the Broncos were still in the game.

“We have been down 14-0 before,” Whitmore said. “We by no means thought we were out of it. The kids never believed they were out of it.”

A little steam went out of the engine in the third quarter. The Cardinals had scored again and were up 21-0 but the Broncos were threatening inside the 12-yard line. A bad snap got away from Hartz and WP’s Zach Bartlow scooped it up and ran it back 88 yards for a score.

Still, the Broncos didn’t fold.

Instead they went down the field early in the fourth quarter and finally found the end zone on a four-yard run by Connor O’Neill.

Nimble and hard to tackle, O’Neill led the rushing attack with 75 yards on 13 carries. Chris Steinmetz provided 50 yards on 17 trips. Tyler Greenwalt picked up 19 yards on four carries and Kyle Canaday had 17 yards on one trip.

Jake Dewald was the leading receiver in the game with 68 yards on 4 receptions.

O’Neill caught three passes for 47 yards. Ryan Whitmore hauled in two passes for 18 yards and Matt Fryberger caught one for eight.

Hartz finished the day completing 11 of 24 pass attempts for 146 yards and two interceptions.

The defense was led by efforts from Palmer Phillips, Jake Dewald, Tyler Frederick, Drew Wilke, Salvador Huitron and Brent Stromberger.

Phillips had four first hits and four assists. Dewald delivered three solo tackles, one first hit and three assists. Stromberger had three first hits and four assists.

Huitron served up two solo tackles, one first hit and three assists. Frederick had one solo tackle, two first hits, one assist and one tackle for a loss. Wilke had one solo tackle, two first hits, one assist and one tackle for a loss.