Broncos pummel Springdale in league road victory, 40-13

The Broncos did something they normally struggle to accomplish when playing in Springdale. They scored early, putting up seven points in the first quarter before rolling to a 33-0 lead at the end of the first half.

“We even got to practice our two-minute offense, no huddle, getting out of bounds and spiking the ball,” Whitmore said of his team’s successful outing.

The scoring started with an explosive run by Cort Ruzicka that kicked off a night that saw the team generate 421 yards of total offense.

Ruzicka rambled 70 yards and Dustin Norton provided the point-after kick, setting up the Broncos with a 7-0 lead.

“We ran trap to him and the offensive line did a great job blocking,” Whitmore said. “Cort ran away from some guys.”

For the night, Ruzicka would log 150 yards on nine carries.

That first explosive score was followed in the second quarter by another one when quarterback Dylan Hartz made a nice read on a veer play and sprinted 85 yards into the end zone. The point after attempt was no good.

“The offensive line was really doing a good job of blocking and opening up some holes,” Whitmore emphasized. “It’s nice to have some of those big plays. It’s nice to put a big play together and then come back and have a long drive and grind out another score.”

The Broncos third touchdown of the night came on a 15-yard pass play between Hartz and Tyler Greenwalt. Norton delivered a good kick.

Dustin Kommes was the next member of the Broncos’ roster to find his way into the end zone, scoring on a six-yard effort. Norton’s kick was good again.

Connor O’Neill put the cap on the first half effort, scoring on a two-yard running play. Norton’s kick missed its mark.

The Broncos would come out in the third quarter and score just once more, on a 30-yard run by Ruzicka.

“We talked about coming out and scoring right away,” Whitmore said. “We went right down and scored and that gave us a 40-point lead which started the running clock.”

Once a team has a 40-point advantage in the second half, a running clock is used and continues to be used for the remainder of the game, regardless of any changes in the score. This is a new rule for the Broncos and their league opponents.

With the 40-0 lead the Broncos gave their reserves and junior varsity players an opportunity to take the field. Springdale’s varsity went on to score twice in the fourth quarter on a one-yard run and a 60-yard pass play.

For the night, Hartz was five of eight passing for 86 yards and one touchdown. He rushed for 101 yards on two carries.

O’Neill picked up 38 yards on six tries while Kommes kicked in 30 yards on five carries.

Ryan Whitmore caught a pair of passes for 26 yards despite a sore back. O’Neill grabbed one pass for 24 yards and Ruzicka caught one for 21 yards.

Defensively Hugh Hennings made a return with four first hits, five assists and two tackles for a loss.

Keanu Niezwaag working from middle linebacker, had one solo tackle, three first hits, nine assists and one tackle for a loss.

Tyler Frederick had one solo, two first hits, one assist and three tackles for a loss.

Whitmore still wants to make improvements on defense.

“During the first couple of drives there was just poor tackling. Too much tackling of the shoulder pads. We’re not taking them all the way down to the ground and extended a couple of their drives,” Whitmore explained.

This week the Broncos travel to Davenport, another important league outing.

The Gorillas are always a rivalry opponent despite the strength of their roster.

“We’re taking one game at a time,” Whitmore said. “We’re treating every game as a playoff game. The kids did a good job of staying focused this past week. This team (Davenport) will be better. We can’t be stumbling in our league. Davenport is going to give us their best effort.”

Davenport is coming off a physical outing against Reardan where the Gorillas were shut out 28-0.

“They took a little bit of a thumping from Reardan,” Whitmore said. “They always play physical and touch against us. This is one of our oldest Bi-County rivalries. We’ve got to be able to stop the run. They have some good athletes. Derek Oliver as a sophomore really hurt us a couple of years ago. They have some dangerous athletes we have to stop.”