Broncos prep to welcome league rival, Reardan

Greg Whitmore works hard to make sure the LRS football players don’t look past an opponent. That was the focus last week as the Broncos prepared for a road trip to Davenport and a battle with the Gorillas.

Picking up a 34-6 win in Davenport cleared the slate and opened the doors for the coaches and team to now plan for a visit from their long-standing rival, the Reardan Indians.

Last week, Reardan defeated Colfax in a tight battle, 19-14. The Reardan and LRS wins last Friday set up a meeting of undefeated league opponents this week. The game could decide who wins the league championship.

“I’m glad Colfax didn’t handle them easily because it would have been easy to look past Reardan,” Whitmore said. “Reardan is going to do the same things they’ve always done. The key will be for us to recognize their formations because our alignment on each one is so much different. If we don’t recognize their formations and we’re slow, they’re going to kill us with big yards.”

At Davenport the Broncos put up 28 points in the first half while the defense kept the Gorillas out of the end zone until the third quarter.

Quarterback Dylan Hartz completed 11 of 22 for 166 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Andrew Witt led all rushers with 56 yards on 10 carries. Cort Ruzicka earned 49 yards on eight carries and had two touchdowns. Hartz rushed for 22 yards on two carries while Connor O’Neill picked up 19 yards on three carries. Dustin Kommes ran the ball five times for 17 yards.

Matt Fryberger was the leading receiver with 66 yards on four carries with one touchdown. Ryan Whitmore caught two passes for 28 yards and a score. Ruzicka hauled in three passes for 45 yards and O’Neill caught two for 27.

Grabbing opportunities on defense helped the Broncos and Bridger Smith was a major contributor. He snared two interceptions during the game. Keanu Niezwaag and Jacob Anderson each picked up Davenport fumbles.

Whitmore led the defense with one solo tackle, two first hits, one assist, one tackle for a loss and two sacks. Tyler Frederick pestered the Davenport quarterback, sacking him three times. Jarradd Morley also had a sack and another tackle for a loss.

Whitmore saw plenty of room for improvement during the game. His players knew that Davenport was missing several key players, and he felt the Broncos had a bit of let down.

“At times there was a real lack of execution and missed assignments,” he said. “There is still quite a bit to work on.”

Against Reardan, the Broncos will need to halt the running attack, anchored by Charlie Eldred. Reardan also uses two different quarterbacks. The Indians switch quarterbacks on passing downs and the Broncos will need to stay aware and keep the pressure on.

Defensively Reardan is always tough, playing receivers man-to-man in order to stack the box against the run. Watch for the Indians to have as many as seven or eight defenders looking to shut down the LRS running game.

“It really comes down to good old fashioned football,” Whitmore said. “There’s going to be some popping. It’s going to be a fun, good game with nice weather.”