Adna crushed, Broncos get state rematch

With a 25-game winning streak in their pocket, the LRS Broncos are packing for their second straight trip to the biggest game of the year for 2B teams – the WIAA 2B Gridiron Classic State Championship.

The defending state champion Broncos are destined for a rematch with the Morton-White Pass Timberwolves. Last year’s championship clash was an edge-of-your-seat battle the Broncos won in dramatic style.

In order to make the trip to state, the Broncos had to defeat the Adna Pirates last Saturday in Moses Lake. The Broncos proved to have too many weapons for the Pirates, chewing up more than 400 rushing yards in a march to the Tacoma Dome that ended in a 56-13 victory.

The huge win came after a sleepless night for head coach Greg Whitmore.

“I have no explanation, but I was uneasy going into this game,” Whitmore said. “Last year’s semifinal game I was confident. I just had a bad feeling. Maybe my bad feeling was that we were going to come out and create penalties and do things in first half that put us in some bad situations. Luckily it didn’t come to fruition as far as on the scoreboard.”

The Broncos had a couple ripples in their game plan, but dominated on offense and defense.

They scored in the first quarter when Connor O’Neill grabbed a Dylan Hartz pass and rambled in from nine yards out. O’Neill tore up the all-weather turf, racking up 129 yards rushing on 12 carries.

Matt Leffel’s kick was good, as the Broncos went ahead 7-0.

What happened next wasn’t something the Broncos wanted to allow.

Adna answered the opening touchdown by sprinting 82 yards down the sidelines for a kick-off return and touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.

After that, LRS turned up the heat and got busy.

Cort Ruzicka scored next on a three-yard run as the Broncos took a 13-7 lead. He picked up 124 yards rushing on 16 carries in the game.

“Cort had a great night,” Whitmore said. “We had a new formation we put in, running the veer out of that. I felt that would give them fits. We just kept going to that and Cort had a lot of open space.”

The defense put six points on the board when Jacob Saetre drilled an Adna running back in the backfield and Ryan Whitmore scooped up the fumble and ran it in for a score. The Broncos missed the extra point try, but went out in front, 20-7.

O’Neill got his rushing touchdown on a three-yard effort. Hartz, a crafty quarterback, then ran the ball across the goal line for the two-point conversion and a 28-7 lead. Hartz had 37 yards rushing and 58 yards passing and four touchdowns for the night.

Whitmore scored again on offense, this time when he snared a Hartz pass across the middle for a 27-yard touchdown play. Leffel’s kick was good and the Broncos were in the driver’s seat, 35-0.

Bridger Smith got into the scoring act with a two-yard TD run in the second half. Leffel’s kick was on the mark and the Broncos took a 42-7 lead.

Adna’s one successful pass of the night produced a 60-yard touchdown playing. After a missed extra point, Adna had a bit of short lived excitement narrowing the score to 42-13.

“We took away their bread and butter plays, that speed option and trap up the middle,” Whitmore said. “Once they got into those situations we didn’t think they could pass the ball to beat us. We didn’t think they could sustain drives throwing the ball. The defense did a great job.”

The Broncos scored again on a big kick-off return. The score game as a huge surprise as it was the quarterback who was waiting for the Adna kick-off. Hartz found an opening and delivered an 83-yard sprint into the end zone for the score.

“We had our hands team in,” Whitmore said, expecting an onside kick. “We had him and Connor back there just because they are great athletes and if the ball is bouncing around we have everyone up front. I didn’t want them to get an onside kick but I didn’t want to take any more shots either. We have known all four years we could have him (Hartz) back at punt returner kick off return, him and Connor and it would pay off but there’s a risk to that too.”

Leffel’s extra point gave the Broncos a 49-13 advantage.

Late in the fourth quarter, with the team’s reserves on the field, Damien Rouleu enjoyed a taste of semifinal scoring. He muscled his way into the end zone for a touchdown on a 13-yard run.

For the game, the Broncos racked up 422 yards rushing on 51 carries. The passing stats for Hartz were light since the running game was working. He threw the ball six times, completing four for 58 yards and two scores.

Preparing for the rematch, Whitmore knows just how special this opportunity is.

“It is big. Really, you look at it. It’s their third state trip as well. Many coaches have gone their whole career and never gotten there,” he said. “I have been fortunate to be there as a player, assistant coach and head coach. Every one is sweet and every one is usually well earned. You have got to enjoy it while you have got it and not take it for granted. You never know when it is going to happen again.”

Whitmore said he has long heard the chatter of a possible rematch.

“Since the final seconds ticked off the clock (last year), everyone said there was going to be a rematch next year,” he said. “You know me, we weren’t going to buy into that or let our kids buy into it. You definitely could see, anyone who knows sports could see, that it could happen with the players that were returning. My hat’s off to them for getting back for three and a row. Certainly they are going to be feeling some pressure. I expect them to just play out of their minds.”

The Broncos are preparing for a serious in-your-face battle.

“I didn’t start looking at film until today. They have got just a great team. They are playing well. They have had to battle some tough games over there,” Whitmore said. “They have had some tough games and some injuries but I really expect them to just play lights out.

“I feel pretty good about where we are health wise, talent wise. Maybe the fact that we won it last year will take a little pressure off our kids, but we are certainly going in to win and not rest on the fact that we won it last year.”