Broncos fall to Northwest Christian in league battle

The first away game for the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos proved unsuccessful after Northwest Christian earned a 63-7 league victory. In what had been expected to be a competitive game, the Crusaders showed their improvement in the early season game and displayed more experience on the gridiron.

Head Coach Greg Whitmore said the coaches believed the game would be an even match between the two teams. After more than a decade of coaching experience, Whitmore said this game left him asking, “what happened?”

Whitmore said there are a few answers for that question, but the first reason is Northwest Christian is a better team than the Broncos with more experienced and better athletes. Whitmore said another factor was Shontz Yaeger being unable to play because of the flu, and Bryce Esser being pulled in one of the first possessions of the game with a concussion.

Another underlying factor is the Broncos are a young team who have not learned how to respond to adversity, Whitmore said.

The Crusaders did not waste time finding the end zone during the Friday night game. Whitmore said they progressed down the field, scoring on their first possession.

With nine minutes remaining in the first quarter, Northwest Christian had a 7-0 advantage, but the Broncos quickly responded with a touchdown, which would be their only one of the night. Mason Brausen ran back the Crusaders kickoff 98 yards for a Broncos touchdown, and Pius Prosinecki’s extra point kick was good.

The Crusaders would go on to score on their next two possessions, while holding the Broncos to under 10 yards during their offensive efforts.

Whitmore said the Crusaders proved to be the bigger and stronger team, as they did not allow the Broncos a first down until the second quarter.

During the first half, Whitmore said the game started to snowball downhill for the Broncos. Northwest Christian applied strong pressure against Bronco Quarterback Bryce Kelly, forcing him to throw to the ball. Kelly ended the night with four interceptions, due to the strong pressure applied by the Crusaders.

Whitmore said the Broncos were forced to throw the ball during third down attempts, and the Crusaders used the knowledge to add additional pressure to the Broncos offensive line. Whitmore said when the other team does not have to respect the run, they will send more defenders to attempt to pressure the quarterback.

The Crusaders continued their success in the second half, racking up an additional three touchdowns and moving their scoring advantage to 42-7 at the half.

Whitmore said the Broncos struggled to regain focus and battle through the hardship during the first half, resulting in the junior varsity players taking the field for the majority of the second half.

A running clock scenario quickened the second half for the Broncos, but still allowed the Crusaders time to post a 63-7 win over the Broncos.

The Broncos ended the night with only 101 total offensive yards for an average of 2.7 yards per play. The Crusaders racked up 463 yards in comparison.

In passing yards, the Broncos had 35 yards on seven completions. The Broncos had 17 passing attempts on Friday night.

For rushing yards, the Broncos ended the night with 66 yards on 20 attempts.

Penalties continued to be detrimental for the Broncos, who racked up six penalties, moving the team back an accumulative 40 yards. The Broncos also had two fumbles, losing one of them to the Crusaders.

Sophomore Ray Melville had his best varsity performance against Northwest Christian, leading the Broncos in rushing with 28 yards. Damien Rouleau ran 26 yards for the Broncos, followed by Brausen with 24 rushing yards.

Brausen ended the night with three kickoff returns totaling 138 yards for the Broncos. Rouleau had two returns for 58 yards.

Whitmore said going into the game, the Broncos thought it would be a tough match up based on what they saw from Northwest Christian at the preseason Jamboree.

During the Jamboree, Whitmore said he thought the Broncos, Colfax and Northwest Christian seemed evenly matched in physicality and athleticism.

The Broncos go on the road Friday, Sept. 23, to face the Colfax Bulldogs, and Whitmore said he knows it will be a tough competition. After seeing the improvements the Crusaders made in a few short weeks, he is expecting to face a strong Colfax team on Friday.

With Esser out with a concussion, the Broncos will be game planning their offense around Kelly. Whitmore said the Broncos coaching staff is focusing on putting Kelly into positions where he can succeed as quarterback.

Whitmore said the main focus for the Broncos’ offensive line is to protect the quarterback, and they intend to bring in additional athletes to help with the job.

The Broncos will go on the road to face Colfax on their home field, with kick off at 7 p.m.