Broncos earn another victory, securing 47-20 win over Davenport

After weeks of battling against the league’s top ranked team while also overcoming the loss of athletes due to injuries, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos posted a strong performance against the Davenport Gorillas on Oct. 7.

The Broncos went on the road to earn their second season victory, returning home with a victory score of 47-20.

Davenport jumped out to an early lead, scoring on the second play of the game and making the Broncos work even harder for the win.

The Broncos responded with a 18-yard pass from Bryce Esser to Chandler Widman in the end zone, but the Gorillas scored again and held a 12-7 lead going into the second quarter.

Head Coach Greg Whitmore said the Broncos showed strength by not being deterred by the Gorillas early lead and the athletes continued to play hard with a determined focus.

“I felt like in a lot of ways the kids turned a corner,” Whitmore said. “It was nice to see the improvement made during the game.”

Whitmore said the Broncos not only showed improvement and growth from the previous games, but the team did a good job of learning from their mistakes during the game.

The ability to adjust and improve during the game has helped the mental toughness of the team going into the final regular season games, Whitmore said.

The second quarter proved to be the opportunity the team needed to show their superiority on the gridiron.

Halfway through the quarter, Damien Rouleau ran for a 43-yard touchdown for the Broncos. After less than two more minutes off the game clock, Esser connected with Rouleau on a 55-yard pass play and the Broncos moved out to a 20-12 lead followed the point after kick by Pius Prosinecki.

The Broncos used the opportunity to try a new play they had been working on in practice. Sophomore quarterback Bryce Kelly stepped into the game and hit Esser in the end zone for another Broncos touchdown with only 1:35 remaining in the half.

After a turnover recovery by the Broncos, Esser found Rouleau again for a 12-yard Broncos touchdown with just under a minute remaining in the first half. Prosinecki hit the point after kick again, and the Broncos moved into halftime with a 34-12 advantage.

Midway through the third quarter, the Broncos posted their sole touchdown of the quarter with a two-yard run by Widman. The point after kick by Prosinecki was good, and the Broncos increased their lead to 41-12.

With only 30 seconds remaining in the quarter, the Gorillas ran 50 yards for their final touchdown of the game.

The LRS junior varsity team posted the final touchdown for the Broncos with just under five minutes remaining in the game when Spencer Gering ran two yards for the score. The two point conversion pass to Ray Melville fell short and the Broncos ended the game 47-20 over the Gorillas.

The Broncos have not had the same line up all season, and Friday night brought additional changes to the starters. Whitmore said the Broncos relied on Konrad McCrady and freshman Cole Cameron to bring strength to the offensive line, and both athletes played well in their positions.

Whitmore said the Broncos will have to continue changing their line up as they face three more league teams this season. Davenport suffered from losing athletes to injuries like the Broncos, which made for a good match up on Friday night.

The Broncos posted 400 total offensive yards, splitting the yards almost equally between rushing and passing. Between Esser and Kelly, the Broncos ended the night with 11 completed passes from 20 attempts.

Esser ended the night with 129 yards and three touchdowns on seven completions. Kelly had four completions for 57 yards and one touchdown.

Whitmore said a main source of pride for the coaching staff was winning the turnover battle against Davenport. The Broncos did not have any turnovers on Friday night, but still struggled with penalties during the game.

The Gorillas had four turnovers against the Broncos, two of which were interceptions.

Rouleau led the Broncos in rushing with 104 yards on eight carries, followed by Widman with 46 yards. Rouleau also led the Broncos in receiving yards with 88.

Whitmore said during the game the Broncos gave up a couple of big plays on missed assignments, and the team is focusing on reducing these mistakes before the next three games. With the constant change in starters and with a lot of young athletes, Whitmore said the mistakes will not be eliminated but the team can still make strides to improve.

Davenport proved to be a strong running team, as they posted 286 rushing yards. Whitmore said the Broncos had to remain focused on stopping the ball and playing aggressive defense to reduce the runs.

The Broncos face Springdale on Friday, and Whitmore said the LRS team is matching up with another strong running team. The game serves as Homecoming night for the Broncos, and Whitmore is hoping the team remains focused amid the distractions.

The LRS team was without lineman Easton Nelson last week, and Whitmore said he is looking forward to the Broncos being at full strength this week. The two teams are evenly matched, Whitmore said, and the Broncos are going to have to take the field focused and determined for the win.

The Broncos have three games remaining in the regular season, and after matching up with the league’s powerhouses in the first match ups of the season, these last games will be competitive and winnable for the Broncos, Whitmore said.

The Homecoming game begins at 7 p.m. and the Broncos Homecoming royalty will be introduced at halftime.