Broncos football hangs tough early with Reardan, falters in second half

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos fell 24-14 to the Reardan Indians on Oct. 5, as they fell to 0-2 in league play and 2-4 overall.

The Broncos were stellar defensively in the first half, taking a 7-3 lead into halftime against the Indians, who entered the game with a 4-1 record overall (2-0 in league play). But the Reardan offense woke up in the second half, scoring 21 points and pulling away in the fourth quarter.

Reardan got the scoring underway, making a 24-yard field goal with less than a minute left in the first quarter. LRS got on the board late in the second quarter, as quarterback Bryce Kelly threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Austin Thompson.

Reardan responded with 14 unanswered points to start the second half, scoring touchdowns on runs of 31 and 19 yards to take a 17-7 midway through the fourth quarter. But the Broncos answered immediately, as Kelly threw a 69-yard touchdown to wide receiver Shontz Yaeger to pull the Broncos within three points of the Indians. But Reardan put the game away for good with 1:21 left, scoring on a 20-yard run to go back up 10 points.

The Broncos recorded 162 yards of total offense in the game, while the Indians racked up 364 yards. 135 of the 162 yards came via the air for LRS, while they ran for just 27 yards on 15 rushing attempts.

Kelly completed 15 of his 26 passing attempts for 135 passing yards, throwing two touchdowns and no interceptions. Yaeger had two receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown catch, while Thompson caught six passes for 25 yards and a touchdown catch. It was tough sledding on the ground for LRS, as Kelly rushed the ball seven times for 14 yards to lead the Broncos on the ground. Both teams coughed the ball up on the ground, committing one turnover each due to fumbles.

LRS head coach Greg Whitmore said that his players were simply just worn down in the second half, due in part to a lack of depth. Whitmore noted that the same thing happened in the team’s game against Colfax the week before, where they only gave up six points in the first half before Colfax racked up 23 points in the second half to pull away with a 29-13 victory.

“We had opportunities to make some plays,” said Whitmore. “As much as I’d love to run the ball and establish the line of scrimmage, it’s not where we’re at, it’s not what this team is going to do.”

Next up for the Broncos is Senior Night, where they face the Liberty Lancers in what might be the final home game for this season’s eight seniors. Whitmore highlighted that the two remaining regular season games for the Broncos are must-win games if the team wants to stay in playoff contention.

“Senior Night is the last time, possibly, that these seniors will ever play on their field. They’ve put a lot of time out on the field...so the emotional part should kick in a little bit, knowing it could be your last [home game.] And I think when you know something could be your last, you subconsciously put a little more effort into it.”