Second seasons

It has been a while since the volleyball and football teams qualified for their respective state tournaments. It was 2013 for the volleyball team and 2015 for the football team. Last week the girls’ volleyball team took second place in the NE 2B district volleyball tournament. The championship was won by undefeated and number 1 rated Colfax. The second place finish in this league is a real accomplishment.

LRS volleyball placed two team members on the All-league team: Dakota Killian and Sydney Kinch and second teamer Taylor Galbreath. The team is led by NE 2B coach of the year Cari Galbreath. The Lady Bronco volleyballers will play their first state game tomorrow in Yakima against Raymond.

After not having fall sports a year ago because of C-19 it is great to see the Bronco teams once again competing. We missed out on so much last year and what we missed will never be made up. All we can do is appreciate what is happening right now and support these kids doing their best to fulfill their life long dreams. There certainly will be more success to come as the school year progresses. Good luck Bronco volleyball. We hope you return home with some hardware for the trophy case!

Last Saturday the Bronco football team hosted the Manson Trojans in a cross over game, winner to state loser out. The undefeated Broncos would shutout the boys from north central Washington 41-0.

LRS had a few issues with holding onto the ball at times. Not sure how much the morning rain played but players did slip and fall in the open field a few times and the football was on the ground a few times as well. The hitting was crisp which may have played a role in the ball handling.

The Trojans were well coached but in the end were outmanned talent wise. Bronco Coach Whitmore showed off three different screen passes that were successful picking up key first downs in long yardage situations. These were great calls but the execution by the blockers was key to the success of the plays.

Coach Lynch has used a punt return scheme that has been highly successful for decades. On the first punt return the blocking was set up on the right side of the field and a long return was the result. After the second punt return gained big yards the Manson coach changed punters and every one of those punts was deliberately kicked out of bounds.

The Broncos have been highly rated all season and will go into the playoffs as the number 4 team in seeding which means they will have this upcoming weekend off to prepare for either the Riverview Panthers or the Onalaska Loggers with the playoff site to be determined. But it will be a neutral site.

With only one senior on the team one had to wonder just how successful this team was going to be this year. When juniors Hayden Melcher and Cooper Miller were sidelined due to injuries young backups like sophomore Brock Kinch and freshman Brody Boness had to take over running back duties and fellow frosh JT Kelly had to take over as a receiver and defensive back. The nice thing is these kids just love to compete and they also love to win.

When Hunter Dinkins was hurt early in the Asotin game freshman Zach Klein had to step in at the receiver and defensive back position and made a couple of nice tackles. Hayden Melcher returned to the field for the Manson game and he had a great catch and run for a touchdown from a pass from junior QB Chase Galbreath.

I look back on the jamboree in late August and wondered if we were going to be in the top three in the league and the Broncos exceeded expectations.

When I look at the football and volleyball teams I see something different than most people and that is these are really great kids and they will do well in most anything they want to do in life. They really are great people and very respectful. In this their second season we hope for great success. The communities are behind you 100%.