Broncos win season-opener

COLFAX - The No. 3-ranked Lind-Ritzville/Sprague boys football team easily crushed the Northeast 2B league rival Colfax, 49-14, in the season-opener.

The Broncos were all over the Bulldogs after a shaky start, putting up all 49 of their points in the first half.

"This has been their four-year build up," Colfax Coach Mike Morgan said. "And they proved that they were the No. 3 team in the state tonight."

The Bulldogs were unable to stop the Broncos' veteran running backs, Brody Boness and Brock Kinch.

Morgan praised his opponents for playing a clean, respectful game and giving the Bulldogs a hard fought matchup.

"The thing you certainly take away from this is that our guys never gave up," Morgan said.

The Bulldogs jumped out to the early six to nothing lead thanks to a fumble recovery by the Bulldogs on the opening kickoff.

The botched Bronco return gave the ball to the Bulldogs on the Broncos' 32-yeard line.

On its first play from scrimmage, Colfax quarterback Seth Lustig fired an incomplete shot to wide receiver J.P.

Morgan.

The Bulldogs gained only a single yard on its second-play on a dive, with Tanner Senter taking the handoff.

On third down and 9 from the 31, Lustig fired a bullet to Zachary Cooper on a screen to advance the ball to the Broncos 5-yard line.

On the very next play, Lustig went back to the air with a 1-yard pass completion to Cooper Phillips to set up second and goal at the 4.

As Lustig looked for the TD, he dropped back to the 15, where he was sacked by Boness, Shawn Steinberger and Brock Tracy.

Setting up third-and-goal from the 15.

That's when he looked left, dropped back and lofted a TD pass to 6-foot-9 Wigen, to take a 6-0 lead.

Lustig went to Wigen for the conversion, but the effort was incomplete.

That would be the extent of the offense in the first-half of the game, until the Bulldogs put together a drive with three-first downs late in the second quarter.

While the Bulldogs were looking to the air, the Broncos brought a ground game with Boness and Kinch running almost at-will off tackle.

Colfax tried and on-side kick, but the Broncos recovered at their own 46.

On the first play from scrimmage for the Broncos, Boness breaks loose off-tackle for a 19-yard gain, setting up a drive that would end with a touchdown with 7:08 left in the first quarter. Boness kicked the point-after to take the lead.

From there on out, the Broncos dominated the first half.

The next possession for the Bulldogs was not a good one; they were forced to punt.

Starting at their own 49, Boness got the ball and moved seven ahead, to the Bulldogs' 44.

Kinch got the next handoff and dashed 44 yards for the TD.

The point-after was blocked, and the Broncos led, 13-6, with 4:25 left in the first quarter..

After the kickoff, the Bulldogs went back to the air with Lustig looking for Wigen on two plays that were broken up by the Broncos.

After a second straight punt from the Bulldogs, the Broncos got the ball back on their own 41.

On the next play from scrimmage, Boness gets the call – sweep right – and races down the sideline for a 59-yard touchdown, diving over the goal line at the end of the run. The point after failed again, and the Broncos led the Bulldgos, 19-6, with 3:02 left in the first.

On the second play of the Bulldogs' next drive, Lustig went to the air again, and was picked off by Zach Klein at the Broncos' 27 with 1:56 remaining in the quarter.

It was his first of three interceptions.

Two plays later on a misdirection, Boness takes the ball 69 yards for another touchdown Kinch added the 2-point conversion.

And with 1:09 left in the first, the Broncos had a 27-6 lead.

The Broncos added another 22 points in the second quarter to take a commanding 49-6 lead.

Kinch put up two touchdowns with dives of 5 yards and 2 yards. And Boness added another with an off-tackle jaunt, a 2-point conversion and two PATs.

Colfax put together a late second-quarter drive with three first dows, but came up short.

The Bulldogs had nothing else to take away from the game until the final 3 minutes of the game.

With the Broncos substituting players after the break, the Bulldogs had the clock against them; the running clock made the second half breeze by.

After holding the Broncos scoreless in the second half, the Bulldogs would score a touchdown on a 4th-and-15 with a Jaxon Wick reception.

The Bulldogs added the conversion to make the final score, 49-14.